# Winter grooming & mats



## meljen (Sep 10, 2018)

Okay so I brush Leeroy with a slicker brush and a boar hair bristle brush almost every day and he still manages to get mats. I've been letting him grow out and was going to trim down from there but I'm tempted to trim him all the way down everywhere since he has some mats around his head, his collar area, and a few other spots. It's frustrating. I've tried brushing them out and it helped loosen them a bit but it's not helping much.

His fur around his neck and his rear is also really bristly and coarse no matter what I do.

I'm also concerned because we're around the negative temps in Alaska already and I was hoping to keep him longer for the winter. Not sure how well he would do if I cut him down. 

I'd love some advice. Thank you!

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## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

How old is Leeroy?


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## Mysticrealm (Jan 31, 2016)

Depending on age he may be going through coat change.
I would stop with the boar hair brush. that isn't really going to help you. What I don't see you say is a metal toothed comb. A metal toothed comb is absolutely essential to getting a dog properly tangle free. Also line brushing, or you risk only brushing the top of the coat and not getting to the base.


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## meljen (Sep 10, 2018)

He's 18 months old. And thanks for the tips. Yes we need to get a metal comb.

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## meljen (Sep 10, 2018)

I'm a little more concerned about whether or not we should cut him down with super cold months coming.

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## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

Using a brushing spray or really diluted conditioner while grooming will help get pills or tangles out line brushing helps get down deep into the coat. It really depends on how bad the matting is to whether or not a cut down in necessary. A poodle with a longer coat needs to be dried properly after getting wet outside


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## asuk (Jan 6, 2017)

I don’t think having long hair is going to make a difference in terms of warmth. It’s currently 13F and going down in my area. Milo is 18 months but coat change is over and he is currently cut down to about 1” all around, with more topknot hair and a fluffy tail. It makes it easier to put a coat on him. He doesn’t wear a coat in this temps but do when it’s colder. Shorter hair esp around the legs will not collect as much snow balls.


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## meljen (Sep 10, 2018)

Thank you both for the advice 

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## JenandSage (Mar 9, 2018)

asuk said:


> I don’t think having long hair is going to make a difference in terms of warmth. It’s currently 13F and going down in my area. Milo is 18 months but coat change is over and he is currently cut down to about 1” all around, with more topknot hair and a fluffy tail. It makes it easier to put a coat on him. He doesn’t wear a coat in this temps but do when it’s colder. Shorter hair esp around the legs will not collect as much snow balls.


I agree with Asuk. I don’t know about being in such low temps but the snow balls in long leg fur is horrible — it doesn’t seem to melt off without causing major tangles. I would rather put a coat on if needed for warmth


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## Mufar42 (Jan 1, 2017)

There has been some past advise on here that I've been following and it has helped me. I keep Reen at a bout 1 inch maybe a little more, his groomer uses her smallest comb on him. I use the brush recommend by Lillycd and I use a metal comb. I do him in line sections so I get down to the skin, and when I'[m all thru i run the comb again thru his coat and he fluffs up. 
With your col temperatures I think I would just shave him down and start fresh, but I would get him one of those snow suits I've seem others post on her that covers his body and legs. I think that would keep him warm and dry and make your life easier. On separate note I heard ab out the earthquake in Alaska, I hope the you are not affected.


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## meljen (Sep 10, 2018)

Thanks again for the advice. 

I hope this doesn't sound silly, but what is line brushing?

And oh, I found out about the corner starch method for mats and almost got the mat out on his head. 

I'll be sure to go ahead and cut him down a bit. His fur was uneven anyway when we adopted him and it's majorly showing. Thankfully the snow isn't deep enough for snowballs yet. 

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## meljen (Sep 10, 2018)

Mufar42 said:


> On separate note I heard ab out the earthquake in Alaska, I hope the you are not affected.


Thank you for the concern! It was down on the Kenai peninsula near Anchorage, which is at the very bottom of Alaska by the ocean. I live in the middle in Fairbanks, which is about a 6 hour drive to the center area of the state. We did get a scary aftershock though. Since we have permafrost here, the ground sways side to side instead of shaking up and down. It's unnerving. My rocking chair and heavy blinds were swinging on their own quite a bit, and the house was making loud popping sounds. So glad it wasn't worse than that! It was still dark outside though, so it kind of intensified the spookiness.

Poor Leeroy was scared. And our senior cat ran and hid for an hour. 

Anyway thanks again for the advice. I think I'll shave him down evenly at about an inch, and start using conditioners since our water is really hard. 

Have a great weekend!

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## Mufar42 (Jan 1, 2017)

here is a utube on line brushing


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## meljen (Sep 10, 2018)

Mufar42 said:


> here is a utube on line brushing
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GtsG8k1Dk8


Thank you!

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