How to cut mats out of a dog. How to remove tangles from a dog: unraveling the coat is easy! Types of splitting cutters
The question of how to remove tangles from a dog is usually asked by owners of long-haired animals. Our smaller brothers are sometimes not able to cope with their hair on their own - they need human help.
How to properly remove tangles from a dog
Tangles are matted and matted fur that cause discomfort to the animal, tightening the skin and preventing its normal ventilation. In advanced cases, mats can cover the entire belly and paws of the dog - then the animal has to be shaved bald, which is highly undesirable.
unraveling
Apply tangle spray(sold at any pet store) to problem areas and begin to unravel the tangle with combs with sparse teeth, moving from bottom to top (first the ends of the hair, then higher and higher - this is the only way you will not hurt the dog). Hold the hair at the roots so you don't pull on it. You can first stretch the tangles a little to the sides with your hands, and then take up the comb to finally remove the tangles from the dog. After that, wash the animal and comb it thoroughly.
Shaving
If unraveling does not help, a mat is needed shave gently with a machine. You can do it yourself with a little experience. This method of removing tangles from a dog is, of course, radical, but it is better than leaving the animal to sweat under a dense “fur coat” of matted wool.
A haircut
Need to cut the tangles only as a last resort- if matted hair causes pain to the dog, and you have no way to use an electric razor. The fact is that by cutting tangled hair, you run the risk of hurting the dog with scissors. After this, he is unlikely to allow you to calmly approach you even for combing, and both of you will have to get used to all cosmetic procedures again.
Prevention
It is necessary to remove the tangles from the dog immediately after their appearance, but it is best to regularly carry out prevention - wash and comb your pet as often as required. For example, dogs of the Collie and Chow Chow breeds can be combed at least every day, especially if they actively spend time outside, running on wet grass, playing in the sand, and so on. you can remove the tangles from the dog when they are just beginning to form, which means that you do not hurt your pet. Pay special attention to the abdomen, armpits and ears- there the wool falls off most often. Pick up a good slicker that will not give the dog any discomfort.
Shampoo for dogs from tangles- an excellent prophylactic, but it rarely helps if dense lumps have already formed on the coat.
After washing, the dog's coat should be dried with a hair dryer, while combing it in the direction of hair growth. Let the dog run only after it is completely dry, because wet wool is very easily tangled.
In long-haired dogs, tangles of matted hair are a common problem. This is not only unsightly, but also dangerous to health. If the tangles are not untangled, they cause inflammatory diseases on the pet's skin.
Also, mats disrupt heat transfer and the dog's body overheats. You have to cut the hair completely to cure the animal. Only correct and constant, literally daily care will save the dog from such problems.
In addition to the fact that you need to take care of the coat, you need to monitor the health of the dog. Because mats are also formed as a result of the digestive tract, as well as the hormonal system. After all, the health of these systems is directly reflected in the condition of the coat.
How to deal with mats in dogs?
There are several painless ways to get rid of tangles that are convenient to use at home. First of all, with a massage brush or comb with wide teeth, you need to comb the hair from the side of the hairball to the body of the dog. This will help to untangle some of the matted hair first, before you start the whole tangle.
If a tangle has formed around a foreign body (burdock, twig), you must first try to pull this object out. A serious tangle can be cut along the growth of wool and sprinkled with powder. After that, it can be disassembled by hand. However, the most effective way is to use a dog tangle spray.
They are treated with a woolen bundle and carefully combed with a comb with rare teeth. There are also special conditioners designed for long-haired dogs. You need to choose high quality products that will not affect the health of the animal. If you don’t have a spray or conditioner on hand, you can use baby oil.
It is applied, avoiding circular movements. Spray and conditioner are also ways to prevent tangles. So herbal conditioners will give too delicate wool some rigidity, and it will be less likely to fall off. And if the dog is combed using powder, then mats will be a very rare problem.
A dog with a long and thin coat should be constantly checked for lumps of matted hair in hard-to-reach places: in the armpits, on the hind and front legs, behind the ears and in the neck area. Be sure to dry with a hair dryer and comb thoroughly.
Tangles can be considered an unpleasant addition to the beauty of any long-haired dog. Whether you like it or not, the pet will molt, besides, the four-legged one needs to walk, play in the fresh air and swim in the water, which affects the condition of the coat. You have brought a furry friend, so buy a cleaver for dogs, be sure you will need it.
Lumps, "pendants" or whole "cakes", strayed into a "boot" of wool on the body of a dog, are commonly called tangles. The reason for the appearance of tangles is 90% lack of care and 10% violation of metabolic processes. During walks, especially in the autumn period or in a wooded area, tenacious grass seeds, small thorns or twigs get into the animal's hair, which are entangled in hair after a few hours. For fluffy dogs, for example, Caucasian Shepherd Dogs, tangles on the neck and riding breeches are a common thing during each molt. Owners of long-haired breeds will confirm that during the coat change, brushing once a day is not enough.
Swimming in ponds, getting wet in the rain, playing with relatives, grazing or protecting the territory - almost any active action leads to tangling of wool. Daily combing of a pet's coat will prevent the formation of tangles, but in practice, this is almost impossible. Dogs with liver, hormonal, metabolic, or gastrointestinal disorders are more prone to matting. If you notice that your pet has a shiny coat, this is a clear symptom of some kind of disorder. The shine disappears, which means that elasticity is lost, as a result of the rapid contamination of wool and tangles.
Important! Wool loses its luster and elasticity with frequent washing or the use of low-quality shampoos and rinses.
Read also: Discharge from the nose of a dog: types and methods of treatment
The most common cause of tangles is untimely combing of the undercoat during shedding. The problem is solvable - get good, high-quality slickers, brushes and spare no effort. Tangles are much easier to prevent than to cut.
How dangerous are tangles?
In addition to the loss of irresistible external data, a dog with matted hair suffers physically. Live wool is also entangled in the tangle, which is in a constantly stretched state. If the mat clings with a claw, the dog is in pain. Stray animals, for which there is no one to take care of, die from overwork, constant pain does not allow the “homeless child” to sleep, tight hair hinders movement, and the dog spends too much energy to find food. As a result, the animal is covered with a continuous layer of tangles and becomes helpless.
The stray coat disrupts thermoregulation, especially in the hot season, when fluffies have a hard time anyway. The skin under the tangles is constantly excessively moistened, which leads to the development of dermatitis and eczema, the “musty” smell attracts ticks and fleas. As a bonus to the “bouquet”, add an indescribable smell from wool if the dog gets wet.
Types of warp cutters. How to choose the right model?
Most novice dog breeders come to a slight bewilderment, realizing that choosing the right mat cutter is a whole science. The tool should be convenient for you, not cause discomfort to the pet and not hit the family budget, so which one to choose? Start by "screening out" the type of splitters:
- Vertical- a comb-comb with sharply honed blades instead of teeth. The back side of the teeth is rounded and safe, in some models, the tips of the blades are bent with a hook.
Read also: Food for dogs ZooRing (ZooRing)
- Horizontal or stripping- the brush looks like a slicker, however, instead of many small teeth, sharp, curved blades are fixed on the base.
- Teardrop or specific- most often, consists of one or two short, rounded blades. Designed for cutting tangles in the auricles, paws and other dangerous areas.
Note! In some models, the blades have a wavy shape, which increases the efficiency of cutting tangles.
The mat cutter for dogs with long hair and thick undercoat consists of 12 blades, however, there are models with fewer teeth, popular types are in the photo below. Depending on the type of wool, you will need a tool with a tooth length of 4 to 10 centimeters. If you have several animals, the best option is a splitter with 5–6 cm teeth, suitable for almost any dog and can be used for cats.
Durable, comfortable, rubberized or wooden handle, high-quality steel and chrome-plated, sharp blades - this is a high-quality chipper for dogs. Which one to choose is a personal matter, fans of famous brands will naturally prefer Trixie, Hello Pet or 4MyPet.
5 tricks to deal with tangles
The beautiful long coat of a dog can cause a lot of trouble to the owner when, with insufficient care, tangles are formed on it - dense matted hairballs. The reasons for the appearance of tangles can be various, the simplest of them is the lack of proper care after washing.
Reasons for the appearance of tangles:
1. Improper hair care after bathing.
The long hair of pedigreed dogs should be dried with a hair dryer and combed at the same time, then the possibility of tangles is minimized. If a dog has a habit of wiping himself on carpets and blankets after washing, the appearance of tangles is almost inevitable.
2. Incorrectly selected clothes.
Another reason for the appearance of tangles is improperly selected clothes for dogs, ill-fitting collars and harnesses. Armpits, collar area, inner thighs - if the lining of dog clothes does not slip, then the coat falls off. After the clothes have been removed, the hair must certainly be combed, sprinkled with a special tangle spray or antistatic agent.
3. Incorrectly selected slicker.
Even careful care will not insure your pet from tangles if this care is fundamentally wrong. A small slicker brush for long hair will not only not be useful, but rather provoke matting - superficial combing cannot be considered proper care. For combing long hair, a comb with relatively long and frequent teeth must be used.
4. Health problems.
The current opinion that combing takes a lot of time is not entirely true. You can deal with tangles in between times, while watching TV. If the dog settled down nearby, then you can literally disassemble the coat without looking, comb it gently. Even if your dog previously had a negative attitude towards combs, he will not object to such a peaceful pastime. If you do not insist, the dog will eventually get used to you lightly rubbing his coat while he is lying next to you.
Several ways to deal with tangles.
In a dog of any breed, if six is long, tangles may appear. Preventive measures against this scourge are regular and thorough hair care, combing, the use of special oils, conditioners and coat sprays. If tangles appear, then this first of all means that you missed something. How to rid a dog of tangles, because they cause inconvenience to the animal?
You can, of course, cut the animal bald and forget about the problem for a while, but this is a rather radical measure, and you should not approach the issue so harshly. You can simply cut out the mat, especially if it is the only one and is under the armpit, preventing the dog from moving. But in most cases, tangles are better to disassemble.
How to disassemble the koltun?
A felted ball of wool is cut with sharp scissors along the growth, sprinkled liberally with talc or powder and disassembled by hand. After that, you can use a comb with rare, and then with frequent teeth. Helps with the disassembly of tangles and a special liquid that can be purchased at pet stores. Choose special shampoos and conditioners that prevent tangles.
Sometimes a tangle appears if a burdock or chewing gum is attached to the wool during a walk. You can try to remove the gum with fresh - chew the gum, attach it to the one that stuck to the dog's hair, remember a little, and then pull off the resulting lump. If it doesn’t work out, you can cut it, but the owners of show dogs are unlikely to take such measures.
Properly selected clothing for dogs will prevent thorns and burrs from getting into the coat. Long and thin hair on the beard, bangs and lush hair that forms a mustache can be taken away with hairpins, elastic bands or hairpins. Inspect your arsenal of combs - in addition to the usual combs and slickers, it is convenient to use a triangular-shaped slicker for the armpits and groin area. Dogs quickly get used to careful grooming, and you will be pleased to look at your pet's thick, perfect coat.
The tangles that form on a pet are a real scourge for owners of long and wire-haired dog breeds.
Luxurious flowing mane, which is the pride of the show animal, requires daily combing and skilled care.
This is the only way you can avoid the occurrence of areas that have fallen into hard-to-disassemble lumps.
The main causes of the appearance of tangles
What are the most common causes of frizzy hair?
1. Knocking down wet clean wool. This happens if a redeemed dog with long thick hair, do not dry with a hair dryer after washing, leaving the hair to dry naturally. In addition to tangles, this method of drying is also fraught with overheating of the cover.
2. The formation of the so-called "water tangles", appearing through the fault of inexperienced owners, washing and rubbing the dog too hard. To avoid this trouble, apply the detergent gently, in the direction of hair growth, gently driving it in with fingertips, rather than tangling your hair, trying to better wash your four-legged friend.
3. Clothes for dogs can also lead to the formation of knocked down lumps. Most often this occurs at the points of contact between the body and the seams of the product. To avoid this, try to buy jumpsuits with slip fabric lining.
4. burrs and thorns, found in abundance on the run, also lead to tangles. Fighting them is quite difficult - when you try to pull it out, the prickly ball breaks up into small segments that are difficult to pull out of the wool. Some owners recommend examining the dog several times during a walk in order to pull out the burrs immediately, or, when going to a forest or field, put anther on the pet.
5. Most owners, not having special experience and knowledge in the care of the coat of a four-legged friend, consider that a light smoothing of the hair with a massage brush is enough for a good condition of the coat. Comb with short teeth, without penetrating to the very body, leaves under the top, well-groomed layer, a dense downed felt, which, in especially neglected cases, even experienced groomers do not dare to touch. The only way out in this case is to cut the animal bald.
6. Very often leads to the formation of tangles excessive attention to the dog from loving owners. Constant stroking, including against the pet's coat, attempts to ruffle it or inaccurate games can lead to tangled and then downed areas appearing on the coat.
7. The condition of the coat depends not only on cosmetic care. The health of the internal organs and the general tone of the dog, as in a mirror, are reflected in her appearance. If, in addition to the increased formation of tangles, the pet's hair has a dull, inanimate appearance, the skin is sprinkled with dandruff and crusts, it may be worth checking his well-being. After all fleas, worms, liver and kidney diseases can also lead to a deterioration in the quality of wool.
8. Another common case in which the structure of the coat deteriorates - dog pregnancy and childbirth. While the bitch is waiting for puppies, especially in the last stages, the owners, protecting her peace, stop carrying out daily cosmetic procedures. Childbirth and the stress associated with them, lactation, small puppies, while sucking knocking wool - all this leads to the formation of multiple tangles, which are extremely difficult to disassemble.
Experienced dog breeders recommend, if the quality of the coat allows, cut the dog as short as possible before giving birth, or, in extreme cases, remove the overgrowth on the dog’s belly, around the mammary glands, to zero. If, due to the structure of the cover, it is not possible to do this, the dog's hair is removed in papillots, disassembled 2-3 times a week, or they are stabbed with rubber bands all over the body, fastening them together.
How to get rid of tangles with the least loss
If trouble occurred, and tangles nevertheless appeared, the main thing is get rid of them with minimal losses. It's no secret that show wool requires an unusually careful attitude, and simply cutting a piece would be a big loss for the animal's hairstyle.
Experienced owners of long-haired dog breeds know many little tricks that will help you emerge victorious in the fight against insidious tangles. Here are the most effective ones:
1. Soft hair under the arms and behind the ears, prone to tangles, will be much less tangled if, immediately after combing, it is abundantly sprinkled with regular zinc-based baby powder and combed again with a slicker brush.
2. In order to disassemble the tangle without damage to the wool, it is recommended to moisten it with plain water with a small addition of oil for the skin of babies, and leave it for a while. After such a mask, tangled hair is easily sorted out by hand, without requiring extreme combing.
3. When using commercially produced anti-tangle products, carefully read the instructions.- some of them, designed for certain breeds of dogs, intensively wash out the undercoat, which can adversely affect the appearance of breeds with a rich coat (Pekingese, Shih Tzu).
4. Another disadvantage of professional tools is their high cost. If the dog has an exhibition ahead, it makes sense to invest in an expensive bottle, but for home use, it is better to use more budget folk recipes.
5. Many groomers, to facilitate combing wool, use high-quality human hair cosmetics. Before applying it to your dog, lubricate a small area of skin on the belly or behind the front paws. If after a day there are no signs of allergies, feel free to use the liquid to get rid of the problem.
6. A lot depends on when, before or after washing, comb out the mat. Most groomers are of the opinion that better sort out dirty hair. Remedies for tangles in often have a greasy base, and, having untangled the hair, it will be possible to safely wash it after that. In addition, tearing through washed hair negatively affects the condition of the cuticle, which leads to the fact that the hair is split and broken.
However, those who prefer to disassemble the dog after washing also give their arguments. According to them, a dirty undercoat is much more difficult to comb out than a clean one, besides, a universal hair dryer-compressor, with which you can quickly and easily dry a dog, will help you break the naughty tangle, which you previously combed with a special comb, with a stream of air. To understand which method is right for you, you need to try both options in practice, and then choose the most appropriate one.
7. If the tangle is so neglected that you cannot do without scissors, do not rush to immediately cut it radically. Try to make a few cuts along the tangle, and then try again to disassemble it with your hands or a comb. So you save some amount of wool, saving the animal from an ugly bald spot on the body. Or use a mat cutter, it will cut the mat apart and allow you to save more wool.
Having dealt with all the tangles, once again carefully comb the pet completely and try to monitor its coat in the future so that tangles do not form. Indeed, in addition to aesthetic rejection, they also cause considerable suffering to the dog. Sometimes animals with soft hair fall off in such a way that the only way to avoid torment is a “zero” haircut with a machine that takes soft wool, incl. in cats, rabbits, guinea pigs.
Natasha Sherwood