I have always cut away the hair behind my guys ears. If a mat does form, I cut it out...careful not to catch any skin in the process.

 

Sometimes you just have to cut them out. If you work with it a little you can normally reduce the matts down to a smaller size. Noah gets them from time to time and I spend a good amount of time slowly cutting as few hairs as possible. I also found if you have a really bad one, cutting it in half or down the missle can cause the matt to loosen and you can work it out more.

That's all I have.

 

2 words cowboy magic!

 

They will have to be cut out. If they are not too tight against the skin you can do it yourself.

And then you have to start a habit of brushing behind his ears every day so the matts don't form.

 

You can buy products that may help you to groom out some of the matts but you amy still need to cut some out. Daily brushing behind her ears will stop them forming again.

 

Goldens can be lots of work coatwise. My field dog Finn is easy to keep mat free, but my "ballgown" coat dog Tally takes 30 to 45 minutes a night. I just groom my three goldens every night with the pm news. If they weren't out in the woods with pine pitch burrs etc, I could probably get away with every other day. A tiny bit of goo gone for pitch or Pam cooking spray for burrs, Cowboy Magic. . . all are forum tricks. But for mats, I do think prevention is best. For now, cut the mats in half with sharp haircutting style s, and then in half again. When you get close to skin, try to gently untangle with your fingers. Check to see there are no hotspots underneath or inflammed looking skin.

 

Daisy and Charlie get them when they have been in water a lot and they never seem to be dry enough to groom them behind the ears i just gently cut them out i also try and keep the hair under control behind their ears i use thinning scissors on that hair if it gets a a bit thick.

 

When this happens to Lucy and they get too close to the skin to use scissors, I VERY carefully use a shaving razor. NOT a razor blade, but like the one you use on yourself. Throwaway(bic type) work fine. You hold the matt and start at the edge and very carefully shave the edges until it comes off or get it to the point where you can use scissors. It takes alittle time since you go very slowly and gently but so far I have done successfully without cutting her ears. Then TRY to keep them brushed. I say TRY because sometimes it seems those things are nonexsistent and then BAM there they are!!:no: Hope it works for you

 

Baby Powder - behind the ears , just a little - completely stops the knots from forming - keeps it silky and my pups never ever get them ....

 

Prevention is the key to mats. Once they're really formed, most of the solutions involve cutting the hair in some way.

I did invest in a mat comb just to have around. They look like this. Each tine of the comb is a blade, but the "point" of the blade is rounded, so you can sort of get them into or under the mat and gently saw your way through. I nicked Comet's skin once getting a mat out of his pants with scissors, so I needed something else. He didn't even flinch, but I saw that tiny dot of blood and the guilt caused me to go looking for other equipment.

 

I hadn't heard to baby powder...I'm gonna try that. I like the mat comb too. Sam's mats, and so far Ike's, have not been large...but it's a good idea to have the comb on standby.

 

thanks everyone.....unfortunately her matts are bad enough that i am going to have to cut them and will be alot more on top of behind the ears they are pretty close to the skin as well it was only one little matt and then it just turned into a big clump of one...i do brush her everyday but she doesn't like to be brushed and gives me a hard time. i am going to try your suggestions....

 

Smear peanut butter on the fridge at dog head height and work on her grooming while she cleans it off. She may decide she likes being brushed a lot better.

 

i've used cuticle scissors on uncombable ones

 

When I do have to trim a mat, I stuff a bone or Kong and let them worry with that.. I use a comb and gently wiggle it between the mat and their skin so there is no way I can cut them. I then cut tiny snips with small scissors until it is off. As already mentioned.. some times if you get the top part of a mat the rest can be combed out.

Prevention, when at all possible is the way to go..

 

Excellent suggestions in here. Molson's behind-the-ear hair is starting to get longer each day so I'm going to have to get him into a daily routine as many of you have mentioned.

Tippy, your PB fridge idea is genius! (side note, I can't remember how to spell genius... or is it genious?)

 

Before I get any more credit, I'm pretty sure I saw the PB-on-fridge trick somewhere on the forum. I've used the spoon thing before joining GRF, but I think somebody else came up with the fridge.

 

I think we have Stephanie to thank for that one. Also, before cutting, have you tried dampening the area and working in conditioner???

 

Sounds like cutting is a good idea.

As well as frequent brushing I also use a pair of thinning shears monthly to keep the hair behind their ears from getting out of control.

 

I also was going to suggest conditioner mixed with water in a spray bottle if you don't have Cowboy Magic.

 

WOW!!!! you guys have some great ideas!!!! i am going to work on the matts now and see what happens poor girl....she is all pretty and brushed out except for the matts behind the ears. she has the waviest coat with flyaways her back is really wavy and the hair around her ears sticks up sometimes...she is so cute IMHO....i am still searching for a good groomer for her i have tried 4 places and am still not happy....

 

i was successful getting the matts out...i combed and cut the ends and pulled them apart but i ended up using my daughters johnson kids no more tangles spray to spray on the matts it did work so now i am just going to watch to make sure she is okay and doesn't get a reaction or anything i figured it was okay for kids so maybe okay for maddiosn to try....hope i made the right decision in using that. she was tired so just lay on the floor while i did it and then i got her to sit up and change sides to do the other ear.