# Knotting so easily!!grr



## melgrj7 (Sep 21, 2007)

More of a whiney complaint than anything but here it is . . . 

Argh! Lloyd get so dirty and knotted up so freaking easily and so fast!!!! If I skip one day of brushing out around his ears, his legs and his tail its full of knots, one day! Even after just a couple of hours at the park he is full of knots and had dreadlocks forming that are full of little sticks and stuff. I don't get it, his hair is just so . . . grr! And Allie sheds so much. I generally brush them each down for a few minutes once a day and then once a week I spend nearly an hour brushing them each. I could probably brush her for 10 hours and still be getting fur off of her! I think I am just going to take them to a groomer every month and let someone else wash them and brush them out good because I think I must be doing something wrong! 

whiny temper tantrum all done.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

That is too bad. A bother for you and owies for him.

My Maxwell is a spaniel mix with nasty spiderweb type undercoat. It actually felt sticky to the touch a few days after a bath. It would not brush out with a regular brush. Loose undercoat floated through the air everywhere. The mats never got large as my hands were on him every day but he did some behind his ears and in the pits.

I found out about an undercoat rake/carder called the Mars Coat King. It pulls out that undercoat and he now has a coat with texture and no longer feels sticky. Since the sticky coat isn't staying he doesn't get any mats.

The tail? I will be no help here. Max's tail isn't Coat Kinged, just pin brushed and combed through. He hasn't ever collected stuff in the hair and there isn't any undercoat there! It is snarly and he isn't fond of my combing it out but I can do it pretty easily.

The ears. My dog has drop ears, I trim underneath to 1/2" as it gets greasy. The Coat King seems to pull out the right amount of fur there and he hasn't had any mats for years.

Seeds? He was a mess when I first took him through weedy fields to the point he thought about it before bounding in. Now few seeds seem to stick to him.

I think highly of the MCK for this dog but this year he has been on raw food and he looks fantastic. The guard hairs are longer than ever and he is so shiny. I think he is one of the spaniels that got a cottony undercoat after neutering and needs more protein and fat than most dogs.

Sassy can be a walking hair cloud when she sheds. I was so upset one day a couple years ago when a toddler was patting her and breathing in loads of dog hair. Washing her and brushing her dry helps a lot but the Furminator does as well between baths.

I got the Furminator for Sassy who has a really sensible thick lab type coat, double short and water resistant. It doesn't get the fuzz off Max and the MCK doesn't get the fuzz off Sassy. Guess I am glad I have both of these tools!

Think of the hours spent grooming as bonding time. Keep on throwing oodles of money at grooming tools. Maybe the perfect tool will come along. J/K sort of.


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## flipgirl (Oct 5, 2007)

Why don't you try a dematting tool? I have one by Mat king and it has curved blades, like an upside down 'J'. They have different number of blades depending on the length and density of hair. It cuts through the mats and removes the dead hair from the undercoat. Here's a url: http://www.renspets.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=rpd&Product_Code=502300x


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## melgrj7 (Sep 21, 2007)

I have a dematting tool, I use it to remove the mats. I'm just sick of doing it almost daily. I have an undercoat rake, a pin brush, a slicker brush, a bristle brush, a shedding blade and I think that is it. I think I'm just going to take them to the groomer more often, probably monthly for Lloyd. I don't mind brushing them daily, the mats/knots on Lloyd are just annoying. Neither of us enjoy removing them Brushing Allie really isn't bad, I was just having a bad day and felt the need to whine!

Lloyd:









Allie:


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

YOu can have the groomer bulk think out that area behind his ears that is matting up on you. Done correctly, you can't notice that it was trimmed, and then you can get some relief from the constant matting. Thinning shears are great for those areas. The look is natural, but the matting is MUCH less. 

If you haven't been having him trimmed some at the groomers, have them do a tidy on his legs, tail, rear end, etc. If he has alot of broken off hairs (which is he hasn't been trimmed, he does) will cause matting much faster..like split ends cause more split ends on people type thing. Careful with the dematting tools. They can damage the coat, which makes the cuticle roughed up, which in turn just causes more matting, faster. Ideally, a good bath, deshed, and trim up to get the dead damaged hairs gone. You will have a healthier, easier to deal with coat.


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## melgrj7 (Sep 21, 2007)

Thank you We are going to take him to a groomer who is highly recommended by many people around here. He has been twice before to petsmart, I think it was, just for a bath when we were to lazy to wash him. They never did a good job at brushing him out well. His coat is in bad shape right now because they got fleas a few weeks ago and he was chewing, so his fur looks like . . . well like its been chewed. Fleas are all taken care of now though. I never have had a dog whose coat needed as much work as Lloyd's seems to need, even though I have had dogs with longer coats. They just didn't knot up like this.



Graco22 said:


> YOu can have the groomer bulk thin out that area behind his ears that is matting up on you. Done correctly, you can't notice that it was trimmed, and then you can get some relief from the constant matting. Thinning shears are great for those areas. The look is natural, but the matting is MUCH less.
> 
> If you haven't been having him trimmed some at the groomers, have them do a tidy on his legs, tail, rear end, etc. If he has alot of broken off hairs (which is he hasn't been trimmed, he does) will cause matting much faster..like split ends cause more split ends on people type thing. Careful with the dematting tools. They can damage the coat, which makes the cuticle roughed up, which in turn just causes more matting, faster. Ideally, a good bath, deshed, and trim up to get the dead damaged hairs gone. You will have a healthier, easier to deal with coat.


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## Dogstar (May 11, 2007)

I have this problem with Kaylee's pants - she tends to get grass stalks in them.  There's a product called Cowboy Magic that you can get at feed/tack shops. It's a silcone-based spray which makes each individual hair very slippery. It's safe to use fairly frequently and fine to leave it on, with on caveat- if it's not washed out, the hair is a bit more prone to breakage. (Not a big deal for pets, but IS a big deal if you're trying to grow furnishings on a show coat. ;P) It's GREAT stuff.


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## melgrj7 (Sep 21, 2007)

Thanks for the tip!



Dogstar said:


> I have this problem with Kaylee's pants - she tends to get grass stalks in them.  There's a product called Cowboy Magic that you can get at feed/tack shops. It's a silcone-based spray which makes each individual hair very slippery. It's safe to use fairly frequently and fine to leave it on, with on caveat- if it's not washed out, the hair is a bit more prone to breakage. (Not a big deal for pets, but IS a big deal if you're trying to grow furnishings on a show coat. ;P) It's GREAT stuff.


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## maryannims (Jul 31, 2008)

I hate that! I've two Yorkshire Terriers, both long silky coats. One matts and tangles at a glance, the other ...no problems. (They are mother & daughter!) Just want to share with you a product that I found, which really seems to help. It's "T L'ARBRE, Australian tea tree oil pet shampoo & conditioner. Won't change the nature of your dog's coat, but may make it more manageble. Certainly did for mine. Smells divine too! I love it! Got it at a local pet shop. Not even that expensive!


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