10/08/2026
🐾Matting: let’s talk about it🐾
It’s a word no dog owner wants to hear about their dog, but sometimes it comes up, and certain things have to be done.
I expect some matting. I think most dog groomers should but when a dog is matted more than a little bit here or there and it exceeds to a level where it wouldn’t be kind to demat then a fresh start is needed. Severe matting is like having a too-tight ponytail where the hair is pulling and causing you pain, but it’s their whole body!
Obviously nobody wants their dog to be uncomfortable or in pain, but people don’t know what they don’t know.
Over the years, I’ve seen and worked on soooo many severely matted pets.
Dogs where their ears were matted together, cutting off circulation; their back legs were matted together, where they couldn’t walk correctly; I discovered embedded thorns hidden under mats; and one time my mom made the awful discovery of maggots under matting. I know all of that is awful and crazy, and it’s not what anyone wants for their dog, or what I want either. While I want to give everyone the exact cute, fun, fluffy cut of their dreams, the coat decides what we can do.
People online love to say a dog groomer is lazy and doesn’t know what they’re doing when a dog has to get a short fresh start, but they don’t know how hard a matted shave down actually is. It is so much easier to brush a fluffy leg and scissor it up than to slowly peel a dog out of a hair prison, tiny bit by tiny bit. The clipper blade has to get under the matting; it can’t cut through it, which is why the cut has to be so short. When I have a matted shave down, I always try my best to leave them a cute head and ears if possible, but there have been times when that wasn’t possible.
In those cases, you then run into the possibility of hematomas and burst capillaries. Their ears go from being thick and heavy with matting that affects circulation to all that circulation coming back and all the weight being gone, and that may feel weird to them, so they may start shaking their head. The force of their ears smacking against their head then in turn causes those things. A good way to help prevent that if your dog ever has to have a big matted shave down transformation is to take a happy hoodie or a cut tube sock and put it over their head to gently hold their ears next to their head until they don’t feel so weird and don’t want to shake them.
Maintaining your pup's coat takes both of us working together. Whether that’s you doing great brushing and combing at home (videos on line brushing help), you bring your pup in often enough to not have to do any homework, or somewhere in between. What matters most to me is your dog's comfort!
It’s okay if life got away from you and your dog ended up super matted. It’s more common than you think, but what matters is what comes after. The goal is to find a schedule that works for your dog's coat, your preferences, your budget, and your own schedule needs so your dog doesn’t have to go through a big shave down again.
I’ll step off my soapbox now lol. This was all inspired by a clip from one of those civil court shows where a lady was BIG BIG mad because her dog was matted and had to be shaved nose to toes.
Picture of my goofy cat to bring a little fun to a not so fun topic 🐾❤️
