The First Steps of Getting Mats Out of Your Dog's Coat

Video Transcript

"So if you come across a mat, how do you get that mat out without breaking and loosing coat? Let's see if I can demonstrate this with you. I'll find a mat on this dog. One of the easiest ways to find a mat is to use your comb. So I've got a mat right here, not a huge one but you can see that the undercoat is coming out into the over coat and the hair is starting to mat. Now I want to take that out without loosing the coat. I just want to get the under coat out. So I am going to separate the hair, hold this part down and I am going to take my slicker brush and I am going to pull it through the matted area. I am holding the coat so I am not loosing and pulling on the dog and then I can pull right through. So I've just removed that little matted area and I am working my way down gently and I am going to encounter some more mats down here. You can feel them as you are pulling the brush. You can probably see it in my hand if I'm brushing through an area that is not matted. The arm motion is very smooth. When I come to an area that is matted, the brush catches. So I move to the next place where there is some matted hairs and I can separate the coat out gently. This is something that you, the dog owner, doing it at home will have time to do. This is not something that your groomer is going to want to do. It takes a lot of time but it is more comfortable for your dog. "