# so many mats - help!



## Rosie Tomato (Jul 31, 2011)

Over the course of the past couple of weeks I've noticed more and more mats all over little Rosie Tomato. At first I thought they were around her neck & wherever her halter touches. Now I realize that both her ears are basically all mats! I read the grooming threads & I will invest in the CC butterfly comb. She is 7 months old now & has never had her hair cut except trims (by me) around the eyes and face. I try to brush & comb her every day, but you'd never know it! What should I do about her ears? Do I shave them? I wouldn't even know how to go about that. Thanks so much in advance for any advice!


----------



## irnfit (Nov 21, 2006)

Uh-oh, 7 mos. Sounds like she might be blowing coat. Search the forum for info about this stage in havanese and get on those mats soon.


----------



## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

work some corn starch into the matts and try to thin them out by going slow, a few hairs at a time... if you have huge one, you CAN cut INTO the matt vertically to break it up a bit.
Sounds like she might be starting to blow coat. My Tillie did this at about the same age, even most people say it doesn't happen till later...
You need to be combing her MINIMUM of once a day, during times of high matting I try to comb her twice a day.
If it comes to it, you CAN have her shaved down... i did and although it was shocking to see her all "naked" at first, we quickly got used to it, it saved me SO many hours of de-matting and saved our relationship as I was grooming her 3 hrs a DAY at one point!!
and like everyone told me, the hair DOES grow back!! 

here are a few pics to prove my "point" LOL
1st one is Tillie at 8 1/2 months
2nd pic is when I had her shaved down, March 30th
3rd pic was taken a few days ago... she is growing out beautifully!


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Are the mats ON her ears or behind them? The ones behind them you can break up vertically, the way Tammy mentioned, without it showing much. If the mats are actually ON her ears, I'd be very, VERY careful. Their ears are paper thin and very sensitive. I'd sure hate to shave a Hav's ears, but if she's too badly matted, you may have no choice, just for her comfort.

I'd call around to a few groomers, (probably not so much the "big box" pet store groomers... you want someone who can take the time needed) tell them the situation, and ask if they can take a look at her and see if it's possible to de-mat her once for you. (especially the ears) See if they will teach you how to carefully and thoroughly comb her out so that you catch the mats before they get to problem size.

As Tammy said, when they are blowing coat (and the age varies a lot on that) they take LOTS of grooming. Especially if you are planning to keep them in coat. Kodi has a silky/wavy coat, and I STILL had to groom him thoroughly at least twice a day through his first, biggest blowing coat. 

Many people with Havs with curlier, more cottony coats just give up and have them cut down into a puppy cut for the duration. But even in a puppy cut, you will STILL need to groom regularly to avoid mats while they are blowing coat. It's often possible to grow their coat back out AFTER they blow coat, and have an easier time of grooming. 

...A word of warning on that, though. Most Havs blow their coats more than once while growing up. The worst one is usually, by far, the worst, but it's not uncommon for them to have more minor blows at least a couple more times.


----------



## Atticus (May 17, 2011)

Tammy, Tillie is sooo sweet I love that last pic. You can see her face so well. I need to get Atticus groomed but have to wait another few weeks for his apt. I can barely see his eyes anymore!


----------



## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

Ugh. The ear mats are the worst. I actually have cut a few of those off because I just didn't want to put her through the hell of combing them out. If they aren't too humongous, you can work them out with cornstarch, maybe nip into the middle of them if you need to and you can salvage some of the length, but there really is NO easy way to demat a dog, I came back from one vacation where I left Gucci with a friend to on big matted mess and I split it up into 3 days,......Treats, too. You should give some treats to soften the misery.

Kara


----------



## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

thanks Jody!! we are trying to grow Tillie's bangs out and she is in that awkward stage right now! LOL and when I give her a topknot, it looks like a pom-pom in the middle of her head! ha ha she is a work in progress for SURE! I took over all of her grooming after she was shaved down in March and am pretty proud of myself!!


----------



## Atticus (May 17, 2011)

Wow you should be proud she looks great! Atticus gets groomed daily but his coat is just starting to get matted on his sides,it has been pretty easy,and sort of a nice evening time for us both how ever these coat blowing stories don't seem like much fun. I plan to keep him short but not too short. I'll try to post a furry face pic he's not always this bad but pretty funny.


----------



## Lizzie'sMom (Oct 13, 2010)

I am really stubborn and refused to cut Lizzie. That being said, it was not easy. I broke down the sessions and every few days she would be completely matt free and then start all over! I do cut the little ones off of her chest and she always gets a matt on the back of her right foot that I cut out, too. When she was blowing coat I used the cornstarch, but now spraying them with detangling conditioner does the trick. I also get most of her matts out after her bath when she has been conditioned really well-when she is still wet. 

@Kara-when we came back from vacation Lizzie was a mess. The entire area around her tail was a matt as well as her tail. At least it came out fairly well.


----------



## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

This is what I have been doing with Jack during the "Blowing Coat"... 

The huge fist size mats that are really tight and and look like a tangled nest......I take my small sharp scissors and glide through the mat in several areas, then I comb through.

I also break up the grooming sessions, depending on Jack and how much I can get away with. After awhile, Jack will start complaining and I quit soon after and I give him a treat.

I also shave off the hairs on the belly.


----------



## Lizzie'sMom (Oct 13, 2010)

Atticus said:


> Wow you should be proud she looks great! Atticus gets groomed daily but his coat is just starting to get matted on his sides,it has been pretty easy,and sort of a nice evening time for us both how ever these coat blowing stories don't seem like much fun. I plan to keep him short but not too short. I'll try to post a furry face pic he's not always this bad but pretty funny.


I LOVE Atticus' coloring!!!


----------



## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Some where there is a great vedio of grooming a Havanese and taking out the mats. It was in the last couple weeks I tried to post it and I think it was Kara? who found it its called grooming 101.
I have two dogs blowing coat right now:hurt: I feel really sorry for them its a long process and my girls hate it. They run and hide when I get their stuff out.Zoey shakes the whole time maddie quivers it makes me just want to give up and shave them. Then after their treat they act like life is good and they feel so soft and look very nice. If I spent that much time on myself I would look just a good as them
Talemaker site Her is the video. It is a private web page and the video is listed on the right side towards the bottom of the first page


----------



## Rosie Tomato (Jul 31, 2011)

I will definitely check out the video. This is so hard! I spent hours trying to get through a portion of one ear yesterday with the corstarch. She wiggles & treats just make her wiggle more. I'll keep trying & practicing patience. The mats are behind and on the back of both ears by the way. I am afraid to cut too much because it's hard to tell where the mat ends and her cute little ear begins! 
I love that this forum exists so I can ask for help when I need it. Thanks to everyone for the advice. Please keep it coming. 
Debbie


----------



## Lizzie'sMom (Oct 13, 2010)

Those little matts behind the ear just kinda snuck up on me!! I find the easiest way for me to comb Lizzie is to have her sit on the ottoman and I sit on the floor. On bath day I do put her little grooming table with the slip on the island and comb her out. You might try different places to comb her and find out what is most comfortable.


----------



## atsilvers27 (Jul 5, 2011)

I agree with everyone's suggestions, including the one not to bring to a big box groomer, we don't have time to undo extensive matting. A private groomer may help you, but be prepared to spend $$$. If you're not too sure how to efficiently de-mat, here are the basics: 

Start from the edges and the ends with a good de-matter, slicker brush, or Les Poochs mat-zapper. If you're going to use scissors, use thinning scissors to minimize coat loss, also use extreme caution so you don't actually cut your dog. Do not use scissors on mats that are tight and to the skin, only ones that you can go under and cut away from the dog's skin. Don't use a slicker brush against the skin or you can cause brush burn. Try to minimize the dog's discomfort by holding the hair back with one hand while you demat with the other. Go over the dog with a fine metal comb to check yourself and make sure to comb in layers from the base of the hair and out. You should be able to comb out the entire dog without any resistance or the comb getting "stuck." Use your hair dryer on low or no heat to visually "see" where the mats are. You should be able to see each hair individually blow straight out from where the air is blowing. Anything that looks "clumpy" or doesn't separate on a dry coat is matted/tangled. 

I have successfully dematted dogs that would have otherwise been shaved, but if it's so bad that you're not able to get it under control, the humane thing is to shave. This prevents hotspots, poor circulation and bruising from developing or getting worse because of the matting. 

Going forward, make sure you're line brushing starting with the feet and working your way up the legs and body, also focusing on the problem areas. I like to tell my clients "Like Moses parting the waters," you should part the coat and see down to the skin, combing from the base of the hair out in layers to get to all parts of the coat. Anypart of the body besides the top of the back and sides is likely to mat because of "friction areas." Do not bathe your dog until it is completely 100% dematted. Water tightens the mats and makes them 1000% worse. 

Pictures are of a Golden that only gets professionally groomed once a year (We call them OAY dogs, yuck!). He had extensive matting from uncombed undercoat and would have had a massive "baboon butt" had he gone to another groomer. The mats were brushing out but because he was a Golden, it took several hours. Had the mats been tight to the skin or had he shown discomfort during the dematting I wouldn't have thought twice about shaving his whole rear, it is just too much to put a dog through for vanity's sake.


----------



## jessegirl (May 13, 2011)

Good luck with the mats (our time is soon - Rollie is now 6 and a half months). I just have to comment that I love that your dog is named "Rosie Tomato."


----------



## jcarol (Mar 20, 2010)

I've finally gave up on Kody and took him to the groomer today for a short puppy cut. There were some matts that I had missed so his coat is a bit shorter than I would have liked it to be. His legs and behind the ears matt easily.


----------



## shimpli (Mar 24, 2010)

atsilvers27 said:


> I agree with everyone's suggestions, including the one not to bring to a big box groomer, we don't have time to undo extensive matting. A private groomer may help you, but be prepared to spend $$$. If you're not too sure how to efficiently de-mat, here are the basics:
> 
> Start from the edges and the ends with a good de-matter, slicker brush, or Les Poochs mat-zapper. If you're going to use scissors, use thinning scissors to minimize coat loss, also use extreme caution so you don't actually cut your dog. Do not use scissors on mats that are tight and to the skin, only ones that you can go under and cut away from the dog's skin. Don't use a slicker brush against the skin or you can cause brush burn. Try to minimize the dog's discomfort by holding the hair back with one hand while you demat with the other. Go over the dog with a fine metal comb to check yourself and make sure to comb in layers from the base of the hair and out. You should be able to comb out the entire dog without any resistance or the comb getting "stuck." Use your hair dryer on low or no heat to visually "see" where the mats are. You should be able to see each hair individually blow straight out from where the air is blowing. Anything that looks "clumpy" or doesn't separate on a dry coat is matted/tangled.
> 
> ...


Great info. Thanks !!


----------

