Please Help!!
 

I really need some suggestions here..........It took me 3 hours to get Mei Mei's mats out on her legs today. 5 days ago it took me 2 hours!!

It is the only place she seems to mat, but it is just awful......all 4 legs seem to mat and tangle from top to bottom.

Please anyone, if you have any suggestions or know of an excellent detangler/conditioner , please let me know. I am not going to spend hours dematting her twice per week, I about went insane today! :(

My Higgins is a little slob so we keep him in a short puppy cut. One thing I noticed was his baby hair matted a lot. After we got him practically shave in his first puppy cut, his coat got a lot silkier. There are several threads where members talk about which brands of conditioners and detanglers to use.......

Yes check out this thread:

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sho...ght=detangling

Hope it works for ya!

Thanks for the link, Fasteddie!! :)

Is Mei-Mei coat silky or cottony? It is very hard to keep a cottony coat long so a lot of people just keep them in a puppy cut.

I know some people that have shaved their yorkies for the coat to grown thicker, they say it worked and it doesn't tangle as much.

Does their coat get coarse and not so soft if you cut it often?

Babbie, I am not sure really what her coat is......... I am kindof new to all this.

It seems thick to the touch, and after I brush her leg hair, it seems to go right back to 'chunky' pieces......Hope that makes sense! LOL! :D

My Shih Tzu's coat is different.......feels very soft and kindof fine, does not mat hardly at all. If it does, I am able to brush through with no problems and without tearing out the hair.

What do you guys think?? Would she be more of cottony?

The "standard" yorkshire should have a silky coat, like the name suggests, it should feel like silk, your fingers run through it easily, it does not matt often, and should be easy to work with. My friend has a s**tzu and her coat is way thicker than Mojo's. Maybe you can ask a friend or even some groomer that have experience with yorkies to help you decide if her coat is cottony or silky, it can also be a mix, it's kinda confusing..i know:( But after your decide what type of coat she has it will be easier to treat.
My friend that completely shaved her yorkie say that after that the hair is thicker so it has more body to it. Still mats often but it is easier to work it out since it doesn't break as much, she just takes a lot of care to keep the coat moisturized at all times, it is also very important that you don't brush a dry and dirty coat.

Hmm. I don't think Mei Mei has the 'silky' coat.
:(

I now have to brush her leg hair once or twice a day to keep it from matting. Yesterday it took me about 1 hour to get the tangles out. She was brushed the day before.

This is extremely frusterating. I don't have time to spend hours each day dematting her. I do have the time to give her a good brushing daily.

According to the breeder, she is going to be the black and gold coat, not the silver/bluish color. And I think I did read somewhere that the black and gold is a little harder to maintain because it is not as soft and silky. Has anyone heard of that?

I donnou if the color of the coat has anything to do with the texture, personally, i doubt that. Mojo's coat is still very dark but i noticed it is getting a little lighter...the change of colors may take years to happen but it depends on genetics. Did you see Mei-Mei's parents? That could help you have a good idea about her coat :) I would recomend that you use moisturizing shampoos and conditioners on Mei Mei, i just learned this trick from a show breeder, but he uses a little of neutragene moiturizing body oil mixed with water to brush daily, he says it is wonderful to keep the coat from matting. It's worth a try :D

I would sugest you purchase this product
DETANGLING SHAMPOO from http://www.blessthebeasts.net/btb_online.html

I use it on chester and chelsey, I only brush chester once a week no matts. his coat is really soft and nice now. Since we got it. We can not get in the store anymore..so now we have to order it online. You just brush while you give the bath. do you not need to blow dry after. Hope this helps .

p.s chester use to get matts all the time . NO more :D

Buckeye matts very easily also. especially under his "arms" and chest area and hiney. His coat is cottony. His hair is about medium length. I use pet silk products and I think the moisturizing shampoo and moisturizing rinse does a better job than the detangling shampoo & rinse. If I didn't brush him good a couple times a day he would be a mess. I brush him first thing in the morning and then again in late afternoon. and if i sit down to watch tv in between (ha ha).
ahia gets it too but her coat is different. she could go a couple of days without a brushing and still not tangle. althought she doesn't.
oh yes and I also use a pin brush. I find the ends don't split as much as when I used boar bristle. Pet silk also has a product called liquid silk that is good too. I suppose there are lots of products that is good and better even but I am pleased with what I use now.

sorry I meant to add ..........
ygeorge..this "bless the beast" product is that only a canadian product? I'd like to try that sometime. Maybe next ordering time I can try that.

Thanks so much for the product suggestions!! Not sure what to try.........found a show breeder online that swears using Coat Handlers for a cottony coat. I guess I will have to try different products.

Babbie, I did see Mei Mei's parents, and both had a full black coat with the gold head. Their coat did not seem silky to me..........

After doing some research, my little Mei Mei has what you call a 'woolly' coat........which is usually black and gold. A woolly coat is really not the 'correct' coat for a yorkie, but I don't care. I don't show so it doesn't bother me. The breeder did tell me that she wouldn't have the silver blue coat compared to the other little female I was looking at.

Characteristics of this coat is : thick, slight wave on the end, usually black.

Advantage: They need bathing less frequently, about every 2-3 weeks. :) :D

Disadvantage: The coat can be hard to maintain, and will tangle easily. :( Owners usually cut down to a puppy cut.

Now the hunt is on for a good and proper shampoo/conditioner for this coat type.

Anyone else have this kind of coat?? Am I the only one?

Hi ,

The product is actually american I beleive. It was created by Bo Derek the movie star. She love dogs and horses. My husband and I found a wonderfull dog store in oakville 20 min from Mississauga in Canada. I was desprestly looking for something to help with matting. I had to brush chester everyday or he would just matt up . Well we purchased it . It was the same price at the other stuff in the regual petsmart stores. I was like wowo when we tried it . First it smells great and that smell last a very long time. I can really say chester was like the donkey that turned into the hourse in srik. I followed the directions and did not use the dryer when done. All I did was brush him while I bathed him. Only problem is we went back to the store the other day and spoke with the owner. He said he was unable to get it from the distributor anymore. They will not deliver to canada. So I guess we have to order it online.
He said everyone has been coming to the store just to get it. He suggested and other product that he had but, I will have nothing to do with it. I'm a dedicated customer. I pray they will deliver it to our home .

Kind of Sad . Anyway it bottel last a very long time. We still have more then half and we baught it in Febuary of this year.

click on the link above . She has other wonderfull products listed. I have even started to use it on chelsey. No matts for her either.

http://www.blessthebeasts.net/btb_online.html

Hi Ygeorge,

I don't know if i understood correctly, you don't need to blow dry the coat after using this shampoo?

I have a question about caring for the fur. Lexi's fur always looks stringy. Even a couple minutes after she is brushed. Is there any particular product that can be sprayed or brushed on that keeps the fur looking neat? :rolleyes:

Hi Babbie,

Yes after we I give Chester a bath I just damp him off with a towel, no rubbing. I just wrap him up and tell him to stay. He stays still for 10 min and then I let him run loose. no Blow drying. You can if you want but it is not nessessary with this product. I don't spend hours on chester's hair anymore no need too. Thank goodness cause I don't have the time anymore. chesters hair is very nice and shiny. I brush Chester one a week unless he gets in the rain. I whish I had a better picture of him.. I will try and take more when the sun comes back out.

Mei Mei's leg coat seems to do this, but not her body coat. I don't know of any product that would help.

I will try this shampoo...Mojo's coat don't mat a lot, but since i have another dog and they play a lot, sometimes i brush his coat twice a day, just to be sure.. :p I will loooove anything that will make my life easier..hehehe

Now...just a little note, you have to be carefull on the drying process, specially depending on the climate of your city, a coat that is not properly dried can grow fungus which is a headache to treat :(

okey dokey...i have ordered some of it.. hope it gets here soon. LOL
thanks for the info. I hope I like it as much as you do ygeorge. I will definately have to dry Buckeye because I feel too bad for him sitting there shivering until I get him dry. He doesn't like being wet. I have to fight Ahia to get her dry so she is another thing.

Hi Hope it works for you... when I'm drying chester.. I tell him to dust off a couple times .. then he shakes of the water . Then I wrap him in a big black towel , people towel ,and let him lie down in it for 5 to ten min . Then I brush him. by then he is all dry.. I only brush him once a week. Only in the summer do I let him run around after he has been in the towel... It's way to cold here in the winter for that. I only use the blow dryer if I'm in a rush. Hardly ever.

I took chester to the groomer today and he came back looking great only his coat was not as shiny as usuall.. So I really know it is the shampoo, i'm using.

Coat tamers
 

My Gracie has a black cotton or "wooly" coat and I keep her in a puppy cut. I comb her every day with a human regular comb being careful to have my fingers between her skin and coat in case of mats. I have her groomed every 6 weeks and bath her only once between groomings with 8in1 perfect coat tendercare puppy and 8in1 perfect coat moisturizing conditioning rinse. They work great........but you still have to comb or use a slicker brush daily. NEVER bath a matted puppy.............mats will be 10 times worse....I always comb her late in the evening as she starts to snooze.........never when she is active. Hope this helps.

I use Pro Pet Salon Concentrated Conditioning Rinse from 8in1. It works great. It says it helps remove mats and tangles, but regardless, I've gotten lots of complements on Archie's coat since using it. Plus, Archie smells REALLY good when I use it with baby powder smelling shampoo.

Ygeorge, I would like to try this product you have been talking about. However I don't see the link that you said you posted? What is the name of this product?? Schatzie's hair doesn't matt much but is stringy and thin. As of this point she uses Pet Silk and I am just about out. So, now is a good time to try out another product. Thanks much!! :p

If it is the Bo Derek shampoo, it is Bless the Beasts - available at www.blessthebeasts.com . I bought for Mia and it does seem to do quite well.

I bought off of HSN,(or maybe qvc) and it was a package with detangling shampoo, conditioner and 'cologne' for about $20.

Yep, I have that awful coat on one of mine, and the only solution I have found it to keep it short. My Mickey hates to be brushed, and he matts terribly, so every spring he is shaved down completely, and then he is allowed to grow during the summer so he has some hair for winter, then we do it over again. He actually loves being shaved because it means no more brushing and pulling on his hair. He lookes nice in the long coat, but I just don't have the time for it. I show some of my other yorkies, and keeping them in show coat is a full time job for me.

wow before you resort to shaving try the bless the best it also helps to get the matts out as well as prevent them. I use it on our maltese too. no matts for her either.

yeah I would sugest getting ordering from qvc looks like you would bet a better deal. Rember when you give puppy a bath to rince it out well. Enjoy.

Our Chuhga has or had that wooly coat. It was a booger to groom, so I just cut her hair short and when it grew out, it was more silkier. I just purchased and used the Coat Handler shampoo and conditioner on both her and Waya. It is so great! I recommend it highly.