matting right under the chin/throat
I also have a lot of tiny little matts all over her feet. Combing them I noticed a dew claw is almost falling off. I saw it was there after I comb it and pulled down on it without realizing until she yelped. Can I have a vet remove it, painlessly and quickly? Now I'm careful around her one foot. Another question about leave-in conditioners, does this make the hair greasy? Or weighed down? |
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| Huggs seems to hate us workin on the matts.... those darn things are sneaky!!
I have used the Baby Dog spray on detangler, he hates the smell!! It works though, but he fights us on it. Liz |
I picked up some child's detangler, that won't tear the eyes. I thought this might help, if not then I'll move on to dog stuff. The kids stuff smells like pear, adn I'm sure I will use it on my daughter's hair as well. She struggles with combing just as much as the dog. LOL  ) |
| The neck area is tricky. It is even tricky to shave. It has lots of nerves and arteries and is very close to the trachea. All of which can be easily damaged. Get someone to help hold Remmy, go to the base of each mat and see how bad it is. If you could get a dematting comb, saw it upwards and then try to break the mat apart by picking through it with a comb, that would be best. A detangler will only work on beginning mats, not big clumps. If you leave conditioner or detangler on big clumps (especially ones with perfume) you will irritate the dog's skin and cause it to get so sensitive no one will be able to groom the dog easily. It will have to be shaved. It will look burned whether it was shaved correctly or not. Rinse conditioners and stuff out of dense clumps if you do not get them broken apart. Head for a professional groomer and ask for grooming tips. Give Remmy a lot of attention and DO NOT traumatize Remmy. It was not Remmy's fault he became matted.
This is YOUR dog. YOUR companion. You are not a groomer and should work WITH the dog. Strapping your dog up might work, but isn't going to win you much respect from Remmy or me. Leather collars sometimes stain and are not always the best pick. Any collar worn tightly will cause matting. When the dog's inside loosen the collar. A ROLLED leather collar sometimes works for sheepies who don't already have mats. A nylon adjustable collar is actually better as they come with none staining easy plastic snapping clasp and do not bleed or stain the fur themselves. And they adjust very easily. The dew claw needs attention. You should be keeping it clean and bandaged or cleanned with hydrogen peroxide and a salve daily until it heals. Or get a vet to look at it and possibly remove it. Generally only the claw is removed, when they are pups. It is going to hurt, but can be done either quickly otr under anethesia. That would be the vet's call, as the stump of the claw is attached to tendons sometimes. The base of a dew claw is sort of like the dog's little toe, it is an appendage. Some dogs are born without them. A vet will have to tell you how to proceed. Sometimes dogs also have moles or warts. Please check where your dogs tits, moles, warts, and dew claws are located and try not to rip them off. It hurts, if you do not believe me find one on yourself and give it a good yank. Or take a metal comb to it. Excuse my temper, but this has been a lousy day. Most of your questions were answered in many previous posts in a much more congenial manner. Check out the search button on the top of every page and give it a try. Try to at least allow me to believe you wouldn't actually hurt Remmy without taking care of the injury. We all make these mistakes, but generally don't ask if they can be cut off. And never ask if it is ok to traumatize a dog by hooking it up to a wall and actively pulling its hair off its throat. It gives me nightmares just thinking about it. |
sMatting is something we all deal with having sheepies. When mats become wet, as under the chin, they turn into cement! What you have to do is break it apart and gently comb it out. I find that a thinning shears works really well to remove most of it without having it look like it was cut with a scissors. You can also put some corn starch on the mat to dry it and try using your thumbs to gently pull it apart like a ball of cotton so it can be combed. Never pull -- you can gently pluck with the tooth of a comb or buy a little tool that has long teeth for working on mats. A groomer once told me that you can take the point of one side of a scissors and work it through the mat and cut down the mat to help pull it apart. I prefer the thinning shears as poking scissors through a mat makes me uncomfortable. Once you can loosen the mat, pull it apart. Sometimes that means working, pulling, combing and over and over again until the mat is out. Mats take a great deal of patience and time -- remember there is always a scissors and/or clipper to just clip the chin area clean. Good luck 
Sandy, Winston, Oliver and baby Bentley |
| Wow, agingright, you sure read into things that are not there.
I asked what is the best way NOT to hurt Remy (female). The dew claw does not need bandaging or a vet's inspection unless I want to remove it. I did NOT make it bleed, I snagged it, while combing her. I can't fford a trip to the groomers, so I was asking advice about the head gear, they use on their tables. I figured something out to keep her from walking away from me. I do have all the grooming tools, like the metal comb, a dematting comb, slicker brush and a rake. Remember I got Remy at 6 mths of age, and she came to me with matts, it's taken me 2 mths to work them ALL out. Now I only have to maintain, and so far so good. We've patiently got them all out, and Remy is not tramatized. I guess I better spell things out clearly so you don't need to think I'm torturing my dog. I was looking for advice that would make things easier. |
| Max gets the same way. the last time he went to the groomer, I had her cut it really short under his chin. This helps,but he hates when I brush his face or wash it and I just cant keep the area clean. His mouth is always wet and dirty. He is not outside that often, and I keep his water clean as often as I can. I try to wipe it in the bath a few times a week but it does not clean it either. Maybe he is just a big drooler, but it smells sometimes! I use a comb and a slicker brush, are there any other tools out there? |
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