# First Mat



## Butters (Nov 18, 2013)

Butters is 21 weeks old and we found the first mat tonight on his leg. I was gently able to comb it out without too much trouble, but I am dreading his adult coat coming in. Is this what I will be dealing with? I've noticed he doesn't seem as soft in some areas, his fur is becoming woolier as it thickens. The roots are crinkly, but the long hair is still rather wavy/straight. Will he have curlier adult coat? Is curlier harder to keep mat free?

At what age should i get it cut? I was hoping to keep it long for a while longer, but I don't want anymore mats to appear. His hair is getting so long he looks unkept no matter how much I brush him out  . Going out in all the snow and getting wet everyday certainly doesn't help.


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## dio.ren (Jan 18, 2013)

Molly had wavy hair as a puppy but at about 6 months the mats started so got her cut short for the first time. We have kept her short ever since cause it's so much easier to take care of her I used to love her shaggy look but now looking back I love the short her better The first pictures is her before her haircut the third and fourth after. Everyone thought she was a Portuguese water dog for some reason?? The last one is her after her last haircut 2 weeks ago!


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

I'm afraid cockapoo coats require a lot of attention. Mine had lovely soft silly coats which I used to brush every day until they were about 6 months old. Then the adult coat came in and everything changed. Grooming became uncomfortable for them and Bonnie would cringe when she saw the brush and Dexter who is more feisty used to mouth my hand while I was brushing. 

I now have them groomed and trimmed every 10 weeks as I didn't want grooming to become as issue for them. I brush them every few days and they will tolerate it but only because they get a yummy chew afterwards. After 10 weeks the matting just get too much and I have to hand over to the professionals!


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## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

Yes I'm afraid this is what you can expect, Dudley's coat got thicker and woollier as he got older, i think I was quite lucky as it was pretty silky up to about a year, the real matts don't usually start until 9/10 months, until then you will find occasional individual matts, I do know of one adult Cockapoo who has quite a silky coat which hardly matts, but they still keep her trimmed although not really short, that is because of the mud etc, most Cockapoo's do get thicker coats and loose the loose shaggy look anyway, sounds as if his coat is like Dudley's, he doesn't have tight curls but has definitely got curlier, his body is more soft waves, when the hair is longer on his legs it goes crinkly.
It is a good idea to visit a groomer just to get him used to going even if you don't want him trimmed yet, maybe just get a hygiene trim and around his eyes if you are not doing that yourself. I'm afraid there is no way you can stop the matts appearing - they just do!


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## Datun Walnut (Oct 15, 2013)

We get Poppy cut every 9 weeks or so. This keeps her hair manageable and the discomfort down to minimum when brushing her. Finding the right brush helps as some are easier to get through than others. 
I suppose the more you groom, the easier it is to manage and matts stay small.


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