Matted Dog Hair Care and Tips
Matting – Ugh.
Dealing with matted fur can be an extremely difficult and painful thing to manage, for your pup especially. With the right tools, knowledge, and preventive care there are a few ways to remove mats and maintain your pup’s hair type like a pro so it can flow the way it was meant to – and we’re here to fill you in with advice from our professional groomer.
Why mats form and how to spot them
Dog hair can become densely tangled and knotted around itself if left unbrushed, which is the condition known as matting. Mats are especially common with curly, silky, fine, or double coated breeds such as:
Poodles
Doodles
Cocker Spaniels
Bichons
Australian Shepherds
Shih Tzus
Havanese
And any variation of these hair types.
The most common areas for matting occur around the ears, armpits, tail, legs and where their collar or harness sits, so be sure to check and brush out these areas at least 2-3 times a week, and especially after a day of swimming or if out in the rain.
*Just as when human hair gets wet, there’s a high chance knots and tangles will form if left unbrushed before drying.
Other reasons dog hair can become matted:
One of the biggest contributing factors to matting is shedding season. As your dog’s undercoat sheds, it can tangle around itself and the topcoat if left without a thorough brush out.
Pieces of the outdoors, such as leaves or grass, can get stuck in your dog’s coat and cause mats to form.
If you’re unsure if your dog is matted, the easiest way to tell is to comb through their fur, all the way down to the root, with a detangling fine-to-medium toothed comb. If the comb won’t fully brush through the fur, you’ve probably found a mat.
So how do you remove Hair Matting?
Mats can feel very uncomfortable and even painful to your dog, which is (or should be) the most important reason to check for them when brushing, and removing them as soon as you find any. As our groomers like to point out, matted fur left unattended is a domino effect - The mats will only tighten and spread, which tends to pull and put stress on the skin, which can cause discomfort, bruising, skin irritation, and trap moisture within the coat, which can cause dermatitis.
There are two ways mats can be removed, based on severity:
Brush them out - If the mats in your pup’s hair are small and not too tight to the skin, it’s possible to work through them by carefully brushing and combing them apart. If you’re afraid of or unsure if they’re too tight to brush that they’ll harm your dog, it’s probably best to make a trip to the salon for a professional look and brush out.
Looking for groom tools to brush like a pro yourself? Check out our dog brush guide.
Clip them out –
If matting is too tight to the skin or covering a large area/majority of your dog’s body, it will be far too painful for your pup to sit through a brush out, and attempting to will likely cause skin irritation and extreme discomfort. With severe/tight matting, clipping beneath the dense tangles may be necessary (and the safest approach) to removing them.
*Please keep in mind that cutting mats out of your dog’s fur on your own can be dangerous since they form so close to their skin. If there is a significant amount of matting, it’s best to have a professional groomer run their fingers through your dog’s hair and asses the severity to determine if a short hairstyle cut is the necessary approach to removing them.
As hard as it may feel to say “see you later” to your pup’s beautiful floof, it’s best for their well-being and skin health to start fresh with a short-style coat – their fur will grow back, and it will be so much easier to maintain!
*Whatever you do, do not bathe your pup to “detangle” - Getting the fur wet, even with conditioner or detangling spray, will have an opposite effect. Without a full brush out or pre-cut of mats, they will only tighten, become closer to the skin, and be ineffective in loosening them.
How to prevent matting
Brushing your dog’s coat often is the most important thing to keeping their coat healthy and clean. How often you should brush your dog will depend on their fur type, activity level and the season – Dogs with longer, thick fur need regular sessions with a brush and comb, some as often as once a day, to keep tangles away and mats at bay. If it’s shedding season, you may need to increase brush sessions to daily-couple times a week. If you’ve been out on long rainy walks together, dry their fur as much as possible and brush them once you’re back inside.
Long story short - Brush, brush, brush to keep your dog’s coat looking and feeling great and to prevent pesky mats from forming in the future.