Imagine this scenario. A poodle mix comes in to be groomed. It's on the big side and has not been groomed for months. The owner knows it's matted. You know it's matted. The poor dog knows it's matted. You discuss options with the owner, and (thankfully!) everyone agrees that starting over with a smooth clip is the best option.
You can save enough fur on the head to leave a suggestion of eyebrows and a short beard and mustache. The rest of the body is neatly clipped with a 7F blade. The tail looks like an enormous bottle brush and is pretty tangled. The quickest and easiest thing to do is shave it with that 7f blade you are using, but let's face it, shaved tails look pretty terrible on most pets. They are also prone to damage when the pet wags because no fur is left to protect that bony appendage as it smacks into door jams or other rigid surfaces. If you have ever experienced a dog with an injured tail, you will remember how much they bleed, how difficult they are to bandage effectively, and how long they take to heal. There is a term for it, "Happy Tail," and nothing is happy about it.
In my experience, most tails can be groomed to salvage at least some of their fur. Of course, there are always extreme cases where shaving is the only option, but generally, matted tails are more straightforward to tackle than other areas of the pet because the coat texture is often a little coarser.
Let's return to our matted poodle mix and discuss a method for avoiding leaving him with a naked tail.
- Clip a small band of fur at the base of the tail with your 7F blade so it blends into the body. The width of the band will vary depending on the dog's size. In this case, we are working on a big dude, so clip approximately ¾ to one inch of a band. This will give you a place to start.
- Next, use scissors to reduce the length of the tail fur. If you can leave even one or two inches of fur, your result will look better, and you will leave some padding on the tail. Besides, the rest of the dog is sporting a smoothie, so you don't want some huge, fluffy tail because that would be out of balance with the rest of the clip. Ideally, you want to leave enough coat to make the groom look balanced and avoid a naked appendage.
- Once you have clipped off the bulk of the fur, spray the tail with a great dematting spray.
- Using a good slicker brush. If not, try using a matt-breaking tool such as this Artero model. Yes, it will damage the coat, but it's already a mess, and we are in rescue mode here.
- If the mats are very tight and close to the skin, you can try using scissors to slice sections of the tangled fur from the skin towards the tips of the fur. Sometimes, reducing the mass and length of the tangles reduces the tension they cause and allows you to work with the slicker and matt breaker to release the rest of the matting.
- Comb through a final time, then use scissors or a guard comb on your clipper to even up the remaining fur.
In many cases, what is left is a bit sparse and sad-looking, but your results will almost always look better than if you shaved that poor tail. The next time you are tempted to take a 7F to a tail, try these tips and see if you can save a little coat for the pet's looks and comfort.
