The Quick Guide to Matting (for Pet Owners)
How to Prevent & Identify Matting
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Brushing Tools & Tips
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Shaving vs Dematting
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Haircut Maintenance & Schedules
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How to Prevent & Identify Matting 🐩 Brushing Tools & Tips 🐩 Shaving vs Dematting 🐩 Haircut Maintenance & Schedules 🐩
Matting can happen to any dog with a longer coat, and sometimes shaving your dog short is important and neccessary for a healthy coat. Even if your dog isn’t matted now, it’s important understand how matting happens, how to resolve it, and how to prevent it in the future - so you can be prepared.
Professionals build this type of maintenance into their routine - even show dogs don’t keep the same coat forever. There are many benefits to a fully shaved or short haircut for maintenance and health.
🖤 Change of seasons or lifestyle changes
🖤 Reset damaged coat to grow back healthier
🖤 Coat transitions for puppies, or comfort for older dogs
Let’s learn more!
Does my dog really need to be shaved down?
If they are matted, yes - and even if they aren’t, you might want to consider! If you’re struggling with your dog’s coat, you may be tempted to use detangling sprays, mat splitters, scissors or clippers - but this only continues the cycle.
❌ Detangling and mat splitters leave the coat damaged and will mat again easily.
❌ Dematting is uncomfortable and even painful. This can cause aversion, so your dog might not let you brush in the future.
❌Cutting out mats close to the skin can easily cut skin pulled tight by the mat. It also leaves part of the mat intact, which creates more matting.
Yes, your dog may be shorter than you’d like, but hair grows back and they will be much more comfortable. Dogs are stoic and often suffer in silence.
Matting means your dog is living with:
❌ Itchy skin without airflow
❌ Difficulty maintaining temperature
❌ Pressure and restricted blood flow from mats pulling on skin
❌ Skin irritation or injuries under mats
Hidden Matting?!
Mats don’t always look like a ball of tangles. Matting can also feel like a dense undercoat - almost like a sheepskin rug.
Even if you brush your dog regularly, you can still end up with matting without using the correct brushing techniques and tools.
So, what’s the easiest way to tell my dog is matted? A comb! A brush can still be used over matting, but combing down to the skin will always give you a realistic evaluation.
You can check if this is happening by examining your dog’s skin. Separate the coat to expose the skin. You might be surprised to find you can’t reach it.
This type of matting is called pelting, and it can’t be brushed or spot clipped out humanely.
A fresh start
If your dog is pelted, there is only one sustainable way out. First, we should look at why the coat got matted in the first place. This can happen for several reasons:
Too long of a length
Coat change/puppy coat
Incorrect brushing technique
or frequency
Dog not tolerating brushing
If you were having a hard time with coat maintenance before, you may find these issues become worse if you try to “save the coat” by dematting.
Take the “Short” Cut!
It’s much harder to learn brushing techniques on a long, broken coat than a short, healthy one. A damaged coat will also mat faster than a freshly grown coat.
On top of that, a long coat will require almost immediate brushing - so you’ll have to desensitize, learn brushing techniques, develop a grooming routine AND brush out a full coat all at once.
And your dog will most likely be more averse to grooming than they were before, which can further complicate the process.
It takes time to develop a routine and practice the grooming techniques that will help your dog avoid a shavedown in the future. If you start with a shavedown, your dog’s coat will be short and free of any residual matting or damage.
Once you’ve reset the coat, ask your groomer for slicker brush and comb recommendations for you dogs coat type. You can also book a grooming tools lesson with the groomer behavior specialist who wrote this!
When you use your slicker brush, you’ll want to do more of a tapping and lifting motion than raking it across the top. Line brushing and combing is the best, most thorough technique used to be 100% sure you’re getting down to the skin. Here’s a great tutorial showing how to do that.
Your groomer is here to help!
Your groomer is your greatest resource in this process. They have a vast knowledge of different coat types and their maintenance requirements. They also know your dog’s behavior and can probably predict if you will have an easy time maintaining them at home - or if it might be better to adjust your schedule or style.
While they will probably have some helpful tips for you, they may not have time to show you brushing techniques in between their other clients. Ask if you can schedule a paid lesson to learn some hands-on brushing techniques and work out a style and length that is compatible with your lifestyle, and your dog’s coat type.
If your groomer isn’t available to give you a hands-on lesson (or if you’re running into behavior challenges when grooming) you can book an online cooperative care grooming lesson here.
Stick with it.
It may be tempting to try a different groomer if your dog has to be shaved down, or if you’re told your dog is matted every time you come in. It can be very disheartening! Just know that your groomer is experiencing that with you because they are invested in your pet’s care too (and it’s no fun to deliver bad news, especially when you have to charge more for it).
Shavedowns are challenging to perform. They require sustained care, focus and patience to keep your dog safe and prevent injury. Shaving under mats wears down tools quickly, and it’s hard on bodies too. Even at a higher price, it is hard to adequately compensate for this. Be sure to let them know you appreciate them.
If you can, try to stick with your groomer for at least a few sessions. Continuity is an important part of finding a routine that works for you, your dog and your groomer.
Good haircuts take time.
Brushing is a learned skill, for both you and your dog. It requires muscle memory, training, trial and error and yes, sometimes mistakes and resets. Working with your groomer is also a learning experience. Your dog’s coat type and behavior, alongside your maintenance abilities and haircut dreams are all a balancing act. It can take time for all the pieces to come together.
Don’t be afraid to ask for a haircut that is easier to maintain on your schedule. Long haircuts are high maintenance, even for professionals! But there are lots of creative styles that are still cute but don’t require as much upkeep.
Ask your groomer what their favorite low maintenance trims are - you might find something new you like!
Thank you for taking the time to read the Quick Guide to Matting.
© Cloud Grooming Creative. Written by Jules Cloud, MGBS.
Illustrated & Designed by Laur Cloud
More resources available at
Cooperative Care Grooming Lessons & Training available at:
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