No blame, No shame, No Pain
Dogs are dogs. They run around with nose to the ground putting their heads in places we often dare not think about. As a result it’s pretty common for them to come home with nots and tangles. Most of the time these are easily fixed in the sa,on as we have lots of tricks up our sleeves to safely remove.
Occasionally your dog may have had a little extra fun between visits and found themselves and their coat in a little bit more of a mess than usual. That’s fine! Life happens, we may have had to push the groom back a bit, kids got ill, car broke down…. We don’t need to know. You’ve booked your dog in for us to get them comfortable, that’s all that matters.
We won’t stand and berate you, we will just get to work on making your dogs feel better. This may require a shave down that’s shorter than you usually have but we will always get the matting out and then make whatever is left look fabulous. Our priority is always the welfare and comfort of your dog
Stages of matting
Nots and tangles
When the coat is dirty the hair strands cause more friction with each other. This can create small tangles, or collect debris from walks which cause knots.
These can usually be brushed out or gently removed without any harm to the dog or its overall styling.
Matting
This is where large parts of the dogs coat have become tangled. The hair strands intertwine and create a large mass. It is uncomfortable for the dog as the weight of the Matt can pull at the skin. You may notice the dog scratching or biting at the mat to try and remove it themselves.
These cannot be brushed out without damaging the coat and causing more matting. Instead we clip these out safely, using as long a blade as possible.
Pelted coat
In the most severe cases the matting snowballs across large areas of the dogs body. The matting turns into a pelt. It creates an armoured suit of felted fur. This is extremely uncomfortable for the dog as the coat no longer allows air to the skin, restricts the dogs ability to regulate their temperature and can hide skin conditions and infestations.
Cases like this will always require a complete shave with a very short blade.
It’s only hair
Whilst having to shave a dog down due to mating is never ideal. We can rest easy knowing that before you know it, that hair will have grown back. By giving the dog a “factory reset” we are able to allow them comfort and you get another opportunity to grow the coat out to the length you wish, with the benefit of being able to keep on top of smaller tangles as they arrive.
What’s underneath
As mentioned above, when the dogs cot is matted it can pull at the skin. The dogs can chew or scratch at the area. Not only can this exacerbate the matting, but I can also cause abrasions on the skin. With the coat matted above, we may not realise the wound is there until we have removed the coat.
Risks of removal
As you can see, it’s vital we remove mats as early as possible. We wiLl always use clippers for this. Scissors are too dangerous as we aren’t able to see the skin, so the risk of cutting the dog is too high. We will use the longest blade we can, but often have to go short as the blade needs to be able to travel underneath the matting.
whenthe matts are very close to the skin there is n increased risk of the clipper blades scratching the skin, or the slicker brushes causing a graze due to the skin having been pulled taught for so long.
There is also a very high chance that your dog will be itchy for a day or two. The matting will have been pulling on their skin and preventing air getting to it. So once removed the blood returns to the surface and can cause your dog to itch and scratch. It’s quite normal and nothing to worry about, unless they scratch so much that they cause irritation. If you are to all concerned, do get in touch and we can advise first aid.
Disclaimer
Due to the nature of risk involved with dematting, the procedure takes longer than a usual clip off. We may need to clip wet coats to get blades underneath and this can blunt our equipment.
for this reason we reserve the right to charge a dematting fee. We also cannot be held responsible for any minor scrapes and grazes that occur due to the removal of matting. We take every possible precaution to prevent such injuries occurring but in the most severe cases they are inevitable when working with such sharp equipment so closely to the skin.