Matted Dogs
At WAG as professional groomers we are often asked do deal with matting on dogs.
Although we are trained to deal with this, there is only so much that we can do when a severely matted dog is brought in.
Our first and only concern is for your dog and one of the most important values we have is to put humanity before vanity. Can we demat a badly tangled coat?
Probably. Should we? Not necessarily.
Occasionally, we will demat a dog if we believe it’s a one-time occurrence. We have the skill, products and tools to do it safely and humanely and we know the tricks to get a dog detangled ‘relatively’ quickly.
However, there are two main reasons why we won’t always do it…
1. The dog has a low pain tolerance.
2. Owners do not understand the work and the risk involved in fixing this situation for their dog.
As a dog owner you need to understand there is only so much we as groomers can do and the very last thing we want to do is hurt, injure or bring discomfort to your dog. Once a dog has to suffer through this sort of treatment they will almost always consider grooming to be a punishment not a pleasure and at WAG the Dog our focus is to ‘pamper your pooch’ not to torture them.
Therefore we see only three options for owners who bring in a badly matted dog:
1. We can teach you how to brush your dog properly and encourage you do so between more regular appointments every 4-6 weeks.
2. Help you understand and appreciate that shaving the coat off is the only humane option if your dog consistently goes too long between grooms.
3. Recommend booking much more frequent appointments if shaving the dog is undesirable.
Dogs have the mentality and understanding of a two-year-old child. If your two-year-old child, grandchild, niece or nephew came to you with their hair matted all over their head, with tangles tight and right next to the scalp, making every stroke of a comb or brush painful, would you expect the child to tolerate having it combed out? You would most likely trim the matted hair out and let it re-grow. Trimming off that hair would be the most humane thing to do, even if the end result is not so pretty.
It’s similar with a dog, only with the dog, the hair isn’t just on its head. It is all over their entire body. You might be able to salvage some very small sections, but it’s not always in the dog’s best interests to be required to submit to a lengthy dematting process. Most dogs do not have the pain tolerance or patience to go through it. It takes hours to thoroughly brush and comb a dog out and there is a high risk of injury to their skin. Asking any dog to sit through an extensive dematting process would most likely be traumatic and it could influence their behaviour for the rest of their grooming life.
If we charged an hourly rate of $60.00, you would be looking at an extra $120.00 and upward for the dematting (depending on the size, type of coat and severity of the matting) alone. That is on top of the regular grooming fee. While it’s good to know you would be willing to spend the extra money to have your dog combed out, and even if we feel we can brush them clear of mats, the dog still may not tolerate the process of dematting and ultimately they will dictate if we proceed or not.
If you are willing to find the time to properly brush and comb your dog between professional grooms we are more than willing to give a thorough demonstration on proper brushing and combing techniques for your dog’s coat type. We keep the necessary tools on hand and are happy to sell them to you. We will make sure you leave with the proper equipment and knowledge to maintain your dog’s coat at home between grooming visits.
The last thing any of us want to do is injure or harm a dog. However, it must be understood when a dog is severely matted, the risk of them being hurt is always present no matter how well trained we are or how careful we will be.
Remember these key points:
• It is always important to do what is in the best interest of the dog.
• There is a limit to what a professional groomer can do.
• There is a limit to what your dog can tolerate.
• We are a professional dog groomers, we are good at what we do but we are not magicians.
The pet’s health and comfort is of the upmost importance. Our role as professional grooming experts is to help remedy the situation using our experience, educating the dog parent, and caring for and about each and every dog we Wash And Groom.