What to do with a badly matted dog in the winter?

[julie9]

OK, I messed up. I thought I had a handle on Una's mats ,but boy was I wrong! Bottom line, she has several large mats that I can't get out--nor do I want to keep trying, it's ruining our relationship. She's a year old and blowing, and cutting her coat is the only option now. The problem is that it's winter! Im worried if she gets cut short (as short as she probably needs to get rid of the mats),she's going to freeze! She loves the outside, but from what I've been reading, any type of clothing will just make more mats.
Help! What do I do?

[HavaneseSoon]

Have him shaved down and have fun with the coats and clothes!

[Suzi]

You just have to comb every day . If you don't want to get the mats out you could have a groomer do it. Zoeys mats were very thick and close to her skin sort of like felt is that the same kind you have?

[TilliesMom]

uh-oh! the only thing you CAN do at this point is have her shaved down... I'm assuming she isn't outside much, so just get some sweaters and put them on her when she needs to go outside.

[mellowbo]

I vote for the short clip down and a coat. She won't matt with clothes on when she is cut down. Then you need to make a practice of combing every day for just a few minutes. That way both of you will get used to it from an easy, patient standpoint.

[Luciledodd]

I had Rosie cut down and bought her a sweater--which she doesn't wear even on the coldest days. It seems that her undercoat is really thick and keeps her warm.

[lfung5]

My guys are all in puppy cuts and wear sweaters and coats daily. I comb them daily just to keep them used to being groomed. No matting though. Once in awhile a tangle though.

[atsilvers27]

Shave her. I am a groomer myself and almost couldn't keep my dog's coat when she was blowing coat in the winter. Save you and your dog the grief. Despite what some people might think, there is a point of no return. Even show dogs get shaved occasionally. Not to mention that tight mats on the skin cause circulatory problems at the skin and irritation.

[tokipoke]

The best thing to do will be a shavedown. If the mats are close to the skin and pelted, there is no way to brush it. Just put clothing on her until her hair grows. Anything that causes repeated friction on the coat will cause mats, so at least with her hair short, you can enjoy clothing. It is very important to actually increase the amount of grooming during the winter months because this is the time people want to keep their dogs hair long - which should mean more baths, blowdry, and brushing to keep the coat from matting. Matted hair gets tighter with moisture and it is hard to dry it - this can lead to moisture trapped underneath the mat which causes infections and skin irritation, not to mention the dog never getting dry and remaining cold. There are many dogs with long hair romping around in snow, the owner thinking the dog is warm, when in reality the dog is freezing to death because the mats are wet and never dry. This can be very dangerous!

[Thumper]

Originally Posted by atsilvers27

Shave her. I am a groomer myself and almost couldn't keep my dog's coat when she was blowing coat in the winter. Save you and your dog the grief. Despite what some people might think, there is a point of no return. Even show dogs get shaved occasionally. Not to mention that tight mats on the skin cause circulatory problems at the skin and irritation.

I was wondering if that were true, that mats close to their skin are painful, the groomer by our office who cuts Gucci's nails saw a mat on her rump right where her tail is that i had missed, I guess, combing her out and she offered to cut it off and said that mats are painful for dogs. I wasn't sure if I believed that or not, because wouldn't that make corded dogs in pain all over since the cords start at the skin?

Ever since then, I've been pretty mindful about that area and she is so hyper sensitive on her tail anyways I just cut them off for the most part as long as they are little and wouldn't leave a silly bald spot.

Julie, I guess you could try to comb some out by cutting into them and then using corn starch, rub a bunch of it into the mat, it really does help the mat come out easier. I' also remember when she was blowing coat, I could even get some of the ones in the tub combing them out underwater, having the mat completely submerged does help loosen it up, too. but I would only do that on the ones missed during comb out. They say to comb them out before baths because a bath can make them worse, which I find to be true..but it seems like I always feel atleast a few that I missed when I'm bathing her.

Kara