The groomer said my dog is matted! What does this mean?

We decided the write this blog entry on matted dogs as it seems dog owners have very little information as to what a MAT is! We get dogs that are completely matted looking like ragmuffins  and once we tell the owners that there is nothing we can do other than shave off the close and tight matts they flip out! Everyone wants their Shih Tzu's, Apso , Poodles, Bichons, Maltesers and other long haired dogs to have long hair but what they do not realise is that it takes allot of effort to maintain long hair on these breeds. They need to be brushed atleast 2 times a day to keep their hair and coat tangle free!

So what is a Mat?

It simply means that your dogs hair have gotten tangled! Look below to see what a matted dog looks like! The hair have become severely tangled and the knots have become very tight. This almost must feel like bricks on the poor dog. Imagine not brushing your hair for a week! (Unless your into dredlocks) 

Matted poodle mix  - May not seem so bad but look below   

   

We had no choice but to shave it all off as the mats were so tight and close to the skin. A carpet of hair came off her!

Why are mats bad for the dogs?

Mats that are very severe can be painful for your dogs. Imagine your hair becoming so tangled that it starts pulling on your scalp, thats exactly how the dog will feel. It can also irritate the skin causing infections, ulcers etc . One time we had got a dog with a mat going around his paw like a bangle, in cases like this if the matt is not tended to on time then it can cause the circulation to be cut off! Other than  that it can also lead to more ticks and fleas. Basically mats are excruciatingly painful and seriously need to be tended to on time! So much so that in some countries if the dog is severely matted then it is considered a serious animal abuse offence. 

But I brush my dog, then why does he/she have mats?

The reason for this is incorrect method and tools of brushing your dogs particular coat. Most people either tell their staff to brush the dog or the caretaker (from what we have encountered in the spa) and what mistake is made here is that the coat is only brushed from the top . What really needs to be done is the the hair need to be parted near the skin and the hair need to be brushed from the skin outwards. Brushing only the top coat is not going to help keep your dog mat free! 

It may just seem that we could simply brush the Shih Tzu above, give him a bath and a nice blow dry but what you can't see is all the matted hair underneat his coat! Look what he got shaved down to below. We really should have taken a picture while his matts were being meticulously removed! The owners here again had no idea what a mat was or how they had to brush or how harmful these are for their dog. They seemed to really love the dog but again they did not have the proper information on how to care for their shih tzu, hopefully after they had a discussion with the groomer they will be more thorough with his appointments. 

Why can't the groomer just cut off the mats that exist and leave the rest of the coat length? 

Only small and loose mats can be cut off easily, the ones that are tighter and closer the the skin need to be shaved off. And the amount that can be shaved off depends on how close the mat is to the skin. 

How to avoid mats?

Its fairly simple all you have to do is brush your dog regularly and use the correct tools. If you are unsure then please ask your groomer. Take your dog regularly for their appointments and if you are giving your dog a bath at home PLEASE BE SURE to brush your dog before you give them a bath and if there are too many matts that cannot be brushed out it is better to take them to a professional to get the matts removed first. This is because bathing a dogs with tight matts will only make the matts more tight! 

Have attached a little chart to help understand better. 

  

Courtesy :   http://petgroomingthegoodthebadthefurry.blogspot.in/2013/09/mat-chart.html