The very topic of mats and tangles or de-matting canines can induce silent screams in lots of groomers. Sure canines’ coats are extra vulnerable to matting than others, and it looks as if it’s all the time laborious work for us and never a lot enjoyable for the canine, both.
Let’s face it…this isn’t essentially the most inspirational side of our work. Nevertheless, there are methods to tremendously scale back your mat-induced stress by studying to work with a canine’s pure coat, not in opposition to it. This may be one of the vital necessary abilities groomers can possess. These little-known however tried-and-true strategies of eradicating mats work amazingly effectively, and with minimal effort on our half and no ache on the canine’s half.
Decide the Coat Sort
Deciding on the perfect method for a matted canine begins by figuring out whether or not that canine has a “Fur”-type coat (predetermined size or PDL; hair that grows to a sure size and stops), which would come with your Golden Retrievers, Labs, German Shepherds, and many others., or if it’s a “Hair”-type coat (undetermined size or UDL; hair that grows and grows till it’s reduce or breaks), which might be your Poodles, Shih Tzus, Yorkies, and many others. Regardless of the hair/fur is doing on the higher torso, or jacket, is essential in figuring out its coat kind.
As soon as the fur or hair willpower has been made, the dialog with the pet proprietor turns into simpler. A grooming schedule may be set with fur-type canines scheduled across the predictably extra intensive shedding months of the yr. Hair-type canines may be scheduled based mostly on the proprietor’s size choice and way of life, and the puberty coat change that may result in intense matting and tangling just about in a single day can be mentioned.
Isn’t Shaving Simpler?
Canines aren’t like people whose hair can finally develop again following a nasty haircut. Groomers are within the coat safety enterprise—not the coat destroying enterprise. Whereas merely shaving a canine down would possibly look like much less trouble within the brief time period, in the long term, shaving is sort of all the time not the perfect method. There are a number of the reason why all groomers ought to prioritize defending and restoring a canine’s pure coat.
First, scientific research have confirmed that the thin-skinned canine depends fully on its far more intensive fur/hair coat for defense. Coat and pores and skin are described in veterinary dermatology textbooks as having eighteen necessary capabilities for all canines, together with hydration, nutrient storage, immune assist, thermoregulation and different very important protections from numerous exterior threats.
Chief amongst these threats are cancers brought on by sunshine and ultra-violet gentle reaching the canine’s pores and skin. Canines want their pure coats to guard their pores and skin’s Langerhans cells (a part of their immune system) which may die or grow to be cancerous when uncovered to direct gentle of any sort. Canine cancers have dramatically elevated in current a long time and solar publicity to pores and skin is paramount among the many causes. This purpose alone is sufficient to assist caring groomers decide to by no means shaving a canine for any purpose besides medical or in any other case below veterinary supervision. Even then they should be clothed, lined with sunscreen or saved inside till they’ve adequately grown again sufficient coat.
There are different threats to a canine’s well being if their protecting coat is eliminated—a lot of them microscopic. Shaved canines usually tend to have a bunch of different points reminiscent of parasites, accidents, infections, fungus and extra.
Most significantly, fur-type coats can’t be shaved (particularly on the jacket or upper-torso space) with out doing everlasting harm to the coat. In contrast to hair-type canines, the genetic programming of their follicles and development cycles differs between the topcoat and undercoat. As a result of shaving doesn’t differentiate between the 2, a shaved coat can’t develop again the identical as earlier than after being shaved.
Hair-type coats can often be reduce shorter if medically essential with out everlasting harm, however the above cautions about staying out of the solar and being shielded from different environmental threats needs to be rigorously noticed. I by no means go shorter than a #4 blade, after which provided that essential.
De-matting of a Hair-Sort Coat
Fur- and hair-type coats are de-matted in a different way, and utilizing the next steps could make the job simpler for you and painless for the canine. Keep in mind to maintain monitor of the additional time de-matting takes and cost for it!
Let’s use as a hair-type matted coat instance of a combination-coated Bernedoodle. They’re, as many doodles are, a cross between fur and hair sorts and, due to this fact, extremely vulnerable to matting. Throughout puberty, this heavy hair-type coat can get extraordinarily matted in a short time, particularly in the event that they get moist.
All of the delicate areas—behind ears, below armpits, toes and sanitary areas—may be clipped brief, as wanted. The purpose right here is to save lots of the jacket space, torso, neck, and prime and sides of the top, and preserve as a lot on the legs as attainable to guard the canine and provides the proprietor the look they love about their canine.
Step One: Pre-scissor all of the matted areas right down to anyplace from a half inch to at least one inch in size from the physique. The thicker the hair and the tighter the mats, the nearer to the pores and skin you have to go, however you solely want to chop off the highest half of all of the mats. After ending this step, there’ll nonetheless be mats on the canine, however they’re open on the highest and are shorter.
Don’t use your greatest end scissors to do that! I all the time preserve a set of huge previous “hack-off-the-mats” scissors for this sort of work.
Step Two: Pre-condition by wetting down the canine within the tub and slathering them with a number of creamy conditioner. Work it into the coat and therapeutic massage it right down to the pores and skin. After massaging it in, let it soak for 10 minutes or extra, relying on the thickness of the coat and the severity of the mats. Keep in mind to cost for the additional conditioner you can be utilizing!
Step Three: Bathe as regular with a delicate shampoo, rinse completely and generously apply conditioner once more.
Step 4: Use your high-velocity dryer whereas the coat is soaking in conditioner as near the pores and skin and mats because the canine will tolerate. Keep in mind to all the time put on listening to safety and have the canine’s ears lined in a hoodie when utilizing a high-velocity dryer. Maintain the dryer perpendicular, at a 90-degree angle, to the pre-scissored, open-topped, conditioned mat and watch it crumble!
Step 5: Remaining Rinse, blow dry and brush out as regular. The previously matted hair-type coat may be simply brushed and groomed with out having to brush so laborious that the pores and skin is likely to be injured. The pre-scissoring on the mats will depart the coat uneven however you may even it up by operating a guard comb via as soon as it’s all brushed out.
The important thing to this entire de-matting course of on a hair-type canine is the pre-scissoring to open the mat after which soaking it in conditioner.
De-Matting of a Fur-Sort Coat
Heavy matting in shedding, fur-type breeds may be very completely different from what occurs in hair-type canines. Hair-type coats genuinely knot up, however fur-type coats all the time have two elements to them: the topcoat (or guard hairs) and the insulating undercoat made up of wooly secondary hairs that shed out quickly a number of instances a yr.
Our job with a fur-type coat is to guard the outer topcoat whereas releasing the undercoat which has already been launched from the pores and skin however hasn’t been in a position to shed out by itself as a result of it has grow to be tangled. Keep in mind, on a fur-type canine the matting is within the undercoat, not the topcoat.
Let’s use as our instance a closely matted Bernese Mountain canine. It is a fur-type shedding coat, but when the canine may be very previous, younger, very energetic, uncared for or a swimmer, this undercoat can get badly entangled and never shed out because it usually would. The wooly undercoat may even sit tight in opposition to the pores and skin and type an interlocking pelt. Lengthy-term neglect may cause this to harden and really feel like it’s impenetrable, however it’s not—I promise!
Step One: Pre-condition by wetting down the canine within the tub and slathering them with a number of creamy conditioner. Therapeutic massage it in deeply, all the way in which to the pores and skin. Let it soak for 10 minutes or extra, relying on thickness of the coat and the quantity of pelted undercoat.
Step Two: Blow within the soaking conditioner with the high-velocity dryer as near the pores and skin because the canine will tolerate, holding it perpendicular to the pores and skin. This may assist the conditioner penetrate the matted undercoat and attain to the pores and skin. Blow completely wherever the undercoat is matted.
Step Three: Bathe as regular utilizing light shampoo and rinse completely.
Step 4: Use your high-velocity dryer between shampoo and conditioner. The shampoo will open the hair shaft cuticle a bit which is able to allow the air from the high-velocity dryer to higher “seize” the entangled undercoat. Level the nozzle of the dryer at a 90-degree angle, perpendicular to the pores and skin, as near the pores and skin because the canine will tolerate. The purpose right here is to get the compelled air to raise the matted undercoat away from the pores and skin. Keep in mind, the matted undercoat has already launched from the hair follicle so the air ought to raise the pelted undercoat away from the pores and skin, even when solely 1 / 4 inch. Then you’ll simply be capable of use your mat splitter to slice the mats open.
Step 5: Remaining situation, break up mats aside as wanted and proceed to dry. Fur-type coats let go of their matted undercoat very simply, but when the pelted undercoat is substantial and resistant, you may take a mat splitter and break it aside into smaller chunks. Splitting them aside helps the dryer raise the pelted mats away from the pores and skin the place they are often brushed out simply.
Cost in your further time and really feel good that you’ve protected that fur-type canine’s very important protecting topcoat for its lifetime, whereas painlessly eradicating the matted undercoat.
The Buyer Dialog
Interact the matted canine’s proprietor in an academic dialog about the reason for the mats. Is it neglect and much too rare skilled grooming? What about publicity to water? When hair- and longer fur-type coats get moist and are left to dry naturally, they’ll mat up tightly and shortly.
As you discuss to your purchasers, focus your speaking factors on what’s greatest for that canine’s coat kind. Clarify the steps that you’ll have to take, and the time and expense concerned in doing what is true for the canine. Make it clear to the proprietor in a sympathetic and academic tone that, along with frequency of their grooming appointments, the canine’s coat kind and their way of life selections are central to what the prices of de-matting will probably be. Agree to assist them out the primary time, however then mandate a daily prevention grooming schedule going ahead. Taking a couple of minutes for buyer training is effectively value your time.
Ask them concerning the optimum size to chop a hair-type coat for his or her choice and way of life. Given their objectives, how typically ought to they be coming to you? What ought to the proprietor do and what instruments ought to they’ve at residence? Carry the instruments you suggest in retail and practice clients to make use of them accurately, and all the time document the canine’s matting historical past in your software program or information.
Many groomers are starting to cost for grooming companies based mostly on their time fairly than flat charges. Calculate your price of being in enterprise and know what you have to pay your self and employees (you probably have any) so you understand how a lot it is advisable make per hour and the way a lot to cost for de-matting by the minute. My store upcharges based mostly on the additional time it takes for de-matting or further seasonal de-shedding companies on prime of the bottom full-groom worth.
All canines of all coat sorts needs to be placed on a daily, ideally necessary, grooming schedule. That is particularly simpler now that the “pandemic pet” inhabitants explosion has highlighted our significance with so many new canine homeowners having hassle accessing groomer. Be daring in requiring them to both keep on a schedule or search for a distinct groomer.
Groomers are more and more requiring common schedules and charging for further time to de-mat in order that we will shield their canine’s pores and skin and coat. Schooling and prevention are clearly the perfect methods to take care of the matting drawback earlier than it begins. ✂️
Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins, MA, ICMG, PGC, CCE
Jennifer is the proprietor of Love Fur Canines in Glencoe, Illinois, and was named Greatest Groomer in Chicagoland by the Chicago Tribune in 2015. Jennifer is an award successful educator and has been a Grasp Groomer since 1985. Jennifer is a retired schoolteacher who has dabbled within the canine present world for forty years, the place she realized to groom. Jennifer based the Illinois Skilled Pet Groomers Affiliation and is a part of the management crew for NAGA, the Nationwide Alliance of Grooming Associations. She is the creator of the acclaimed “Groomers Information To The 15 Coat Sorts” seminars, and a poster and ebook of the identical title. Her academically wealthy webinars may be discovered by visiting her web site at www.groomersguide.com.
