Why does my dog's coat mat?

It can have various reasons. We try to point these different out and give you tips on how you can counteract the matting.

It is important to know that matted fur is bad for your dog's health. Matted hair can irritate the skin, and in severe cases it can lead to inflammation. Parasites and bacteria can settle in the matted plates because they love dark, warm and humid areas. Matted paws or armpits causes pain to your dog every time you sit or move, the dog feels a tug.

Our dogs are domesticated, they don't live wild anymore, the coat change is disturbed or suppressed, and nature can't take care of a healthy coat — we, as dog owners, have to take this responsibility.

Breed

Every dog breed has a different fur. We can roughly categorize four types of fur:

  • Short-haired, e.g., Boxer: just one hair layer, little to no undercoat, seldom matted
  • Wire-haired, e.g., wire-haired Dachshund: two layers of hair, top hair does not fall out by itself, needs to be trimmed, rarely matted
  • Long-haired with little undercoat, e.g., Setter: two layers of hair, “alternating changes of coat”, little undercoat, not often matted
  • Long-haired with a heavy undercoat, e.g., Tibetan Terrier: two layers of hair, “constant change of coat”, dense undercoat, prone to matting

Coats with a structure similar to human hair and just a little undercoat doesn't tend to matting.

Depending on the structure, curly coats might mat rather quickly (e.g., Lagotto).

Felt hair has a poor structure, reminding of cotton, and tends to mat rapidly.

Additionally, health related issues can lead to a poor quality of your dog's hair and coat, which tends to mat more often. The same goes for old dogs.

How to prevent matting?

To prevent matting, you should know what type of fur your four-legged friend has. There are different types:

  • Clipping breeds, e.g., Fox terriers, should regularly be brushed and clipped manually
  • Cutting breeds, e.g., poodles, should be brushed and trimmed regularly
  • Breeds with an undercoat, e.g., Bobtails, should be brushed regularly, trimmed if necessary

Get information about the breed of your dog from its breeder or reliable sites on the internet. If you follow the advice regularly, your dog will not get matted.

Proper brushing or combing prevents matting

I recommend all dog owners to have a suitable comb and brush at hand. The comb is indispensable to check whether the coat is well brushed.

The type of brush and comb you use, depends more or less on the length and density of the coat and the size of your dog. As there are different products for short- and long-haired dogs, as well as for smaller and larger dogs.

If your dog has a dense coat or thick undercoat, I recommend brushing the dog first. Then take a comb (wider toothed) and comb the dog extensively. → If the comb comes through without getting caught, you have reached your goal.

If there is less or no undercoat, you are on the easier side, brush briefly and then comb a little, that's usually enough.

The brush or comb should get down all the way down to the skin when grooming. If you only once briefly brush your dog, you won't be successful. You can actually hear whether the coat still has knots or not. A "scratching sound" typically shows still unbrushed areas.

Our trick for brushing very dense fur: hold the fur upwards with your hand, so you can see the skin. Now you brush the hair out from under your hand, so you get layer by layer and no spot can be skipped.

Here you can find suitable brushes and combs.

The thicker and longer the coat, the more time you have to invest and the more regularly you have to do it.

Dry fur prevents matting!

Wet or damp fur is more prone to matting. If you have a dog with a demanding coat (e.g., Tibetan Terrier), I definitely recommend rubbing the dog dry or blow-drying it after bathing or after a rainy walk. If your dog lies down on the damp fur and rolls around in his sleep, its fur will quickly become matted.

Microfiber absorbs a lot of water, there are cloths or capes made of microfiber to quickly pull some wetness out of the coat.

Use a hand dryer or blower if you have a dog with a lot of fur or undercoat.

Shampoos and Conditioner

There are special shampoos and conditioners that help you to keep the coat knot-free. I recommend you the line of Miau & Woof. They have developed various shampoos and conditioners for the individual coat types. Be sure to use a dog shampoo and not a shampoo for humans or babies, the dog's skin is alkaline (pH-value 7.5) and not acidic (pH-value 4.8) as in humans.

Do not bathe your dog every day, adjust the washing intervals to the dirtiness of your dog. The more you bathe your dog, the milder the shampoo should be.

Most shampoos are concentrates, which are diluted with water. For little dirt and short washing intervals, I recommend diluting the shampoo more than recommended. Just try it out, start with a little more water, and see if you are satisfied with the result afterward.

Mix the concentrates only as much as you need them. If mixed shampoos stand around too long, they can develop bacteria and fungi. Mixing the shampoos with distilled water helps against this.

What to do if it's already too late?

If possible, don't let it get to the point where your dog's coat is matted. But don't worry when it already happened, there are remedies:

  • Dematter: If the coat is lightly matted, get a good dematter, as it will loosen many tangles before they develop to large plates.
  • Sprays for dematting: They help with general combing and light to medium matting. The active ingredient in the detangling spray wraps around the hair and therefore also protects against further matting.
  • Matbreaker: Using a matbreaker, the tangles are cut which tugs less on the fur, being a little more comfortable for your dog. They are suitable for light to moderate matting and very effective for prevention.
  • Scissors: Some small areas can be cut with scissors and then brushed out. Of course, you can also cut off matted areas, but this usually results in unsightly holes in the coat.
  • Clippers: For smaller areas, such as under the legs, behind the ears, in the paws, in the genital area, etc. a shearing with small clippers is often enough.

In case of matting, it's not important whether you shear the dog completely or only remove the felt plates. It's essential to remedy the situation as soon as possible, felting is very likely to cause pain to your dog.

To me, the most important thing is the wellbeing of our dogs

  • Don't let it come to matting
  • If the matting can be brushed out quickly and easily — no problem, go for it!
  • If you realize your dog would have to stand still for hours on end, you should consider whether it wouldn't be better and more comfortable for your dog if you shear it down, either by yourself or a professional.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us via the contact form.

Matted fur, why?