[Debbie1056]

I have a Shipoo and she has matts very bad. I have cut her hair so the matts are not heavy or causing her any pain. I want to trim her more but not too much as it is not warm enough yet. Is there anything that will help break up the matts? Most of them are small, but there are quite a few. I thing the sweaters have added to the problem.

[briteday]

The easiest thing to do at this point is have her trimmed short enough to get rid of the matts, or whatever the professional groomer can do if you don't want her trimmed too short yet.

And then you need to brush and comb the dog every day to prevent the same from happening again. Hair breeds like poodles shed just like any other dog. We just don't notice it as much because they only have a single coat of fur and it sheds about the same rate as humans. But those hairs that are shed end up getting tangled in the crimp of the longer hairs. So daily brushing and combing is really necessary.

[pamperedpups]

briteday is right. Getting the mats out could be very painful, or at least costly. Likely the most humane thing to do at this point would be to shave your puppy short and start over. Use sweaters to keep her warm and as the coat grows out keep on top of it with frequent baths, brushing and combing.

[Love's_Sophie]

If the matting is extensive shaving her fairly short will be the only thing you can do to get rid of those pesky matts; then you need to keep her combed out every day in order to prevent her from matting up again. Getting her professionally groomed every 4 weeks can also help.

[spoodles]

I have 4 Standard Poodles. I've had two experiences with severe matting - once with one of mine, once with a friend's.

With my friend's dog, after really working on getting the matts out, we ended up shaving him very short.

My dog was just as matted. I used something called 'Cowboy Magic' - it's a very thick oil. I put her in the tub, put the 'Cowboy Magic' in thick and let it penetrate the matts. I was then able to pick through them and used a wide spaced plastic pick to get the matts out. It actually didn't take long and wasn't nearly as traumatic as I had thought it would be. We had some oily hair for a while, but the upside of that was that it was very easy to brush.

[k9's]

hi ya im a pro dog groomer and i would recomend investing in a good matt breaker i use a mikki matt breaker. I hope this hepls

hi i am pro dog groomer and i would recomend investing in a good quality matt breaker. I allways use mikki. i hope this helps.

[poodleholic]

Once you get your dog's matts out, you'll need to learn to take care of the coat to prevent matts from forming. You'll need a pin brush, a soft slicker, and a steel comb. The pin brushes with the little balls on the tips will damage the hair, thus causing it to matt, so do be sure to get a pin brush without the balls. I've never found one in a retail pet store, so I buy mine online (PetEdge carries them). It's also helpful to use a leave-in spray conditioner before brushing, so you don't damage hair. Brushing dirty hair will cause damage.

I've fostered rescue Poodles with coats matted to felt! <groan> To save as much coat as possible, and for the comfort of the dog, I wet shave. I shampoo and rinse, then lather the dog up with shampoo and conditioner. The blade goes through matted coats like a hot knife through butter!