[pajamajes]

My dog has mats behind her ears and I don't know what to do. She will only let me brush around her ears a little bit and it's not enough to get the knots out and now shes got mats there. They are really close to the skin and I'm scared to try to cut them out b/c they are so close to her skin and she's squirming all over the place. Should I just let the groomer get them out? Do you think she will be able to?

[Lorina]

My Beavis gets horrible mats behind his ears. He likes to rub his head on the carpet, and it tangles bad.

I had a groomer remove them once, and they had to shave behind his ears. He had enough hair left that it didn't really show. I have also clipped them myself with scissors, very carefully, but did get a nasty bite in the process. Just finished my antibiotic this morning. (Beavis is half blind and freaks if his vision gets obstructed. While I was working from behind, he was fine, but when I had to reach in front of him, he snapped and made contact. Next time, I'll use a muzzle. But better still, now that they're out, I'll keep him tangle free so there won't BE a next time.)

If you're squeamish about it, have a groomer do it. Then be sure to comb that area frequently to prevent matting again. Don't be stupid like me and let it get out of hand. Twice.

[briteday]

All of our dogs are prone to mats behind/under their ears. So we comb them out every night and rarely find one. But if we let it go 2-3 days they will usually have a know there. We like to use a steel comb that has fine teeth and coarser teeth. I haven't found a brush that is the right size to get behind/under their little ears. Also, instead of lifting the ear and trying to comb out the know, I find it easier on our dogs to lay the ear backwards against the neck and comb/brush in that direction. They seem a lot less likely to snarl at me when I do it that way. I think lifting the ear pulls on them in addition to the pulling of the comb and the pulling on the skin by the mat itself.

[pajamajes]

Thanks! I think I'm gonna let the groomer handle this one and just try to stop it from happening again.

[poodleholic]

Originally Posted by pajamajes

Thanks! I think I'm gonna let the groomer handle this one and just try to stop it from happening again.

Smart move! It happens to the best of us. Live and learn! LOL