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| stick with it; eventually either your or your dog will quit, and its got to be your dog that gives up first! Also; do you have a matt breaker? I found this was really helpful when I started getting those sensitive area matts.
When you go to the groomers, leave them strict orders to groom around any matts they cannot get out; tell them how serious you are about NOT having your dog shaved. Let them know that if this is impossible for them, that you can be reached by phone and will come and pick your dog up rather than have it shaved. I was REALLY clear about these things with my groomer, and she followed my requests to the letter, while still making my girls look wonderful. Also, when you drop you sheepie off, take a few minutes to go over your dogs coat with the groomer there. Mine actually runs her hands over my girls, and we discuss trouble spots as far as matts go. That way, there are fewer surprises for everyone, and I get the impression that my girls feel a little better with this "stranger" brushing them, as we all of us went over the coats together. GOOD LUCK!!! |
| What kind of brush are you using? I've found for a pet dog, the easiest way to do feet is with a slicker. Keeping them well trimmed and rounded out keeps the extra hair from dragging and keep the hair on the pads trimmed well, too.
The key with the face is to get them before they start. But, also, if the coat is long enough, you can cheat a little. When Clyde's muzzle hair is long, I trim it tight half way up and the let the longer hair fall down over the top. It keeps all the nasties from forming near the mouth and saves a lot of time in the long run. |
| I use a comb. And scissors to cut the mat from the skin toward the end of the hair. (Nurse's bandage scissors are cheap and have an end that prevents cutting skin). By cutting from the skin toward the end of the matt, I lose less hair. My problem is the cat love to chew on the dog's feet.
I narrow tooth comb for the face. And lots of time. |
Quote: When Clyde's muzzle hair is long, I trim it tight half way up and the let the longer hair fall down over the top. It keeps all the nasties from forming near the mouth and saves a lot of time in the long run.
Thats what I do. Cut the hair really short right around the mouth and just leave the top layer to cover it up. This rarely goes in the mouth so stays fairly clean. I can only stress using a good conditioner on problem areas, I use the human ones. Aussie 3 Minute Miracle is best, once you have gotten these matts out, wash your dog's feet & muzzle as usual then rinse and put plenty of the conditioner on. Leave it for 3 minutes then rinse. You will have fewer matts and the ones you do have will be EASY to comb out. |
Ok all of this is great info and I love part of cheating on the muzzle!!  What is a matt brush and does it work? I have 3 tools I use on her. The first one is the wide small wire tooth brush not sure what it is called the 2nd is a comb that has big teeth and then some small teeth the 3rd is pin brush are these the ones I should be using? They seem to be doing well. |
| this is the matt breaker that I like to use:
http://www.cherrybrook.com/index.cfm/a/ ... maginetics it has sharpened edges to really help pull through the matt, and break it into manageable clumps, so you can then comb through it. |
that kinda looks dangereous  I trust ya though I will have to get me one of those are they easy to use? |
ravenbrook wrote: that kinda looks dangereous
I trust ya though I will have to get me one of those are they easy to use?I felt the same way. Its not so sharp that it will cut you or your dog. I should know; I keep raking it over my own fingers as I pull through mats! Seriously, Its made my life ALOT easier, at least as far as grooming goes. |
| This tool is a true life saver. I use it on all 3 of my dogs. It works really well on Lulu's legs that tend to matt faster especially in the swimming season. You can also purchase the Matt Breaker from PetsMart for around $20. I have had mine for many years and it still works great. Another cool feature is you can change it to work for either left or right handers.
Hope this helps! Michelle, Lulu, Dudley and Little Ellie |
| one top tip with matt breakers, try and do smallish areas if you can then use other brushes. Repeat in small steps
Archie has a patch the size of about 5 inches where I was a little zealous  I found the culprit in the end, he had lay on a slug that got tangled in his coat, I only found the next morning when his coat had set to concrete, a mix of natrual matting and a distressed slug 
I am currently slowly working each evening through the various armour plated matts he accumulated in the kennels whilst we were away. Obviously taking it a small step at a time. If I approach them like I did before he would now be the klumpenmutt! |
| My OES has learned to bite and pull the
burrs, twigs and dried grass off his feet and ankles. Problem is, he is biting and pulling a lot of his own hair off during the process. It doesn't look too bad yet, but some spots where hair has been pulled are evident. I fear this might develop into canine trichotillomania, is this possible to prevent? |
| I'm new and very disapointed with my groomer. I couldn't find any that had expierence with OES. The one I went to shaved him the first time without my permission. I asked why he had to be shaved and he said too many matts.
Well he went in for his bath and he just had 3 small matted areas and when I asked the groomer if he could de-matt him before bathing he said "I'll do it but your dog will hate me forever. It hurts them and is inhumane in my opinion". As having not much knowledge about coat care I immediately said shave it then. There is no need for my poor dog to suffer for vanity. I do enough of that for the both of us lol. Well I then find this board along wiht other articles on the net and bought the proper de-matting comb. My dog loves being groomed, I think just because he's a attention hog:) I started by just bruhing his whole coat lightly while he was resting/napping on the ground. I then loosened the matt with my finger and used my tool. He slept through 30 minutes of de-matting! It was in no way inhumane nor painful. I'm furious with the groomer. At first I thought, Well he just doesn't have expierence with a sheepdogs coat, but come to think of it after that thought, sheepdogs aren't the only breed that gets matted by far. And he loves being groomed. He's a very happy-go-lucky guy. So he's been "nakey" a lot because of what seems like, to me, a lazy groomer. Am I correct? Or is our job as owners to de-mat our kids:) I assumed a prof. groomer would do a much better job than myself. No more assuming for me. And it's not like I wouldn't have paid him for his extra work and time. Just makes me upset he made me feel bad for wanting 3 spots de-matted. Saying "Do you want to put your dog thru pain"? What owner is going to say "Oh yes of course  "
Another question. Have any of you all had to de-matt a lot of areas? I was away from him for a little over a month and he didn't recieve proper grooming. But I expected this. I was jsut happy to have someone I know watch him so he didn;t need to be boarded for a month. Plus she has arthritis so it would have been hard to do all the grooming I do. I just love the long, beautiful coat. But theres a lot of mats to be dealt with. I was going to start on them tomorrow and call around to some groomers and see if they also could do a section or like the 2 front legs in a session. Then the next week the neck area. Or should I jsut shave him I don't mind the work nor money if he could keep the coat. There is not matting on the body. But a few on the belly, under ears and legs/armpits. Any suggestions? Thanks guys:) |
| yes; it sounds like you have a VERY lazy groomer. My guys like being groomed; it means that they are the center of my attention. And I have to de-mat daily; its just part of owning a sheepdog.
Some professional groomers will do a better job than others. My groomer owns and shows Standard Poodles; she's used to some intense grooming. She de-matted Tonks for me; I had done Luna myself. But when I dropped Tonks off I had cleared one side of her, and the other was REALLY badly matted, despite my trying to groom her daily. I say try for a new groomer; look for someone that works with some of the tougher to groom breeds. Where are you from; maybe someone here on the board can recommend a groomer to you. Thats how I found mine. And as for armpits and stomachs? I only just learned that you can keep those areas shaved while growing the rest of their coat long! Here's the thing; don't shave him if you don't want to. It'll take work; lots of work. And a groomer who is willing to do the work too. And don't be surprised if they charge extra; mine has a standard fee for a "mini-groom" (that's a wash and a brush out and blow dry) and then extra for de-matting. But I think its worth it. |
| Welcome to the forum! I'm glad you're here.
I have watched some pros de-mat, and they take the mat in their fingers and separate it over and over before hitting the mat with either the slicker or another tool. I've used the de-matting tools that cut the mats with sharp blades; you could probably cut the mats vertically to help split them, or even cut them out if they're in less than noticible areas. I'm no groomer by any means; I'm sure you'll get more (and more qualified) opinions and suggestions than mine. |
| Ok, thanks Darth Snuggle. I don't mind paying extra at all. I jsut didn't know if he was too matted to begin with. After reading some posts I wouldn't mind shaving his belly and armpits. That's fine with me. It's that under the ear hair and legs/upper thigh. As I said in some post he has a afro/frizzy hair on his back. Like a curly texture on upper thighs. Is this noraml or am I doing something wrong? He;s 19 months. |
| Sounds normal to me!
The fur on my girls hind-quarters (their thighs?) will, if left to it, form long tight ringlets. I noticed after my last professional grooming that it was really smooth, and didn't seem inclined to ringlet up. I asked her what she did, and was really impressed with her answer. She said she washes them, DOESN'T use a conditioner, uses a high powered cool air dryer to force most of the water out, and then hand dries with a heat dryer while brushing them. The fur on their backs is coarser and wavy. But my guys are only 12 months old, I'm sure their fur will change several more times before we are through. |
| Holly just went to the groomers and she had some matts on her belly and I had my groomer shave her belly and you can't even tell! That way I don't have to pull on her tender skin under there. |
| there is a tool out on the market now by les pooches they do a full range but the matt zapper is brilliant, it takes a bit longer than a matt breaker but is much nicer to use especially on on the muzzle.
i have just started up grooming in the uk and i am also the proud owner of a oes. i have had him 6 months, his a rescue and is 2, never been groomed before or walked or cared for in any way really. now he cries at the groom room door till i let him in then he dives onto the table and demands a groom each day, he only gets half an hour or less on a daily basis then a full groom on a sunday. the only problem is his a scumbag his mouth is something else ive started clipping it off after seeing a picture of one with the same clip. its much easier as he hates it being brushed there and his feet but i am stronger minded than him! when i hear of people with 2 plus oes i just shudder and think how the hell do they cope but i suppose the extra love makes up for it! |
| I find by keeping them in a "puppy" cut, there are virtually no matts to deal with and the dog still has enough hair to look cute and furry.
Also, groomers need to be told EXACTLY what you want and be very specific no shaving. It takes me an hour sometimes to get a small matt out when the hair gets too long and no groomer would spend that much time. Its easier and more profitable for them to just shae down and go to the next dog. I've been using the Aussie Mobile Pet groomer who comes to my house and does a fine job. Cost more than the regular groomer but worht it for the comfort of my pet. Also, there is this stuff called Mat-Out that works great. I got it from my training school but I think if you look on line, they ahve it. A cream sort of you put into the coat and the matts just come out with a de mat brush. I also use corn starch on the feet every night before bed. On the belly too. The corn starch works wonders in getting matts out too. |
| inthedoghouse OMG he is soooo cute! The eyes are so adorable!!! |
| I only use a mat rake as my last resort. I will do as Ron mentioned and use my fingers and a comb to break the mat up into pieces. Then i can comb it out. |
shon wrote: I only use a mat rake as my last resort. I will do as Ron mentioned and use my fingers and a comb to break the mat up into pieces. Then i can comb it out.
I agree; I started using the "break it up with your fingers" method just recently. I like it alot, and now only turn to my breaker as a last resort too. It seems to pull alot of the coat out, which I'd like to avoid. |
| You might be interested in the video here:
http://forum.oes.org/viewtopic.php?t=22360 |
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