All about Dog matting / matted coats

The following will hopefully help you understand the type of problems that you may encounter with your dog's coat and looks at the possible options and solutions.

"Matting" of the coat can affect just about any breed, apart from the short haired types such as Labradors. Some breeds are more prone to it than others. It can occur, and take hold, quite quickly if unchecked. Wet conditions often seem to make things worse.

Ideally you should be able to get a comb through all of your dog's coat. If you cannot, then the coat is either tangled or carrying excess "dead" or "shed" coat. Either way this should be dealt with or it will most likely lead to the next stage, which is matting. This can be much more difficult to deal with and, if severe, may require more drastic action and removal by clipping.

Just tangled?......

"Tangles" or minor matts away from the skin may possibly be removed just by brushing out or by "teasing out" with specialist tools. A certain amount of thinning may be required to reduce the tangle. This may leave a visible thinned area on the coat.

......or matted?

Matting is where the coat has gone beyond just being tangled and formed into a solid "matt" or "lump" with a texture similar to a piece of felt. In extreme cases it can feel almost as hard as a piece of wood.

This Westie's coat looks fairly normal, but on closer inspection, it's was found to be severely matted close to the skin.


So much so that the coat came off in one "matted" piece. See picture below

Isolated or all over?

Matts can be "local"; typically these wil be in areas such as behind ears, armpits, tummy and "trousers", at the back of the back legs. If left to develop they can spread to the whole coat, sometimes quite quickly; particularly in wet conditions.

"It doesn't look matted...."

Matting is not always apparent just by looking at a dog. The topcoat may look relatively unaffected. Feel through this however and if, where you should feel skin, you feel a felt-like layer or hard, lumpy patches, you are most likely feeling matting.

Problems associated with matting:

It can be distressing for the dog. Once it has formed it tends to tighten and shrink, particularly if it gets wet. In extreme cases this can even cause restricted movement. It is not unusual for us to find stretch marks on the skin after removing it.

The matted layer can harbour all sorts of problems: air can't get to the skin and dead skin can't be shed. This provides an opportunity for fleas and other parasites to move in and live under the protective layer of matting.
It's not uncommon to find sores and infections in these areas.

It will not get better on it's own. It needs attention.

Solutions:

Prevention is probably the best answer, although some breeds can be very high maintenance and need thorough brushing-out, head to tail, more than once a day. We are happy to advise and have a range of special brushes and tools that will help.

A "practical" clip style will help: Much as you may love your dog's flowing locks, if you haven't the time to devote to frequent grooming, a "compromise style" may be the answer. Perhaps shorter than you would prefer but maintaining some of the character features of the breed. This may prevent the "drastic action - everything off" that could be required if severe matting has taken hold.

Do give us a call or pop in if you would like to discuss your "matting" problems. We are very experienced at dealing with it and rest assured that we will do nothing without your full consent.