# ANOTHER QUESTION ABOUT MATTING



## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Rosie is two years old and her puppy cut is growing out and she is matting terribly. I can't keep the mats out. Does the adult coat continue to mat? If so, then why would anyone try for a long coat? We were not having this trouble before I had the puppy cut and her hair is about as long now as it was before the cut. There is not a decent groomer here in my town, so I am scared to let her give her a close cut puppy cut. I am afraid that she would just shave Rosie. When I was really sick, I sent Rosise for a bath and the groomer didn't brush her out before and didn't blow dry after and it took me nearly a week to get all the tangles out. It is one thing to brush a dog daily, but to detangle daily is another thing.


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## bellasmom (Oct 20, 2010)

Do you use a conditioner when you bathe her? I find that helps blowdrying without getting the tangles. I also use a spray-on detangler that I got in one of the pet stores. I routinely spray her dry fur lightly before I comb her and it does help without making her fur greasy or anything.

I'm researching now about the first haircut and can totally relate to your fear of the "shave" for a puppy cut. I keep trying to convince myself that even a disaster will eventually grow out, but I haven't made the appointment yet.

Good luck!


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

Yes its constant work, conditioner helps, they seem to mat more in the dryer climate and it tames down a little when its humid outside.

I use a matting comb on the really bad ones, and I agree on the conditioning spray in between baths, the more hydrated the coat, the better.

Kara


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Kodi will be 2 on Sat, so he and Rosie are close to the same age. He gets the occasional small mat, especially on his shoulders, under his car harness. But i don't spend more than about 10 minutes daily combing him out. 

Could she be blowing coat a 3rd time? I've heard that some do, around their second birthday.


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## The Laughing Magpie (Aug 20, 2009)

Lucile, Some Havs do lose their under coat at this time of the year, Yogi who does not matt much anymore is lossing a lot of under coat now ( did this last year), if I don't comb him out everyday he gets matts esp. on his underside and the sides of his head and neck. Yogi is a very coat heavy Hav, Misty who has a flatter coat is not losing any undercoat and not matting, she rarely gets a matt. Just use lots of Corn Starch for a few weeks and things should settle down again.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Jack turned 1yr in January and his hair is nearly 8 inches...went through a coat blowing...I am hoping twice! 

Anyway...It just depends on the coat texture whether they are going to mat really easy. Dexter is more fluff than Jack. Jack's hair lays down close to the skin except on top of head. I comb out at least 1x week on Jack, then again at bathing to really.............remove the remaining tangles I did not see the first time (Bath every 10 days or so).

I guess I would say....maybe he has a good 4-5 mats to remove each week...they are not massive huge knots....these knots do not take more than 15 minutes to remove each. If the knots are tight, I cut through them.


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## pjewel (Apr 11, 2007)

We went through coat blowing stage twice with each of the boys. Ruby is still suffering a little from the first time around and, based upon my experience with the others, we'll have to get through it yet again. It is not fun.


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## whimsy (Apr 3, 2010)

I comb Whimsy once a day. She get little 'snarls' here and there that come out easy enough. I think If I let her go for a few days those little snarls would turn into matts. I am assuming the hair that is in the comb is her undercoat?? She is my first Hav so I am just not sure. All I know is that I love her long hair, but it does need lot of attention.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Luciledodd said:


> Rosie is two years old and her puppy cut is growing out and she is matting terribly. I can't keep the mats out. Does the adult coat continue to mat? If so, then why would anyone try for a long coat? We were not having this trouble before I had the puppy cut and her hair is about as long now as it was before the cut. There is not a decent groomer here in my town, so I am scared to let her give her a close cut puppy cut. I am afraid that she would just shave Rosie. When I was really sick, I sent Rosise for a bath and the groomer didn't brush her out before and didn't blow dry after and it took me nearly a week to get all the tangles out. It is one thing to brush a dog daily, but to detangle daily is another thing.


 I will bet she is shedding a bit of winter coat


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

I seem to be brushing/combing more hair out of Augie right now as well. Though part of the problem was matting caused by being in a harness in his car seat for over a week. But it seems I have been getting more hair out of areas not affected by the harness too. His hair seems to feel and look better in our damper climate than it does in the drier/more windy climate we were in on our road trip. I have never had to cut any mats out of him; have always been able to comb at them to get them out.


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## HavAPuppy1 (Oct 24, 2010)

This may be a dumb question. But what does blowing her coat mean? Does that mean seasonal shedding, like how other dogs loose their heavy coats for the spring/summer? or is it something else entirely?


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

It is not a dumb question, we have all asked that same question before. Blowing Coat is the process of shedding the puppy coat. I was somewhat familar with this process as I had raised schnauzers before and their fluffy puppy coats shed and a coarse adult coat came in. Well it is not the same with Havs nor as easy. With schnauzers and poodles you can just pull out the fluff or simply brush it out. With the havs, it mats something awful and lasts forever. Do a search on Blowing Coat and you will find out all you ever wanted to know about the process.


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## waybrook (Sep 13, 2009)

I feel your pain. We have Panda in a puppy cut just to minimize the matting. However even the shorter hair is matting like crazy right now. I'm guessing its a shedding process of some winter coat (even though we're in the south). I refuse to believe we're going through Blowing Coat #3!


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## The Laughing Magpie (Aug 20, 2009)

I said it before, all dogs shed, Havs and a handful of others shed differently. Those who have both a 'low dander' dog and those who have a 'doggy coat' dog will know the difference. Havs, Shih Tzu's, Lhasa's, Lowchens, poodles shed more like we do, in they lose some hairs all the time, when they lose their puppy coat they do a 'blow' . The under coat on Havs is the reason their coats will cord as it falls out it gets tangled in the top coat causing a matt and this allows the cording process to start. During spring many dogs lose their under coats our dogs are not as bad as others, but their hair is light and fragile, just keep up with the brushing for a few weeks and it will be over for the year.


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

I have studied about this. The reason that God made these little ones so darn cute and precious was so that we humans would not kill them when the blowing coat thing happened. It was for the preservation of the species.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Luciledodd said:


> I have studied about this. The reason that God made these little ones so darn cute and precious was so that we humans would not kill them when the blowing coat thing happened. It was for the preservation of the species.


ound:ound:ound:

I am SO glad you figured this out for us, Lucile. I KNEW there had to be a reason for all that cuteness!


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Luciledodd said:


> I have studied about this. The reason that God made these little ones so darn cute and precious was so that we humans would not kill them when the blowing coat thing happened. It was for the preservation of the species.


 Blowing coat and everything else no way a human could get mad at these cute Havanese. I'm just waiting for the blowing coat thing I have been reading about for 7mo now.


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Be careful what you wish for!


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## leena365 (Sep 17, 2009)

I only have mat issues with Kashi, Miya's hair does not seem to grow very long and I always use a good conditioner after bathing them.


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

I have always used a conditioner on Rosie with her bath otherwise I wouldn't be able to comb her out at all. Her hair would dry in corkscrews if I would let it and would probably cord on its own. LOL What detangling spray do any of you recommend for between bath grooming? I know there are lots of threads on this -- just name one. I looked in the pet edge catelog and got confused.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Luciledodd said:


> I have always used a conditioner on Rosie with her bath otherwise I wouldn't be able to comb her out at all. Her hair would dry in corkscrews if I would let it and would probably cord on its own. LOL What detangling spray do any of you recommend for between bath grooming? I know there are lots of threads on this -- just name one. I looked in the pet edge catelog and got confused.


 I'm confused too! I bought one that doesn't work called perfect coat clear choice detangling grooming spray and do you have to wash out the stuff? And what is it about corn starch that is suppose to work?


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## Pattie (Jun 25, 2008)

LOOOOLLLL, Lucille. That is exactly right. The coats take lots of maintenance -- let's be real. One of mine has had THREE episodes of coat blowing. Patience, love and lots of puppy kisses helps get us through. Then weekly bathing and grooming every other day keeps the matts away. <smile>


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Luciledodd said:


> I have always used a conditioner on Rosie with her bath otherwise I wouldn't be able to comb her out at all. Her hair would dry in corkscrews if I would let it and would probably cord on its own. LOL What detangling spray do any of you recommend for between bath grooming? I know there are lots of threads on this -- just name one. I looked in the pet edge catelog and got confused.


I just use Kodi's regular conditioner (Biogroom Silk usually, but I've used Coat Handler's too) mixed with water, 1 part conditioner to 10 parts water.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Suzi said:


> I'm confused too! I bought one that doesn't work called perfect coat clear choice detangling grooming spray and do you have to wash out the stuff? And what is it about corn starch that is suppose to work?


Corn starch (dry) sprinkled and then worked into the mat makes the hair slippery so it's easier to tease the mat apart. For me, it works better than anything else. (cheaper too:biggrin1


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

krandall said:


> Corn starch (dry) sprinkled and then worked into the mat makes the hair slippery so it's easier to tease the mat apart. For me, it works better than anything else. (cheaper too:biggrin1


 Is the hair wet ? and do you have to give a bath after ? :ear:


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Suzi said:


> Is the hair wet ? and do you have to give a bath after ? :ear:


No! You only use corn starch on dry hair, and it brushes right out... no need to bathe. (since cornstarch is used to thicken gravy, I'm SURE you wouldn't want to get it on a wet dog!!!!!:biggrin1

You shouldn't bathe a dog who has ANY mats, so detangling after bathing should be pretty easy if you use a good conditioner. I just bathe, condition, then brush Kodi while drying him with the hair dryer, and there are no mats to be found!


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## Lynn (Jan 2, 2007)

krandall said:


> Corn starch (dry) sprinkled and then worked into the mat makes the hair slippery so it's easier to tease the mat apart. For me, it works better than anything else. (cheaper too:biggrin1


This never worked for me....I am sure you won't AGREE, but it did NOT help get mats apart for my dogs.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Thanks karen I'll try it . I tried once and made a paste out of it. And I get confused because everyone says never comb on dry hair. I have because I find it hard to mist them down and comb. I'm very gentle and hardly and hair falls out.  My problem would be with dry is gravity do you just put it in your fingers and apply strait to the mat? 
So far I'm lucky Zoey has only had about 5 mats and maddies are because of her harness just under her arm pits its a hard area to get out so I have been thinking of just cutting.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Lynn said:


> This never worked for me....I am sure you won't AGREE, but it did NOT help get mats apart for my dogs.


Different dogs have different coat textures, and what works best for one isn't necessarily the best for all. But corn starch works for a LOT of dogs, and it so cheap that it's a great place to start!

What do you use to get mats out?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Suzi said:


> Thanks karen I'll try it . I tried once and made a paste out of it. And I get confused because everyone says never comb on dry hair. I have because I find it hard to mist them down and comb. I'm very gentle and hardly and hair falls out.  My problem would be with dry is gravity do you just put it in your fingers and apply strait to the mat?
> So far I'm lucky Zoey has only had about 5 mats and maddies are because of her harness just under her arm pits its a hard area to get out so I have been thinking of just cutting.


As a rule, it's true that you don't want to comb (or brush) a dry coat. Even if you don't pull a lot of hair out, you could be breaking the ends. DO spay their coat with something, even if it's just water, before regular grooming.

But removing a mat is different. You are going to lose some hair no matter what you do... the goal is to lose as little as possible. You can put some cornstarch on your fingers and massage it in, or you can put it in a parmesan cheese shaker, and shake it onto the mat, then massage it in. Then, once the mat is coated, I take just one tine of my comb and gently work in from the edges, separating hair as I go. If you're careful, you waon't lose a lot of hair, and it won't cause "ouchies".

As far as Maddie's arm pits are concerned, I am a firm believer in removing hair from trouble spots that don't show on a dog who will not be shown in conformation. Why should you OR she have to deal with mats in her arm pits? No one will see it if you shave them out. Kodi doesn't seem to need it any more, but we kept his arm pits shaved for the first 18 months. Likewise, I shaved his whole belly last summer to help him keep cooler, and I'll do the same thing this summer.


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