Grooming & Mats
Please, can someone give me advice that wouldn't include shaving. But, if that's the only solution, then that will have to do. I feel awful for her. She such an awesome part of our family! Thank you much! Diane |
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Welcome to the forum! 
If it's very matted it is kinder to the dog IMO to shave her down and start over, dematting can be painful for them if there are a lot and close to the skin. It will grow back quickly, about an inch a month, so in about 6 weeks you'll have a dog that looks like she has a puppy cut, which is always cute. Shaved right down is cute too, it's like you get to have 3 or 4 totally different looking dogs over the course of a few months as the coat grows in
If you are in an area that is hot, you may have to apply sunscreen and protection against bug bites if she is shaved down at least for a couple of weeks. The mats can harbor parasites, bacteria and fungi though, and wetting it only makes it worse no matter how much conditioner and detangler you use. Good luck! |
| It might be kind of rough to work all the mats out if they are right on the skin. Have you taken her to a groomer and let them take a look to see what they could do? In the future, you could always completely strip the undercoat out, which will take care of most of the matting problem but still leaves you with a big 'ol shaggy dog.
Mars should start paying me for all the recommendations that I give for this stripping comb, but this is what we use and it works great: Mars Coat King Multi-Stripping-Curry-Comb |
| If she is matted at Skin level really the easiest and kindest thing to do is to shave her off and start again, that will also help get rid of the puppy coat and what will grow back will be more a junior coat/lighter grey, so a bit easier to maintain as the change from the fluffy black puppy coat to the junior coat is very hard to keep them matt free, it clumps, knotts and matts at this stage.
Always hard to shave them off, but her being only 10 months old she will be cute and fluffy before you know it 
There is a section here somewhere on the forum with detailed pictures and instructions done by carl lindon for proper line grooming of OES. Here is the Link: http://www.oes.org/html/sheepdog_grooming.html it really is a great guide to the care of the coat, so as it is growing back you can pratice the technique and as it get longer you should not have the problems with matting at skin level as you will see from the photos and instructions that you are taking the brushing through to the skin so no knots/matting underneath. It is a learning process to keep a longer matt free coat on an OES but that comes with good instructions and getting in there and having a go!! |
| If you wash her while she is matted you will turn a bunch of small mats into one big hard mat.
If you've never dematted a dog then it will be much easier and less of a headache to shave and start over. Even at 10 months she's probably pretty big and dematting is so hard that you could spend DAYS dematting and only get about a quarter of the way done and decide to shave anyway then you would have wasted all that time. One possible option is to scissor cut to about a half inch from the skin then you would have less hair to work with and it would be easier to pull the mats apart and get them out. You'll also want to brush more often with 2 dogs playing like rough and tumble puppies. You'll probably need to do a pretty efficient brushing about twice a week to keep the mats at bay from then on. |
| Plus at 10 months you are probably dealing with major puppy coat/adult coat transition phase which is very difficult to keep mat free, without any playing. I have to say I agree just to shave her down right now and start all over again with grooming an adult coat. |
| I DID IT EVERYBODY! I shaved Annie. I was sick to my stomach the entire time. I began by using scissors for a few hours-we took a break-then I knew I had to do it. It took all afternoon. Annie was a saint! She fell asleep at one point so I was able to get one of her sides done real good. I had no idea how awful matts are. Both sides of her were so matted, that when I finished it looked like little carpets. There was no way these matts were coming out by a dematter.
She wouldn't let me do her face or neck, so I'll have my husband help tomorrow. I don't believe that I will ever shave her just to shave her. No way! I love Annie's beautiful long coat. How long til it grows back? I want to SINCERELY thank everyone that responded to dilemma! All of you were an enormous help to me! :
Are there any other surprises I'm in store for with Annie? I'm not a bad owner for letting the matts get this bad, am I? I still feel awful! I think I'll rename her Sampson because she's not as aggressive. She doesn't jump up on people--that's a good thing! My husband was truly shocked when he got home from work  . Oh well, it had to be done.
Thank you again! Have a wonderful day! Diane Ohio |
Diane wrote: I'm not a bad owner for letting the matts get this bad, am I? I still feel awful!
Don't feel bad at all, you made sure she was taken care of
Panda is my 4th oes, and the first I have been able to keep in full coat. Keeping an oes in full coat is not an easy thing, it can be difficult to learn ,especially if no one is close by to show you, and it takes a real commitment to groom on a regular schedule, no matter what. I learned that the hard way, which is why Dancer and Sky are in short coats, and only Panda is in long coat. I have been grooming Panda once a week, faithfully, a full grooming of every square inch of her, including cleaning ears, plucking ear hair, trimming feet and nails etc. Now, at ten months old, once a week is not enough, she is going through a coat change, so twice a week is needed, with spot checks every day. Your pups coat will grow back quickly, at about an inch a month, but in the meantime if you really want a full coat, I would get in the habit of going over the whole dog once a week now, so you are both in the habit by the time it is necessary, and also it prevents the soft undercoat from matting as it grows in. Good luck! |
| I have to say too that you will find it so much easier grooming an adult coat. I used to have to groom Frank every couple of days to keep matts down. Now with his adult coat, as long as I completely line brush him once a week, he's good to go.
Don't worry, it will grow back faster than you will remember. Tell your husband if he is that bummed that her coat is gone then he can help you brush her!  |
Quote: I'm not a bad owner for letting the matts get this bad, am I? I still feel awful!
Of course not. At that age it can happen sooooo fast. I fought and fought with Mojo's coat then. I would brush every inch and there would not be a mat on him, until the NEXT day!! It drove me crazy. I couldn't bring myself to clip him, so it was brush, brush, brush every day. I think you will find it a lot easier to keep up with during this transition phase since you shaved her. |
| OK Butterscotch, what is "stripping the undercoat out?" I am also having problems with my pin brush going thru Allies fur real easy now...It did until about 2 weeks ago. It was a cheapo at target, is it time to get a better quality brush? I faithfully brush her EVERY day, sometimes 2 times a day, so afraid of getting Mats! Which I assume will get harder when the adult coat grows in? |
| Does your brush have the little ball tips on the bristles? If it does, get a good straight pin brush and it'll be much easier from here on out. For an OES, it's worth the investment of spending $30+ on a good brush. The higher quality ones really make a difference. I love the Chris Christensen brush.
Allie's still pretty young, isn't she? She really shouldn't have much undercoat to speak of until she gets to be about 6 months or so. Clyde didn't have much worth stripping until he was about 9 or 10 months though I'm not sure if everyone's experience is the same. Stripping involves using a stripping comb or rake and brushing the undercoat out, leaving just the longer topcoat on. Essentially, you're thinning the coat out. The end result is a nice shaggy dog that has a lot less hair and much easier to keep matts out of-- just not as giant super puffy as a show dog. Is that a fair explanation? Someone else jump in if that doesn't sound quite right. I think stripping the coat is easier to show someone in person than to describe. My groomer showed me otherwise I'd probably still be worried that I was doing it wrong! |
| Butterscotch, I think it may be easier to just meet up with you this fall! Then you can show me all your tricks...I just now tried to get in her paws, to trim more hair....She was sleeping, but then got very jumpy and moved away from me! |
| I think that's why a grooming table is so important, they don't get jumpy and know that being up there means being groomed, and most that I know of get very relaxed about it after they are used to it. |
| Butterscotch, I went on the Christenson site, if you get a minute can you let me know what one you suggest?? I do not mind investing the money, being I will have Allie for a while, hopefully! I was over whelmed with all the brushes...Thanks! |
Willowsprite wrote: I think that's why a grooming table is so important, they don't get jumpy and know that being up there means being groomed, and most that I know of get very relaxed about it after they are used to it.
We use our dining room table covered with a thick blanket, and it works much better than trying to brush Iz on the floor. |
ccnwater wrote: Butterscotch, I went on the Christenson site, if you get a minute can you let me know what one you suggest?? I do not mind investing the money, being I will have Allie for a while, hopefully! I was over whelmed with all the brushes...Thanks!
I have the 27mm OVAL BRUSH and I love it but I think some of the other forum members may have the one with 3/4 inch pins too. I also have a Hindes and an All Systems, which you'll find that other recommend too but, myself, I do like the Christensen one the best! |
| Diane, I know how you felt when you clipped Annie. My Chauncey is 9 mo's and about a month ago was going through that transitional phase of fur. I groom him at least every 3rd day but he ended up with some close to skin mats. My husband wanted me to have him clipped for summer anyway and the groomer recommended it because of the mats which were on the tips of his ears and small ones near his groin. I ended up going along with their suggestion. When I picked him up I got sick to my stomach, in fact I had to stop the car. When I called my husband at work to tell him about the doo, I started to cry. He had already prepared his staff by telling them he'd be getting a call from a bawling woman and to just put it through to him ( I think he knows me a little too well ). It's looking better now, but still prefer the long coat. |
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