If you have a long-haired dog, you might find a patch of accumulated fur on his coat. That patch is called matting. Matting can be a real problem for your dog because it makes your dog look dirty. It is important to keep your dog’s hair tangle free to help him feel comfortable with his hair. Follow these tips to prevent dog hair mats:
- Do not allow your dog to play roll over at just about anywhere. Monitor his playtime. Dogs love to lie on their backs and rub their backs on the ground, grass or sand. When they do, their fur often picks up mud or animal feces that may cause matting on their fur. If you want your dog to play back rubs, let him do it in a clean area or a tiled area where there can be no substances that can stick on their fur to cause matting.
- Do not forget to keep your dog clean and give him a bath. Keeping your dog’s fur clean should be a weekly routine for you. If the fur is dirty, the more chances that the fur sticks together and it can cause matting. Do not over bathe your dog because he will lose his natural skin oil and his fur will become dry. When the fur is too dry, it can break off or it can cause matting.
- Most long haired dogs need daily brushing. Use a soft brush to brush your dog’s fur. A dog’s fur is similar to human hair. It sheds and grows new roots. Brushing your dog’s hair daily, will remove dirt and other dead fur that are often the causes of matting. Brush gently and carefully. Do not use a big brush to brush his facial hair. Rather, use a small steel comb for that area. Using the big brush might accidentally poke his eye and cause injury.
- Cut your dog’s hair. If your dog’s hair is too long, have him groomed by a professional groomer or you can cut his hair yourself. Just be careful. You should get an assistant to help you with this task. If your dog has medium length hair and you do not wish to cut it off, you can choose the parts where matting is evident and cut the matting along its very edge. Do this if brushing can no longer solve the matting.
- Use an anti-matting grooming spray. There are grooming sprays that are available in the market like “Crazy Dog.” This grooming spray can detangle your dog’s hair. The only downside for this product is that you can use this on very light matting and not on the parts that are heavily tangled.
- Keep ticks and fleas off your dog. Fleas and parasites can cause your dog to scratch. Matting is caused by excessive scratching as well. So be sure that your dog is in a flea control program so he would not have to scratch.
Matting on dog’s hair can cause severe disorders too. Hair matting can house bacteria that can cause several problems with your dog’s skin and over all health. Matting also makes the dog’s fur feel heavy. So be sure that your dog is free from it and let him live comfortably to the fullest.