Many might think this is something that just doesn’t happen, well I have news for you, and I see it on a daily basis. And the excuses I have heard are priceless.
Excuses
- I just brushed him this morning, I don’t know what happened
- I thought those were curls in his hair!
- He was being watched by my brother for a week and they obviously didn’t brush him.
- He’s NEVER been this bad before!
- He wasn’t this matted when I brought him in, you must have done it bathing him
- He ran and played in the yard this morning.
- He hates being brushed
- He had an ear infection
- My daughter was petting him the wrong way this morning
The simple fact is, dogs have hair and anything that has hair needs to be brushed and combed out, A dog can’t say “hey, mom would you mind brushing my tail out, I think it’s getting tight back there”. The cold hard truth is, I have seen dogs that I have had to shave beyond bald because they literally have had a “helmet” so to speak on their entire bodies, no matter which way you look at it that is simply abuse and cruelty to animals. I am very harsh on this subject because I see it every day, and those poor animals that I work on are so grateful to have that off of them, it’s very sad to see what those poor dogs have to go through for so long for no good reason.
Here is a break down on what happens to your dog when he has a matted coat.
A matted coat causes numerous problems for your dog. First, it’s terribly uncomfortable because as the hair knots tighter and tighter, it pulls on the surrounding skin. If knots are left for even a short period of time, the skin can actually split and get infected, also, the tighter the knot gets the harder it pulls at your dog’s skin and then can literally rip out from the root. Once a knot is formed and left it acts as a chain reaction and links itself to other hairs on the body and spreads like a weed until your dog is left with a large pelt (or helmet) on his body. A matted dog that gets wet in the rain or snow may develop mould on the skin or develop a fungus, kind of an athlete’s foot but worse. These hurt both the dog and your wallet because these conditions require immediate and extended veterinary care as well as the hefty bill you will receive from the groomer that has to peel this fur off of your dog. Flies like to lay their eggs on dogs, so a matted dog can actually get maggots on their skin that can literally eat the dog’s flesh under the knots….another costly problem for you to have treated, not to mention terribly painful to the dog. As if all of that isn’t enough, another beautiful thing that will happen to your dog is the knots link to each other so tight and so thick that it literally covers and seals the rectum, penis or vulva area to where any urine or bowel movement will not be able to pass and sticks to your dogs area creating infection, bacteria build up and of course raw skin underneath everything. Some dogs have a very hard time walking properly due to the severe matting that they have all over their bodies, the matting will crawl and connect to legs, ears and tails so that your dog cannot physically stretch his legs out or even wag his tail.
So after reading all of this, would you like to go through life like this? Many people go out and spend lots of money on their hair coloring and styling, their manicures but they leave their coated dogs at home in this condition. Why? “Because they are just dogs” And then these people get upset when they finally do get their poor dog groomed because it was $70 dollars. For any of you out there that do this and are actually reading this, we groomers do NOT take pity on you or your wallet when we see you torturing your dog like this!
To clarify some of the common misconceptions that is out there about grooming and your dogs.
- YES your dog can and should be groomed all year around, even in the winter time.
- NO you should not refrain from shaving your dog if it’s matted cause you think he will be cold.
- YES your dog might be chilly in the winter if he gets shaved, get him a sweater he’ll be fine. It’s better to be cold than to be in pain!
- NO the huge helmet on your dogs body that is blocking even his skin from seeing the light of day is not his “Winter fur” and NO it is not normal.
- YES even farm dogs should be groomed more than once a year.
- YES keep brushing and combing your dog at home even if he doesn’t like it, if he tries to bite remember who the boss of your house is and make sure he knows it too, he may not like it now but he will thank you for it later.
- NO! Do not refrain from having your older senior dog groomed just because he is old!! That is even more of a reason to keep him as comfortable as possible!
- YES every square inch of your dogs hair will grow back if it is shaved, even the tail PROMISE!
- NO baby shampoo is not good for your dog’s skin and coat! It might be soft and gentle for human babies but it leaves a dog’s skin and coat dry and damaged!
- NO do not bath your dog at home if he is already fully matted, it only makes things worse and nothing can dry on the inside of the matt so your dogs skin suffers severely!
