13/03/2025
Matted dogs galore over the past few months!!!
Warning, stating the obvious as I do, but getting very disheartened with the lack of attention to our much loved doggos coats.
I’ve been meaning to right a post regarding this for weeks but have been absolutely inundated with grooming work.
All week this week and for several previous weeks, nearly every single dog has been matted, either all over, had matted ears, matted tails, matted muzzles, matted legs, matted bellies, matted feet, and even matted eyelashes. Yes matted eyelashes.
Nearly every single one of these matted dogs is an “ oodle ” of some description, and a breeder won’t tell you the amount of work involved in grooming him when you purchase your cute little fluffball.
Now can I just say, that “oodles” are usually a mixture of poodle and something else. Generally a poodle is a non shedding dog, whereas “ the other mix” is a shedding dog.
The problem here is with the mixed coat.
The majority of these crosses get matted due to part of the coat trying to shed and the other part of the coat holding onto the hair and the lack of combing/ brushing, or ineffective combing or brushing is the result of matting.
Oodles take ALOT of work IF you want to maintain a Teddy Clip. The coat must be 100% matt free to achieve this style.
If you have an oodle, I recommend half an hour of brushing per day, and if you have an oodle that wears a collar,a harness, swims, goes to the beach, plays with other dogs, or lives on acreage, I recommend daily brushing for approximately one hour if you like the Teddy Clip. If you can’t invest the time to brush your dog, that’s ok, he will just need to be clipped regularly and clipped short.
I am often asked to dematt dogs when a client wants a Teddy clip, because they “like him long and he looks ridiculous short”.
Dematting hurts, a lot. It takes time and patience from both dog and groomer. Moisture makes matting tighter, so bathing first takes longer, and blow drying takes longer.
Grooming needs to be a pleasant experience, and it absolutely isn’t when it comes to dematting. Dematting ears and tails are usually less traumatic compared to dematting the body, especially in sensitive areas.
I will always contact the owner if the matting is too extensive, and discuss clipping short to totally avoid the pain and discomfort to the dog. But I am always met with “ but I don’t want him short”, or “ how short do you have to clip him because I’ve just got him to a length that I like”, or, “ he looks ridiculous short”, or, “ there will be world war 3 with my wife if you clip him short”, or, “ as long as you can clip him as long as possible and he still looks cute”, or “ whatever you do, don’t clip him short, I will deal with the matting”.
How can you deal with the matting now it’s severe, when you haven’t been able to deal with the matting when it started?
This is blunt and may sound harsh but, ,,,,,,,,
It’s not about the look of the clip, or what you’d prefer, it’s about the dogs comfort, and maintaining his coat humanely. Dematting is cruel if it’s extensive.
I’ve even had owners tell me they will be “embarrassed to walk the dog looking like that”, or, “ I’m definitely walking him with a jacket on”, or, “ I’ll only be taking him out in the dark until he grows back”.
This saddens me to the core, because you have allowed the matting to happen in your dogs coat, but we are made to feel responsible for the look after he is groomed.
As a groomer, we can only do what YOU present us with.
The onus is on YOU to maintain your dogs matt free coat.
Ultimately, the final product is not only the expertise of the groomer, but your hard work at home. If your groomer instructs you to clip short due to matting, then that is a recommendation to reduce the pain and discomfort for your dog, which is only fair right?
The groomer is purely advocating against your dogs discomfort.
Matting causes bruising, skin tears, pain on walking and scratching, and in severe cases it also causes infection, bleeding and maggots. I’ve seen all levels of matting, and at its worst, it is pure neglect.
Hair grows back and regardless of length of coat, it’s the same loveable dog underneath that will be super thankful for not dematting him.
Please, either effectively brush your dog daily using a metal comb. If you find a knot, snip it out, or book more regular appointments to help with maintenance, or, expect to have a short clip every time as grooming dogs day in and day out that are matted becomes very traumatic knowing that dematting purely for aesthetics is wrong and cruel!
Please, for the love of God, and the love of Dogs, brush your dog daily using a metal comb, maintain your regular bookings, and/or keep him short and comfortable for life.
Love and light,💕
Deb @ The Groomery 🐶☺️
