If I can't get a mat out, can a groomer shave him?
I'm a pretty new sheepie owner - my guy is 7 months and still full of puppy spunk - though nearly 60 pounds.  I've been pretty good at staying on top of his coat this whole time, but I now have a pretty big problem. He got into something that must have been sticky, and it's under his chin and in his beard. I have a mat splitter and have been using cornstarch but it's so hard to get underneath his chin to get at the mat and it's getting to be like felt. He has an appointment with a groomer in two weeks. In the past I just get him bathed and brushed but am thinking I'll shave him this time so I can get a handle on the brushing. Is that possible when he has a mat on his chin? Or will they look at me like, "Oh no you terrible owner. We cannot help you!"Any ideas? Thank you! |
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| Hi!! They can very easily shave him down while he's matted. I don't know if they'll judge you....I don't know if they judged me when I brought in my matted dog! It can just get away from you quickly once it reaches a certain length. Has your puppy blown his puppy coat yet? |
I guess there's no way to know if they'll judge me.  I'm not sure about blowing his coat. It's very fluffy, but definitely still puppy coat and it hasn't been clipped yet just washed and dried (and sani shaved). I took him to PetCo last month for his bath and sani and they did an awful job - didn't even get him dry. So this month I'm going to a boutique groomer and have mats for the first time and feel just awful. I was just hoping they can shave him. I've been reading grooming horror stories on groomer blogs about dogs brought in once a year and we are nowhere near that! But I just feel terrible that I can't get the mats out and am hoping they won't turn me away. |
| If your puppy is only 7 months and you are experiencing your first matts he has almost certainly not blown his puppy coat. At that stage it is a labor of love to keep the matts at bay and sometimes they will litterally appear overnight. This can be a shock to anyone who has never owned an OES. I had my first OES groomed professionally 1 time at 11 months. I had kept up through the worst of the coat change and knew He had only a few small matts, not tight and not to the skin. When I picked him up the groomer, who spoke to me "through" the dog said that if I would just brush him once in a while he wouldn't matt. I am certain she had never groomed an OES before. My dog had huge clipper chunks taken out because she couldn't even take the time to cut out 2 or 3 matts that she insisted she couldn't pick apart. It was a horrible experience for my AND my dog. I was so ashamed at how poorly I had cared for my dog that I never went to another groomer. I doubled my efforts at doing a better job. Now - ALL THAT SAID- do not let them make you feel like you didn't do it right. IF this is your first OES - there is a lot to learn about grooming and at least my groomer didn't really know much about them. You are about to have a puppy blowing coat and that is an adventure all by itself. It's a hard thing to decide to shave the puppy coat- but it will make your life so much easier while the coat changes. I shaved my newest at 11 months. I do not regret it at all. Go for it!! No reason you can't, just make sure you are comfortable with your new groomer. Shellie |
| Thanks very much! Yes, this is my first OES. I knew he would be harder to groom than my hound, but really thought I was staying on top of it so am feeling awful about his mats. I appreciate your story. I guess I'm worried about the shaming, but I'm a grown up so I can deal with it. I think shaving him down is the best thing for us both for right now. I love his big snuggly coat but want him to be comfortable while I figure out how best to handle it. |
| A good groomer will work with you to learn how to best care for your sheepie between professional grooming. We do most of ours ourselves, having experienced all the usual horror stories with groomers but it sure is nice periodically to have a professional give them a bath. Then we found a groomer in a village outside the city. She has worked with us, showing us the best techniques to keep our girls mat free. Our breeder has done the same for us, although she lives several hours away. So please please don't be hard on yourself. Tell the groomer that you want to learn, to improve. If they still shame you, they are not the groomer for you. As for mats, if there is the odd one you can cut it out or what I do is to cut into the mat, meaning not trimming horizontally against the skin, but cutting once or twice into the mat toward the skin (but be careful!). Then I can often pull the mat apart with my fingers or a comb. It makes it less noticeable that you went at the area with scissors. |
Hi, I always groom my dogs myself after our first one when he went to a "groomer" (said in"" because I don't think they had ever met a dog with real fur/hair.) I was around 8 months pregnant with first child- worked up till 6 weeks before due date so was a bit tired and large. I had given Shep a good brush before he went and when I picked him up I just cried my eyes out, hormonal they thought but was horrified at what they had done with my fur baby. He was shaved so close all you could see was skin, burns and cuts. He had trickles of blood running down his side from a nasty wound. I refused to pay them, rang my hubby as to upset and cross to drive-to far to walk home in my "state". He blew his top when saw the poor dog. They thought they were doing me a favour as would be hard to brush with a baby- all they should have done was a bath and trim under tum, inside legs, etc. Since then I have always done the job myself- if I have a matt I sit on the floor with Sprocket and work through it- I have a pair of pinking scissors that are great at "chopping into" the mat to break it up. If I have to cut a clump out then I do- it grows again. Don't let the groomers treat you as if you are daft. You are a good parent and know what you are doing, you just got a sticky mess!! xx   |
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