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Hi guys, my Rook is 9 years old and we're having some issues with matted fur on his hind legs. I have brushes, combs, clippers, thinning shears, sprays, shampoos and conditioners, but I can't seem to keep him from getting matted. I'm in nursing school and unable to play with him for a good number of hours during the day, so I'm thinking he just lays on the fur that becomes matted. I like to brush him out 3 times a week at the very least to try and keep it up.

 

Obviously there are a number of issues here, namely that I could groom more often and prevent him from laying around on his back end, BUT I'm also wondering if a few of the products I'm using are making his coat too soft. Often times I use a detangler since it seems to help at the time that I brush, but soft fur/hair seem to really exacerbate and accelerate his matts! Maybe not, I guess I don't really know.

 

Has anyone here dealt with matting to what seems like an excessive degree? Aside from spending more time brushing them out, was there a product or tool you felt significantly helped? Maybe even advice on how often to groom as I may be way way way under doing it? I know it seems like a silly question, but we've had this problem even when I was able to spend more time on him.

 

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I wonder if this could be an issue with the texture of his coat and/or the texture of what he lies on.

 

I have three dogs, each with a rough coat but each with a different sort of rough coat. In general, I only comb them out historically a couple of times a year.

 

Dan, with a rather long coat but a fairly thin coat, and hardly any soft undercoat, gets hardly a mat, except behind his ears in the soft fuzz there when he is shedding in spring and summer. Celt, with a "normal" sort of coat and some undercoat, never mats except behind his hind legs and sometimes a little snarl in the white hair on his abdomen. Megan, with both a rather soft and slightly wavy outercoat and the most undercoat (which is very soft) gets the most mats but almost never anywhere but behind her hind legs and on her abdomen. I notice that, with age and changes in coat texture (getting softer with age), she needs more and more coat care but I still only find the need to comb her maybe once a month. When I do that, I get a lot of undercoat and I think hormone changes due to age may have something to do with that. She was 15 last August.

 

So, my question is, have you noticed any difference in Rook's coat quality and feel, other than the matting? More outercoat or undercoat, or less? Softer texture in either coat? Could he be experiencing some age-related coat changes that are, along with possible lying surface changes, that are causing the mats? Have you changed the surfaces he tends to lie on (or is he choosing to lie on different surfaces) that might be encouraging the formation of mats?

 

I neither bathe my dogs nor do I use any products on their coats so I can't comment on that. When they get muddy, they get hosed. If they get into something really vile-smelling (which is rare) they might get a spot shampoo if hosing won't remove enough of the smell to let them back in the house. :wacko:

 

I am sure someone will chime in with more helpful advice! Best wishes!

 

PS - My grooming tools of choice are simple, a rake for the first once-over, and a finer-toothed comb for any more intense combing that they might need.

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I had a border collie whose bum fur was very thick and fluffy and in one place we lived it matted. I think it was because she lay on unfinished cement floors in the house. What I did was simply cut all her bum fluff very short, from under her tail to all the way down her hind legs. At first it looked weird but when I got used to it, it actually looked kind of cute, like a short haircut on a young woman. When we moved to a different place I let it grow out again.

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Thanks, all!

 

He mainly lays on semi glossed hardwood floor, and the only time I noticed a change in the integrity of his coat was after the use of one product in which it became almost too soft. I've thought of just shearing it off since it seems impossible to brush out at this point but I'm so worried about ruining his coat and having the potential for it to become more matted when it grows back.

 

D'Elle, did your BCs "bum fluff" ( :P ) grow back without issue? That's really the only area that becomes so problematic.

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