# MATTS !!!!!!



## ConnieVa (May 9, 2005)

We are having matt problems pretty bad now. Tucker will be one year old in April and I do think it's adult hair causing it.

I am waiting for all the CC products to arrive. I already have Ice on Ice but even with that it doesn't seem to be enough. As you all know his hair is about an inch from the floor so it takes more brushing and combing. I do have the proper tools for grooming.

The worst part is under his front legs next to his body. I have been working on two huge matts for two weeks now and can't seem to get them completely out. Last night I had one almost completely out and this morning back again. If it were up to me I would be looking strongly at a puppy cut but hubby says NO WAY. Would it be so bad to cut the matts out ? I sure do need everyons help on this one. We have been able to keep the matts from the tips of his ears but oh what a mess right where his leg connect to his body and it seems only the two front legs.

Here is the most recent picture of Tucker with his long hair.


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## abbey (Apr 4, 2005)

I don't have much advice, as I gave up months ago & keep Abbey short. Abbey's last cut was a schnauzer type of cut so the hair on her legs are always matting up - Especially after she gets in the snow & has snowballs! Errrr!







I'm not sure if they would be able to do it since Tucker's coat is so long but they always shaved Abbey's armpits (? not sure what you call that area) because her harness was always making matts there. Maybe the could shave alittle underneath without the outer appearance being altered. Good Luck! He's very handsome in his long hair, but I'm sure he'd be just as cute with a puppycut!







Hang in there as long as you can though, Connie!!


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## Tanner's Mom (May 27, 2005)

Tanner's coat is about as long as Tucker's and he gets mats all the time. I have found it is much easier to just cut them out than to try to brush them out cuz Tanner absolutely positively hates to be groomed. He doesn't like the brush, he doesn't like the comb, he doesn't like a bath, there is nothing about grooming he likes. I don't know if his skin is real sensitive or what, he has a pretty cotton candy-like top coat, but when you lift up that top layer, there's a lot of short fur underneath. As a result, I have used the "Easy" button on this one!


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## NewMom328 (Apr 15, 2005)

What if you shell tucker (I think thats what its called)...you know like when you just shave the underside of his body. Then, like abbey's mom said, there wouldnt be any hair under his armpits to matt. then maybe when all his adult hair is in, you can start to grow it out again, but in the meantime you will still have a long coat on the outside but short on the underside.


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## szaballos (Feb 8, 2006)

DISCLAIMER: I am NOT an expert on this topic!

Okay, now that I have said that.... I have read that there is a thing called "shelling out the coat" where they cut the hair very short, or even shave, the underside of the dog so that the coat isn't so much work. 

I'm having a tough time with Maui's coat as well. It's pretty long right now and I have to really work with it. I have trimmed matts from under his armpits and behind his ears. It didn't leave big holes in his coat and wasn't noticeable. So, cutting out an occasional matt hasn't been a problem for us.

Hope this helps!

-Edit-P.S. I was typing my post at the same time as Kylee/Jett's Mom so it's kind of a repeat.

Sheryl


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## Deanna (Jan 14, 2005)

AWW he is sooooo cute! 

Just yesterday I was brushing Wilson- he is in a puppy cut, but I keep his tail and ears longer- and I found a mat under his tail- near his butt! It wasn't there the day before when I brushed, but it was huge yesterday. I ended up just cutting it out- his tail looks a little odd, but there was no way it was going to come out! 

I would cut the bad ones- especially the ones under his arms- those are a hard area to reach, and can be painful when trying to brush them out.


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## puppymom (Jun 13, 2005)

I was advised by a breeder who shows (and wins







) to cut the hair in the arm pits to keep it from matting. She said that since it can't be seen that it was the best way to keep it from matting. Ty is the same age and about the same length and I've just noticed that he is starting to get matts in his pits as well so plan to cut the hair their the next time we groom.


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## Gemma (Jan 19, 2006)

I had the same problem with Sparkey at that age. I used to cut the mats out. it wont show but you know what? with some parts short and some parts long he even got worse mats at the same spot, I guess the mats form easier if the hair is not the same length. I cut a big piece from his back and the next day 2 shows up and really bad ones. finally I gave up and did puppy cut. I think Tucker will look super cute in puppy cut on the body and longer hair on his face and legs.


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## Sylphide and Shrek's Mom (Dec 4, 2004)

I wanted so badly, in the beginning, to have Sylphide in long coat, but she gets grumpy when it gets too long, and is so happy when her coat is short...Shrek doesn't seem to care one way or the other.

When my wrestling, playful, active babes start matting, it just grows and grows. Starts in the armpits and underbelly, and along the inside ridge of their thighs...I used to try and comb them out, but they hate that, it hurts, and doesn't help one bit - the matts just come back...SO, when that happens, I trim them into a supershort cut,and that makes them very happy. If you really want to keep the coat long, I suggest trying the shell, and if that doesn't work, the puppy cut. You'll get used to it, and may even start to like it.


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## cindysilver (May 15, 2005)

Jack had this EXACT problem several months back at that age! I shelled him









See picture for illustration







. I also ended up shaving the insides of his "arms" and beside his hips due to the neverending mats there!


















Hope this helps!!


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## LMJ (Feb 16, 2006)

Jeffery will be 11 months on the 10th of March. He started getting a lot of matts and with trying to get them out, he doesn't like to be brushed anymore. I gave up and got him cut. I had the groomer cut him as short as possible without him looking too hideous. My goal was to get rid of all the in between hair and start over. Below is a picture. Tell your hubby, that it will grow back and with it being shorter, you will be able to get a handle on it again. There is a picture in my gallery the day he was cut. It's the one with the red Valentine's day kerchief around his neck. It's been a couple of weeks and it's growing out nicely.


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## Deanna (Jan 14, 2005)

Cindy I love the black censor box, covering up Jack's business!


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## ConnieVa (May 9, 2005)

Thanks everyone!!!! We just gave Tucker a bath and I cut all the matts while he was wet. That helped a lot. I tried to shave them with hubby's ele. mustashe trimmer but it didn't work to well. I think I will buy a better trimmer that is more for beardsand try to trim up his belly better. The feathers on his legs are long but I didn't trim them. No matts there at all.

He didn't mind me cutting them at all. One matt under his front leg (arm, as hubby calls it) was the size of a quarter. He did have a pretty good size one on one ear but most of it I was able to comb out. 

Poor little guy went through a lot. He is asleep in hubby's arms now. I hope now by shelling him (never heard of that) he will be so much easier to take care of. Right before our trip in June I think we will take him to a groomer and get him sprussed up.

He sure did need a bath. I think he is just a dust mop on my hardwood floors. It amazes me how they get so dingy. The CC products didn't come today like I would have liked but that's ok. Next time will show us just how good CC will be.

Thanks again for all of your help.


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

That's the problem with long hair. They sure are beautiful with it but it takes so much work. I admire every body who can keep up with this.


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## Lizzie (Jan 26, 2006)

I read this thread when it was first posted but I admit, I just skimmed through it since Riley didn't have any mats. Today, I found mats for the first time ever and was so angry, I signed back on to re-read what you all suggested. Thank you for anticipating my needs! LOL! 

Riley did let me comb all the mats out from under his arm pits without any trouble, I brushed him last night, and I either didn't see them or they weren't there. Can they really appear so fast? My first reaction was that I was a bad mommy and missed them. Mommy's always blame themselves.

So you believe it's from the harness? How I wish I could trust him out side without a harness but I'm afraid he's little enough to scoot under the fence. I would feel so mean keeping him in doors all the time so he's got to have a harness at least for now. 

Has anyone found a type of harness that seems to cause less damage than others? And yes, the CC products are on my birthday wish list. Right now I've still got the Maltese Secret stuff, btw, I'm not impressed.


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## Teddyandme (Feb 6, 2005)

Teddy also started getting matts around 10 months...I think it was just a matter of his hair got long enough to creat matts litterally in minutes. He was a sweetie about the whole grooming thing but I could not put him through it one day and decided that I was going to cut him down. 

Well, my first attempt was just so freeing for Teddy and so uneven that I cringed, but he was so happy...I decided that I would learn how to do this better and went and got a few neccesities, like a good trimmer for his belly, and thinning shears which make the cut not seem so choppy. Now when he gets a cut, he stands there and lets Mommy do her thing and is so funny when I am done because he dances and races and just shows himself off to anyone who will look. 

I have cut him both wet and dry and to be honest the dry is so much better...you don't get as much hair in the cut so that it does come out much more even. And when he is dry he is more apt to sit still longer....he is so funny in that now he will just lay there still as a board if I say "be still" he knows that it is a knot that mommy needs to get. I don't know how he knows when I am done fully but he always does and will jump up and scamper like he is all that. 

The other day he actually was dozing while I was cutting his underside with the clippers....a total first and totally unexpected. Teddy's underside though is totally different than the top....it is a downy coat that is light as feathers and his top coat is heavier. I must say that he really very rarely matts now and when he starts I know it is time to give him a full trim....he is never really short but an in-between kind of length.

Good luck

By the way, the only time Teddy went to a groomers was just before my brothers wedding and I wanted him to look his best...the groomer actually cut his eye as well as a couple places on his little body...that was the end of that...never again.

Also, I recently took Teddy to classes for Therapy Dog and the groomer who was in the same class asked who had cut Teddy because he looked so cute...I was so happy.

susan


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

Maltese coats can change periodically. Weather changes can attract more dirt or dust causing more matting. Hormone changes and food changes. Puppies coats change around 10 months to a year, depending on the type of coat. Some won't change drastically where others will. How to deal with it is just as complicated as some do well with daily brushing and weekly bathing, where others need a little oil in their coats to keep the mat count low. Others will tend to curl and may do better with a short cut. Woe is the maltese owner who wants their hair long and the coat says "no no".







There are lots of conditioners and shampoos on the market now to try. It's important to give whatever product you are using a few weeks to settle the hair. Often one try won't render the results you may get later. Sometimes a clarifier is needed to get rid of build up from products that coat the hair shaft. Trial and error. Where's the wine!


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## ConnieVa (May 9, 2005)

Thanks you all. I use CC products all the time on Tucker. I am just amazed how he can come up with so many matts in one day. I find more under his neck and tips of his ears than anywhere else on him. 

I'll just keep plugging along until I am forced to give him a puppy cut but then I'll have to deal with Hubby on that one.


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## Brinkley & Neyland's Mom (Jun 14, 2004)

*Knock on wood* Neyland doesn't matt yet.







I know that we are probably in for a coat change in the next few months as he is just now almost 7 months. I dread it when it comes b/c i LOVE his coat and I don't want to cut it all off.









Brinkley on the other hand...with his curly/cottony coat...gets awful matts!







Behind/under his ears, his tail, his butt, his pits...etc. Before they get too out of hand, I have had some success with wide tooth thinning shears. I cut INTO the matt with the thinning shears and goop it up well with conditioner and then start trying to comb it out. Sometimes the whole matt pulls out anyway, but it doesn't end up looking like it was chopped out. If successful, the thinning shears loosen up the matt some and make it easier to comb.

Someone posted earlier in this thread, and I had heard it before also, that if you cut the matt out and the hair is left different lengths, then it is more apt to matt even worse...but I don't know how true that is.

Good luck. I hate matts and I know Brinkley does too.


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