Maintaining coats between grooms

Regular professional grooming is essential for most long haired and double coated dogs, but they also require maintenance at home to stay healthy, comfortable, and to avoid getting shaved down. Different coats have different needs. My clients are always welcome to get in touch for individual advice on the techniques and tools I use for their dog, but these are some general products and methods that will be applicable to most dogs. Any product recommendations I give are in no way sponsored or incentivized by anything other than my own professional opinion.

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Know thy enemy: a crash course on matting

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What is matting?

Broadly speaking, "matting" refers to a condition where hair gets so tightly tangled it cannot be brushed out without causing the dog pain or serious discomfort and significant coat damage. Once a mat forms, it will quickly get tighter and tighter with movement and moisture. Light matting that is not tight to the skin is generally a mild annoyance to the dog, however once it gets tighter, it can start painfully pulling on the skin. In severe cases, matting can pull so hard that it can cause bruising and tears in the skin! Imagine having your body hair firmly stuck to a piece of duct tape that's being pulled on 24/7. Ouch! I plan to add photos of mats of various severities on a variety of coats here soon.

In most cases, all but the lightest matting will need to be shaved out of the coat, often affecting the cosmetics of the groom. I have top of the line tools and products, years of experience, and the ability to take some extra time to gently attempt to detangle small sections of matting, but I will never cause an animal pain for cosmetics.

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What causes matting, and how can we avoid it?

Matting begins with tangles. Simply by moving around, dogs' hair will start to tangle up, just like humans'. Friction between body parts or harnesses and collars will significantly accelerate this. Areas like joints, the base of the tail, and crevices between bones and tendons in the legs are higher risk for this reason. Most people have had experience with those firm lumps of hair behind their dogs' ears!

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Mats also love water. If you've ever shrunk a sweater in the drier, you'll understand! Make sure to thoroughly brush your dog before giving them baths or letting them play in the water, and afterwards once they've dried.

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Different coats will be more prone to matting than others. The healthier, more wiry, coarse, or tightly coiled dogs' coats are, the more resistant they are to tangles. Conversely, damaged and dry, softer, finer hair with loose curls or waves will mat quickly. Shedding will make matting worse as the loose hair will be trapped in the curls or tangles and prevented from falling free, adding more mass to the forming mat. Naturally, length plays a significant factor as well. Most coats kept 3/8ths of an inch (give or take based on the aforementioned factors) long or less will only require occasional checks in high friction areas, whereas longer coats will need thorough brushing from nose to tail regularly.

Special considerations: Doodles and -poos

Poodle mixes have some of the highest maintenance coats of any dog and will need nose to tail brushing several times a week, sometimes daily for particularly long or soft coats. Because most "doodle" breeders prioritize softness and fluffiness over coat health, and because they are often crosses with heavy shedding dogs (most frequently golden retrievers, labradors, Burmese mountain dogs, etc.), they mat extremely easily and quickly. Unfortunately, many people are simply cashing in on the current doodle fad and will deceptively claim that their dogs are low maintenance and don't shed to make a quick sale.