# Daily grooming is becoming a nightmare!



## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

Dexter has always been brushed every day by me or my daughter and it has always gone very smoothly. He has quite a straight spaniel-type coat and I use a slicker brush with no problem. His coat always came up soft and fluffy. He has been once to the groomers who gave him a light trim and said he had no mats. 
Suddenly everything has changed and he has started to mat (his adult coat has come in?). Grooming is a nightmare and he has started to bite me (obviously not seriously but it hurts all the same) and it is obvious painful for him. I'm not sure what to do and I'm dreading the thought of Bonnie going through the same thing and having 2 daily battles. Please help and advise!


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## Pollypiglet (Oct 22, 2011)

Have yet to get to this phase(!) but two things spring to mind, 1, go short not to everyones taste but practical 2, try detangling spray I use the horse's as I just happen to have some and it helps the comb slide through. Good luck.


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## Sezra (May 20, 2011)

Hi Tess. 

We went through this at 10 months aswell with Daisy. It was as if all of a sudden the matts appeared! Every day I was having to go through her coat. It has now calmed down (apart from a bad day at the seaside!). What are you using to brush him with and get through the matts? The only thing found worked was a Matt breaker. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mikki-Groom...E7M6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329054011&sr=8-1

I couldn't maintain Daisy's coat long without it! This was also the time I switched from puppy shampoo to Tropiclean.

If you want to keep the coat long then keep going, you will get through this phase!


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## Cris (Jun 15, 2011)

Thanks for tip Sarah, just ordered one of those brushes as Keltie has developed matts virtually overnight as well. I'm going to take her to the groomers again this week to see if they can sort her out and then plan to use the new brush daily, providing she stays still long enough for me to groom her!


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## baking mama (Jul 11, 2010)

Freddy also went through this stage. Unfortunately for us, I couldn't keep up with the amount of matts that were forming (especially on the bottom of his back - his coat is really curly there). I used Tropiclean to bath him and the dematt spray, but it got worse and worse until I had to take him to the groomers and his coat couldn't be saved (he was 18 months old at this point). He had to have it all cut off - for about 2 months he was my little shaved lamb!

However, it has now grown back nicely and is much easier to maintain. Its been a godsend in this snowy weather compared with the last time it snowed and its nice and easy to brush now and I am very happy with the length.

If I could go back in time, I think I would have taken him to the groomers far earlier than I did and then he wouldn't have had to have such an extreme cut.


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## sharplesfamily (Apr 28, 2011)

You are not alone! We are going through this now with Luna. We regularly groom her but, like you, are finding matts every day, and not just one or two, but many. And some are so big! We remove most after a bath when her coat is wet as this shows the matts easily and it appears to hurt her less. During the week we wet the matt with detangler and then use a coat king or dematter to remove it. It is a total nightmare and we've booked her into the groomer again in a couple of weeks time and will ask her to trim her and do what she has to do. Hopefully nothing too dramatic!

Harri x


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## JoJo (Mar 2, 2011)

Tess a shorter cut will help, but I guess the main thing is to stop Dexter biting and being uptight during grooming, stick with it, he will get used to it, I always find having them on a table gives you more control. always groomed Oakley and Honey on the table or worktop in the early days, with a towel on it, and you could always put a lead on Dexter to control where his head is, just an idea. 

I guess no cockapoos likes matts being brushed out but they have to have it done with you or at the groomers, I just take my time and brush my girls whilst having a cuddle in the evening these days  Honey had some tricky matts today xxx


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## MillieDog (Jun 1, 2011)

I have a relocation from Julia, Jukee Doodles saying that although cockapoos don't moult, they do shed their fur twice a year and because they don't moult it matts.

I didn't realise Dexter was 10 months old, thought he was the same age as Millie!!! She got really tangled at 8 months. Have had to have her heavily groomed a couple of times. 

I would be interested to know how best to use the Tropiclean range, ie spray on dry oe wet fur.


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## axl the cockerpoo (Sep 29, 2010)

we`re down to using a single scissor blade to cut through the undercoat matting, so far head and one side of Axls neck has taken 6 hrs, worth it though


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## Jukee Doodles (Apr 5, 2011)

I have just posted up on our website a four part video showing step-by-step all the stages of grooming Yum-Yum from a full coat to my version of a loose Teddy Bear Trim when he was about 18 months old. Here is the link, I hope it is of some use. J x http://www.jukeedoodles.com/p/grooming.html


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## jools (Nov 11, 2010)

Thankyou Julia ............. just came on here searching for the answer to what all above have been asking ............ took Dexter to the groomers on Tuesday for a pre meet so she could see how he behaves!!! He didnt like the sound of the shaver so shes given me homework to put the shaver near him to get him used to it before she grooms him- as his underchin has quite a few knots - too big too cut - she did say she would possibly just cut him very short at first to get rid of his puppy coat - i'm not happy about this as his body is fine - its just his chin & a few knots here and there which we tackle every day!!!! :O .................. off to have my cuppa tea whilst i watch ur clip  x


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## Mogdog (Feb 6, 2011)

I gave Maisie a teddybear trim (following Julia's instructions on the Yum-Yum video) and was really pleased with the result. It was surprisingly easy to do and great that I could control how much came off. She gets lots of tiny mats all the time so I find it very difficult to get clippers through .... doing it this way with scissors has helped and then the slightly shorter coat she now has is more manageable on a day to day basis. I still have to de-mat, however, using Sezra's de-matter or a coat king tool and lots of Tropiclean.

Sue x


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## jackster (Sep 18, 2011)

Hi Julia,
Loved watching the video. My Archie is booked in tomorrow and that is exactly what i want him to have done. Thankyou for sharing it with us.


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## alvinsimon (Feb 22, 2012)

*Mats Do cause issues*

Let's see - bring out the brush and comb.

Simon runs to another part of the house.

Alvin start to shake uncontrollably.

All because of mats.

We did several things to minimize mats:
The dogs get brushed every other day.
If there's bad matting, we use a detangler.
We cut out out the real bad mats under their front legs, behind Simon's ears, and on their bellies.

Seems to help de-traumatize the Boyz!


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