Jodi is a blond cocker/poodle mix that has graced my table every three weeks for many years. She gets a full groom on one session, a bath, fluff, and brush on the next. She's a good and pretty girl, and her signature look involves long, flowing ears.
She missed an appointment while her humans were traveling, and she was in a kennel, so I knew she'd need extra care when she came in last week. As she came running excitedly towards me, I was horrified to see that her ears had tennis ball-sized mats bulging on either side of her pretty head. I thought, "I might need to shave those ears."
I didn't want to do that, and I knew her people wouldn't like it, either. I decided to see what I could do to prevent changing her look. The rest of her coat was in decent shape. Here are the steps I took to spot demat the small area on her body that was a hot mess.
- I chose a shampoo and conditioner designed to help smooth the hair shafts and assist in detangling and removing dead coat. I washed Jodi twice, paying particular attention to those sad ears. After rinsing well, I conditioned her and added extra conditioner to her ears, working it deep into those tangles with my fingers. I let it sit for a few minutes and then rinsed her thoroughly.
- After squeezing the water from her coat and towel-drying her, I sprayed a light mist of coat spray all over her and brushed it in a bit.
- I sprayed those ears with one of my favorite detangling products and worked it into the tangles with my fingers. Then I slipped a Happy Hoodie on her and dried until her body coat was ready for grooming. I removed the Hoodie and then dried her head and ears.
- Once she was dry, I spritzed those tangles with the Artero spray again and tried brushing. Nothing much was happening. I brushed and combed the rest of her body, then got down to business.
- I don't use tools like this often because they will cut and damage the coat, but this coat was already in terrible shape, and desperate times call for desperate measures. I used a matt breaker to slice the main body of the big tangles into segments. Then, I used a slicker brush to remove as much of the matted hair as possible.
- I also used a multi-toothed matt breaker. These, too, cut and damage coat, but they also make it possible to save some hair when used carefully.
- I could remove almost all the tangled fur when using the slicker brush next. Between the products I'd chosen and the technique of cutting big mats into small sections, I got a comb right to the ear leather in less than ten minutes.
Using specifically designed tools and products enabled me to send Jodi home wagging happily, her signature flowing ears intact. The fur there is thinner, to be sure, and if you look closely, you can see where there are shorter areas, but as far as her humans are concerned, she looks the same beautiful way she usually does, and they are pleased.
