Believe it or not, your dog could have a case of bed head –– long and tangled hair that sticks up in every which direction that’s begging for a little shampoo and a thorough combing. Just like any haired creature, your dog’s hair is likely to get tangled, matted, and uncomfortable.

What’s the problem with matted hair?

Depending on your dog’s breed and whether they’ve dog hair vs fur, they might be shedding seasonally oryear-round, making them more susceptible to tangled hair. While a dog losing fur or shedding is a natural process, an excess of hair loss without grooming can become pelted (when matted hair is found very close to the skin), restrict airflow, create nesting areas for parasites, and make it difficult for your dog’s body to regulate temperature.

For these reasons, it’s important to pay attention to your dog’s coat and know how to act should matting occur.

Let’s talk about grooming

Saving your dog from painful mats begins with diligent grooming. Different breeds require different attention. It’s important to have an intimate knowledge of your dog’s breed so that you can know what type of hair they have and how often that hair is shedding. Moreover, having this knowledge might be illuminating not only about your dog’s physical make up––you might also find out about your dog’s personality and how best to tend to them generally.

Brushing your dog’s hair regularly is a necessary preventative measure to save your dog from these tangles and taking your dog to the groomer periodically can be a good idea, too. Some dogs are unenthused about a trip to the groomer but visiting a professional could help you get specified treatment and advice.

3 tips to get mats out of dog fur

It’s not unlikely that you’ll notice your dog’s matted mane in a time that’s inconvenient to make a trip to the groomers or your regular groomer is too booked to handle your dog immediately. Given this, it’s important to have tools and methods to take matting problems into your own hands.

Here are three solutions:

1. Finger detangle – If your dog won’t sit still or is sensitive to combing, finger detangling your dog’s knots might be the most gentle and comforting option. If a knot is tight, you could use a dog-friendly conditioner to loosen up the knot as you work through each tangle and gently separate each hair.

2. Comb — When combing through your dog’s hair, be sure to gently run the tool without yanking or tearing at their skin as this can be very painful.

3. Scissors — If worse comes to worst and the knot cannot be combed out or detangled, make efforts to get the knots as far away from your dog’s skin as possible by working the mat outwards. Doing this will help both prep the hair for being trimmed and help you avoid accidentally cutting your dog and subsequently having them experience an openwound that could get infected.

Your dog’s hair might mat but you now have methods to spot and take care of this quickly and save yourself and your pet from too much discomfort.

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