Modern groomers are quick to use the ultimate dematting tool (a clipper with a #7 or #10 blade,) but sometimes doing a little old-fashioned dematting is called for. There are tools and tricks to make this job easier and safer, too.
Let's imagine the dog on your table is overdue, and you plan to clip its body and legs relatively short. Examining its head and tail, you see that they are tangled, too, but you think you can brush them out and leave the pup looking cuter than if you zipped it all off. Here are some tips and devices that will help get the job done.
- Before the bath, try reducing the amount of fur. Use a pair of workhorse scissors (not your fancy finish shears!). Trim some length off the coat to pare down the fur you need to demat.
- Work on a clean, dry coat. Dirt, dander, and the pet's natural sebum all help "glue" tangles together. Washing, conditioning, and drying the pet first will make it much easier to workthrough tangles. Choose products that have ingredients designed to help detangle and deshed, such as AromaCare Detangling Mango Dog Grooming Shampoo
- Before you dry, spritz some dematting spray into the tangled areas and brush it lightly. Let it do some work while you are drying the coat.
- Once the coat is dry, lightly respray the tangled areas.
- Use your slicker brush to work out the matted spots. Then, use your comb to check and ensure no snarls are left.
- DO NOT use a comb to demat. That is painful for the pet and can cause injuries.
- If the slicker brush can't make much headway, try reducing the size of the tangles with a mat-splitting tool or by slicing the tangle into smaller sections with your scissors, working from the skin towards the tips of the fur. This will dramatically thin the coat and cause damage to the fur, but it will enable you to leave a little fluff and character.
- Dematting tools make short work of tangles but will also damage the coat, but since the pet came to you matted, it was already in bad shape. These tools are invaluable if you want to try to save some fluff.
- Follow up with more slicker brushing, and you should be able to say goodbye to the mats and begin creating a cute look with the fur you have left.
When you need to detangle an area, these tools, products, and tips will help you do so while being gentle with the pet.
