Well my dog that is about 4 years old always seems to have knots behind his ears and I can never fully brush them out. He is a sheltie and has alot of fur and I have heard of the same thing happening to other shelties but I'm not sure exactly what to do to fully get rid of the knots so I'm hoping someone here could help me out with this situation.
Knots behind ears
- Thread starter TEve
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My newest addition, Buddy, has this problem. The fur under and behind his ears is about 4" long and he gets knotted up all the time. Actually, I have to dedicate 10 minutes of brushing once a day or he'll knot up.
The best way to deal with knots is when patience. It's just like untying a knotted shoestring...have the dog lye down on his side and gently work the knot out just a few hairs at a time with a metal comb. It's tedious, arduous work but it will get the job done. After you get the knot out, be sure to brush behind his ears AT LEAST once a day. I tend to run the comb through Buddy's hair anytime I've got a moment.
A tip for removing them...if you're having a lot of trouble, go get some hair conditioner and work some into the matte. This will make it much easier to pull out, but it can be messy. You'll have to dab as you can much of the conditioner out once your done.
Something that can be done as preventative maintancne is to thin the hair out. Go to Wal-Mart (or whatever you have) and find where they keep the hair clippers and stuff for people and buy a small pair of quality thinning scissors...these look like regular scissors but with gaps in the blade. You can use these to thin the hair down on your pooch and it'll make mattes behind his ears much less frequent, and far easier to remove.
The best way to deal with knots is when patience. It's just like untying a knotted shoestring...have the dog lye down on his side and gently work the knot out just a few hairs at a time with a metal comb. It's tedious, arduous work but it will get the job done. After you get the knot out, be sure to brush behind his ears AT LEAST once a day. I tend to run the comb through Buddy's hair anytime I've got a moment.
A tip for removing them...if you're having a lot of trouble, go get some hair conditioner and work some into the matte. This will make it much easier to pull out, but it can be messy. You'll have to dab as you can much of the conditioner out once your done.
Something that can be done as preventative maintancne is to thin the hair out. Go to Wal-Mart (or whatever you have) and find where they keep the hair clippers and stuff for people and buy a small pair of quality thinning scissors...these look like regular scissors but with gaps in the blade. You can use these to thin the hair down on your pooch and it'll make mattes behind his ears much less frequent, and far easier to remove.
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It depends entirely on the mat.
A close tight mat I would not recommend using tinning shears on, too easy to cut the skin.
If it's really tight the best thing to do is shave the mat. That way you can get close to the skin. For most Golden's if they have a lot of coat we just shave behind the ears as a preventative. This is a problem area for a lot of dogs that the owners cannot keep brushed out daily. Keep in mind once shaved the undercoat grows in quicker and makes for a soft downy type fuzzy look. It also will mat much quicker and easier once you start shaving, on occasion the dogs coat will come back in properly.
A semi-solid mat that is not close to the skin, as suggested can be brushed out and is easiest by using a conditioner and brushing through. This was already reviewed by makenzie71, which by the way was great advise.
Try to keep the dog brushed out at least on a weekly basis. Go over first with a slicker and be sure to brush small patches starting at the skin and work your way back out to outer hairs. Then after brushing out go through entire coat with a wide tooth stainless steel dog comb.
A close tight mat I would not recommend using tinning shears on, too easy to cut the skin.
If it's really tight the best thing to do is shave the mat. That way you can get close to the skin. For most Golden's if they have a lot of coat we just shave behind the ears as a preventative. This is a problem area for a lot of dogs that the owners cannot keep brushed out daily. Keep in mind once shaved the undercoat grows in quicker and makes for a soft downy type fuzzy look. It also will mat much quicker and easier once you start shaving, on occasion the dogs coat will come back in properly.
A semi-solid mat that is not close to the skin, as suggested can be brushed out and is easiest by using a conditioner and brushing through. This was already reviewed by makenzie71, which by the way was great advise.
Try to keep the dog brushed out at least on a weekly basis. Go over first with a slicker and be sure to brush small patches starting at the skin and work your way back out to outer hairs. Then after brushing out go through entire coat with a wide tooth stainless steel dog comb.
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I meant to add that bubbatd's advise is wonderful if the mats are not solid to the skin. If you can put your finger between the skin and the mat then take thinning shears and just cut side ways into the middle of the mat. This makes it easier to brush out. Always hold the base of the mat so it doesn't pull the skin. It can be a painful process if not done properly.
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I already pointed out to make sure the mats were not tight. Plus, I also stated that if you take thinning shears and cut into the mat (if it's not too tight...too tight and you just shave it out)...if you cut into the mat you can slowly brush it out as long as it's not tight to the skin. By using thinning shears and cutting half way through you can save the length. It's time consuming, but, I've had to do this for double coated breeds which were badly matted going to a dog show. Kennel dogs get badly matted.
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Not a problem makenzie71. It's so hard for me to explain this properly in writing...it's so much easier to show hands on Basically the procedure I outlined is call splicing the mat. We have also had some huge mats on some dogs (Goldens,Collies etc) which were solid, but, not to the skin. We took scissors and just used the one blade like a knife and ripped the mat from the bottom to the top. Then if you shampoo the dog and while the mat is soapy you can usually get these mats out easiely. Some mats that make you feel faint come out pretty good in the tub when suds up.
There are also different tools groomers use as well such as mat kings etc.
Basically the procedure I outlined is call splicing the mat. We have also had some huge mats on some dogs (Goldens,Collies etc) which were solid, but, not to the skin. We took scissors and just used the one blade like a knife and ripped the mat from the bottom to the top. Then if you shampoo the dog and while the mat is soapy you can usually get these mats out easiely. Some mats that make you feel faint come out pretty good in the tub when suds up.There are also different tools groomers use as well such as mat kings etc.
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Exactly bubbatd, a mat can be dealt with in so many different ways, and there are so many different coats.
We always have to feel the dog before telling a customer if we can "save" the coat or may have to shave. Our policy is humanity before vaniety We can't just tell a customer over the phone how to dematt a dog, we need to see it with our own eyes and show the people how to do it.
60% of the time we have to spot shave, especially behind ears, groin area, arm pits. these seem to be the biggest problem area. Of course pants and featherings can be a a problem as well.
We always have to feel the dog before telling a customer if we can "save" the coat or may have to shave. Our policy is humanity before vaniety
We can't just tell a customer over the phone how to dematt a dog, we need to see it with our own eyes and show the people how to do it. 60% of the time we have to spot shave, especially behind ears, groin area, arm pits. these seem to be the biggest problem area. Of course pants and featherings can be a a problem as well.