# HELP! Horribly matted tail!



## BajaOklahoma

You really don't want to get the mat wet as it will usually cause it to make the mat tighter.
Does Maya let you comb her tail? Benett absolutely hated it. I could do anything else except the tail.
Are the mats all the way down to the skin? Hopefully not. How coarse is her hair there?

For my Old english Sheepdogs, I start combing at the end of the hair (away from the body) and work toward the end. Work from the sides toward the center of the mat. Because the girls hair is fine to medium texture, I have saturated a few individual mats with No More Tangles (and it can take several bottles for the girls) and worked on them with a wide tooth comb. It is slow going.

I would start working at the tip of the tail and move closer to the body as you can.


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## mylissyk

There are products like Cowboy Magic for dogs that you can get, wet the mat with and then work them out. Or even diluted human condition in a pinch. Unfortunately, it is hard to work them out and most often you end up having to cut them out. 

For future, just be sure to brush her tail at least a couple times a week if not every day.


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## tippykayak

There's a very useful tool called a dematting comb or mat removing comb. It looks like this.

Essentially, it's a comb with six or eight curved tines that have a blade on the inside curve. You can pull them through the matted section a bit at a time, and they cut through the mat while cutting as little of the untangled hair as possible. Combined with a rake, it's a great tool for taking out the mats without thinning the hair or creating the chunked out look you can get with scissors.

You can also use a leave-in conditioner to help lubricate the hair a bit as you work so you untangle—rather than cut—whatever you can. I'm a recent convert to Cowboy Magic, which is for horses but works great on GR feathers. I've gotten major burrs out of Comet's forelegs with it and major mats out of somebody else's GR's pants with it.

For future reference, it's very helpful to at least towel dry and brush the damp fur. I don't bother with a blow dryer, but I do like to towel thoroughly to avoid hot spots and brush with a rake before they're totally dry. I find a slicker is great for most of the coat but that I need a rake to prevent mats in the mane, tail, and pants and behind the ears.


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## AmberSunrise

You do not want to leave the matts in her tail .. Cowboy Magic is supposed to be very good and there was a recent discussion about how well it worked

Maya probably should not have a wet tail until the matts have been removed since that might wind up making bigger matts. Unless it is really bad, her tail feathers can probably be saved .. 


Here is a link
http://www.k9rawdiet.com/Cowboy-Magic-detangler-for-serious-matts-pr-174.html


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## Bender

You should be able to do it yourself, it'll just take some time. Do a bit at a time while watching TV so she's relaxed. 

Do NOT cut the matts directly out! This leaves big holes and will make it look worse.

What you can do is work them out with a comb or your fingers at first, a bit at a time. If you have to, use scissors to cut down the matt in the direction the hair grows, so you cut them into smaller matts and then work those out. If you have thinning shears (they look like a comb crossed with scissors) you can cut the hair above the matt a bit at a time to get it out as well. If you do it that way, her tail will be thinner but there will be less 'holes' where you can see where the hair was cut. It'll grow back though!

Depends on how bad it is as to if it can be saved, and how much work you want to put in. I know most groomers will charge a lot for dematting (I think where I worked it was $35 an hour), but it's an option if you can get them to not hack it all out.

Lana


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## Cathy's Gunner

I had the same problem with Gunner this past weekend. He went swimming and then rolled in the sand. He had mats on his backside, under his ears, chest and tail. The worst was the tail. I tried to pull it out the best I could but ended up kind of spitting it like Bender stated. I'm going to invest in the dematting comb and get some of the Cowboy Magic for next time.


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## rappwizard

My first golden would get the tail matts all the time after a swim--it's almost as if the hair was really dry and the water would just cling to those areas--his tail would almost get corded at the base--I would call it his "rasta tail." I used the tool that TippyKayak has provided the link to--just be very careful, as you can place one of those tips too close to the skin of the tail, and that's not going to be comfortable for your golden.

I've also used a greyhound comb--combing from the tips, working my way on to the end; I also used a light conditioner on the tail to make it easier to comb. I've also combed while my dog was half asleep or asleep. What I tried to do, and worked out the best, was combing out the tail and pants before a swim, and then drying him off and combing him out after. That did a great job of prevent matts. Did I do it every time? No. Easier said than done. Hopefully, if you have to cut a few matts here and there, the hair won't be missed, because there is so much hair still remaining on the tail.

Also, once you untangle all the matts, trim the tail as per the golden standards, so that the tip is about even with the hock. The tail will look nice and full and you won't notice any missing hair. My current golden Mac gets an occasional matt here and there after a swim, but not anything like my late Jake. I sure do know what you're going through.


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## sdain31y

I read a tip on a forum a while ago that one golden owner spreads peanut butter on his fridge to distract his dog while he brushed him. I tried it the other day and odd as it sounds it worked pretty well. Might be useful if you've got to spend a extended time working out mats.

Good luck!


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## RedDogs

Ultimately, if she really hates having it done and it is as matted as you say, getting a groomer to shave it off might be the most humane option. While many owners say "If he really doesn't like it, stop" 0/7 groomers I know would stop. Either they want to just get it done or they don't think the owner will get the issue taken care of otherwise. 

As much as I love my dog's hair....if things got really bad I'd shave it off rather than make them sit while I comb/brush it out. 

And esp if there's burrs and dirt and gross stuff in there....it could be getting gross fast or be a nice place for a hot spot to grow....

That said, a groomer might sit with you and show you some tricks for safely splitting mats.


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## Maya's Mom

Thanks so much for all the advice. The only grooming tools I have are a slicker and a rake, so I will go to the pet store tomorrow and get a mat removing comb and some Cowboy Magic. I will do my best to get it out,working on it a little at a time, but if it is torturing Maya I'll cut it and just try to cut it with the least damage possible. I appreciate all the great tips.


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## Ranger

My horse's tail grows naturally into dreadlocks which is a pain. Cowboy Magic works well but if you want something super good...try a horse product called show sheen. It has silicone in it so it's super slippery and the hair will slip right out. I've used it before on matts and such. Or big snarls in my horse's tail before a horse show. The only thing is you don't want to use it all the time but for de-matting, it will work great.


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## tippykayak

By the way, you want the Cowboy Magic "detangler and shine," not the conditioner or the shampoo. That particular product has dimethicone and cyclomethicone in it, which are both silicones.

I had to order it online to get it. They didn't carry it at the local pet stores. They should have dematting combs, though. Just be careful when you use the comb. You only want to do a tiny section of the mat at a time. If you try to saw through a whole mat from the skin outward, you'll end up pulling on the hair pretty hard and you'll cut a lot of hair you don't have to cut.

Pick through it a bit at a time, from the outer part toward the skin, using the time of a grooming rake, the dematter where necessary, and some kind of conditioner to lubricate it.

If the dog is sensitive to having her tail messed about with, have a partner distract her from the front with a wooden spoon covered with peanut butter, or something equally wonderful. The fridge trick is great if you don't have somebody to help you.


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## janine

I found Cowboy Magic products at Southern States a farm store. Great for mats and keeping Chesters butt feathers less frizzie.


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## MillysMom

When I adopted Milly she had a lot of matted fur. I used Cowboy Magic Concentrated Detangler and Shine (it comes in a tube), along with Show Sheen (comes in a spray bottle and is made for horses - I wouldn't use that regularly, as it does contain silicone, but it worked better than the Cowboy Magic). I used a rake and a human wide tooth plastic comb, and got out the majority of the mats. It took about 3 weeks to fully get them out, as a few had to grow a little longer. I ended up being able to save a lot of her coat, and only had to cut out a few of them. Wish I'd known about the mat rake back then.

Any horse tack store, feed store, or even tractor supply should sell both products, or you can order them online. Amazon usually has both at good rates. For a dog, I'd get the 4oz Cowboy Magic (it's harder to find the concentrated tube these days, but I suggest that if you can find it), and the smallest bottle of Show Sheen you can get, which will still be entirely too much.

Show Sheen: http://www.doversaddlery.com/product.asp?pn=X1-22152&ids=27674187
Cowboy Magic Detangler and Shine (concentrated): http://www.doversaddlery.com/product.asp?pn=X1-22636&ids=27674187&bhcd2=1279290128


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## Maya's Mom

*Update*

It is going fairly well getting the mats out. I am very grateful for all the advice! :thanks:I went to two pet stores, but couldn't find the Cowboy Magic detangler, but I did find the ShowSheen and it is working well. I made the mistake of asking for advice from the Petco groomer and she offered to show me how to use the dematting comb. She got the mat she was working on out, but also cut out A LOT of hair. :no: I thanked her and left as quickly as I could. Since I have gotten home I spent about an hour working on the mats. I've gotten about 5 out so far mostly by using my fingers and the ShowSheen. It is working pretty well. I used the peanut butter on the refrigerator trick, as my husband is out of town for work for a few days. Maya was very calm and happy while licking the peanut butter while I worked. If only I could give her a whole jar of peanut butter, I'm sure we could get all the mats out tonight! I didn't want to upset her stomach, so I smeared a thin layer of p.b. on the fridge twice, then put the p.b. away. I got her a bully stick at the pet store, so then I gave her the bully stick while I worked. She was happy with that for about 30 minutes, then decided she had enough and walked away. So I am giving her a break for now and I'll do some more later. I think I am probably 1/3 to 1/2 done, but I'm not sure. I used some of my hair elastics to keep the hair I had already worked on separate and out of the way. I am definitely grateful for the time I put in with Maya as a young puppy getting her used to being handled. She really didn't seem stressed by my working at all until she decided it had been too long. She excitedly took treats I offered while working. I am relieved that it doesn't seem to bother her much. I am very grateful for the wonderful tips everyone shared. I will definitely do everything I can to make sure this doesn't happen again! I usually am really good about grooming, but slacked off while on vacation at the beach. :doh: I did towel dry her every time she got wet, because I was worrying about hot spots, but I didn't brush her. I will be much more careful next time!


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## AmberSunrise

Yay - good work  It might take a few more sessions, but you'll like the results way better than a tail with holes in the fur. BTW don't be too hard on yourself; sometimes matts happen.


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## Oaklys Dad

Glad the mats are coming out. I just got done working some out of Oakly's butt feathers. He was not happy but let me work them out using one tine of the undercoat rake.


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## Lestorm

Cowboy Magic detangler is very good. If that doesnt work then its the old scissors and you may find you wont have to cut too much out, it will grow back before you know it.


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