Help Need Advice and Your Comments

Hi Joanne here mother to 16 month old Tucker, he's black and tan, a very handsome boy, with very thick and also very fine hair that tends to mat very easily. I comb and brush Tucker a minimum of twice a week and often as much as 4 times, and still he gets mats. I try to work them out, but often I have to cut them out. I do not plan to show Tucker, I'm sort of considering having his hair trimmed. Though I am loathe to do it, because I love how he looks with his full, shiny, black coat. Still, I feel so sorry for him when I'm working on mats, trying to save the hair, and also trying to remove it. Right now he's got one in his tail, I'm saving for the groomer tomorrow. I'm afraid if I try to remove it, he'll lose more hair than necessary to remove the clump. What are your thoughts on trimming anywhere on cavs? I think I read somewhere that their hair does not grow back very quickly. Would appreciate your comments. Are there any products to get the snarls/mats out of their hair? Also, where do you folks buy those adorable harnesses that are very wide in the front, would love to get Tucker one. Thanks.

I purchased a Coat King Mars Comb for getting the matts out of my Bleinham.

Would love to see pics of your Tucker, you can purchase the Puppia harnesses at www.tiabellas.com I believe they just came out with some new colours. I also think you may find a link under the shopping thread for the puppia's.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Linda

Here is a link for the Coat King from PetEdge, I see you live in the States.
Not sure if you shop at PetEdge if not do a google search on it.

I have the 12 Blade, I will find the thread on it tommorow and post the link for you but I am off to bed for now.

The Puppia's are really cute, I also believe that Roxanne is having a Thanksgiving Sales this wkd. Not sure is she is discounting the Puppia's though. It starts Friday she is from www.tiabellas.com

Nighty Night

Last summer, Zack got mats behind his ears, big thick ones. I got some advice here and managed to detangle and remove them without any cutting. I used a special comb made by Four Paws that i got at the pet store

THIS ONE

along with spray on de-tangling solution, i think it was

THIS ONE

The ad for the comb says you can remove mats comfortably and easily. I wouldn't say it was easy, it took about an hour for each ear. Zack didn't seem to mind it though.

Your problem sounds worse. Since i removed those mats, I haven't had any more, and never had any before them either. I soft brush Zack a few times a week. That's all. But right before he got the mats, i had neglected doing it (i had been flea combing instead).

I did get him a hair trim, to about one inch long all over except the tail, ears and feet were left untouched. I did that just because of the heat, it was very hot last summer. The hair has grown back very slowly. I got it cut in late july, and it's just in the past month that his look has gotten back to what i'd call long. But he's just a year old. He's still a long way fro having his full coat length as an adult, anyway.

good luck

Thank you for your advice.

It came just at the right time, as the groomer is coming today.
Tucker is groomed every 6 weeks. I wish I had a picture of Tucker so you would have a better idea of his coat. I'm going to sound like an obnoxious mother, but both the groomer and the vet have complimented me on his coat. I love how it looks when he runs, ears flying back,
his coat is long enough to move too. But I fear I'm not very good with my technique or I'm not patient enough, to do a painless job of mat removal. I had very tight curly hair when I was a kid, back then we didn't have all the hair products on the market to ease tangles, and my mother used to pull my hair horribly when she brushed and combed it. I feel like I'm doing the same to Tucker when I get determined to work a mat out rather than cut it out. I comb far more than I brush sounds like from your comments that could be part of the problem. Thanks again for your comments and advice I'll be purchasing those products.

Also if you cut the matt with a scissors lengthwise when they are bad, forming two separate smaller matts (eg cut from the base of the matt towards the dog... carefully!) they are easier to work out. Cornstarch is also very useful, just rub a little into the matt.

Some of the show breeders on another list have been recommending rotating pic combs. I like very small slicker brushes of the size you get for cats -- like 2 inches by one or two inches -- as these allow you to get just the matt and not pull or scratch.

Sorry I forgot the link I see to Petedge:

http://www.petedge.com/shopping/browse/directorymain.jsp?AS=1&keyword=coat king mars

Just in case you wish to have a look.

Thanks Linda - PetEdge and Karlin

has a location according to the map you sent, in Woburn, Massachusetts, that is not too far from my home. Thank you everyone. I'm so happy to have found this website. It is the best on the net. You've done an amazing job here.