Guest Post by Christi K.
Goldendoodle fur is so soft and snuggly. It’s one of the things we love most about our beloved pooches. Unfortunately, matting is one of those things that we need to pay extra attention to. Mats are not just surface knots. They are a bunch of hair knotted right at the level of the skin, which makes them incredibly hard to get rid of. Let’s learn together how to prevent them so as to avoid shaving our furry friends bald!
Mats start out as small knots but quickly and easily snowball into big, huge unmanageable clumps of fur. You might think to yourself, “I brush my dog a lot. Why would he get mats?” Fur can clump up and mat for many reasons. Roughhousing and friction are two major causes. Think about your own hair. If you rubbed your hair on your pillow all night and didn’t brush it the next morning, you would have knots. Prevention is key. Brush your dog daily! I can’t stress it enough.
Water also makes mats tighter. If your Goldendoodle has mats, it’s never a good idea to bathe him/her before brushing them out, or if it’s too far gone, you may need to shave the matted fur prior to bath time. Our doodle likes to swim in our pond. As much as we love watching him swim with our kids and splash around, his fur is always a disaster after. We have to make sure to brush him as soon as he’s done shaking the water off. As a matter of fact, it’s easiest to untangle mats when they’re small, so prevention is essential. Here are some practical ways to prevent matting:
- Short hair doesn’t mat. In fact, if you keep your doodle’s hair ¾” or less in length, you seldomly need to brush it (it’s still a good idea to brush your dog regularly to keep her used to being brushed though). If you want that adorable shaggy teddy bear look, daily brushing is essential for preventing mats. Doodles with curlier coats will require more frequent brushing to prevent mats than those with wavy or straight coats.
- Swimming in chlorine causes mats, so keep that in mind prior to letting your doodle join you in the pool. It’s wise to keep your doodle in a short summer clip if she’ll be swimming in a chlorinated pool regularly.
- Putting a coat or jacket on your doodle for hikes in the fall can help lessen the number of burs that become tangled in hair. Be sure to promptly remove any burs that do find their way into your dog’s coat, so they don’t develop into unruly mats.
- There are certain areas that are prone to mats, such as under your dog’s ears. Pay extra attention to those areas and address mats quickly. It’s okay to cut out a mat with a pair of blunt tipped scissors. Removing a mat will keep it from growing larger. If the mat is too close to the skin, cut it as close to the skin as possible, comb out what you can of the fur that’s left, and keep an eye on that area over the next few weeks. You’ll be able to remove the base of the mat as the hair grows out.
- Harnesses are a wonderful tool for walks, but allowing your goldendoodle to wear a harness all of the time or to play with other pups while she’s wearing her harness could lead to mats. Harnesses aren’t bad, but be sure to regularly brush your dog’s chest and other areas that the harness touches.
When you’re petting your Goldendoodle, you can easily tell the difference between the soft locks of hair and a mat. If you can’t get your fingers down to their skin, there is probably a mat in the way. Some brushes I would recommend are Chris Christensen Big G and Big K Long Pin Slicker Brushes and a steel grooming comb like ANDIS Steel Pet Comb, 10-in – Chewy.com.
Using these brushes/combs together is really helpful in the prevention of matting because it helps tremendously if you brush your dog’s fur correctly in the first place.
I hope you found this helpful to give you some encouragement in keeping your pooch mat-free without the help of a costly groomer all the time.
Guest Post by Christi K.