Golden Retriever Matted Hair: The Best Solutions!

To maximize the natural beauty of your Golden Retriever, taking care of her coat is something that should be part of her overall care. While many owners take their Golden Retriever to be professionally groomed, a lot can be done at home. If you have golden retriever matted hair problems, this is the article for you. 

Golden Retriever Matted Hair: What To Do 

If you own a Golden Retriever, you know that your dog is trustworthy, lovable, and has an easy-going temperament. You note, too, that this breed is known for its golden coat of thick, fluffy fur. With such an easy-going disposition, the grooming of this beautiful coat can be a great bonding experience.

It’s best to start early when your gold is still a pup so that he/she understands and knows the routine. Daily head to toe brushing is best, but even once a week, it helps avoid mating and reduces shedding.

As your golden ages, you can understand precisely what ages mean by matting and shedding. When the Golden Retrievers get mats, they’re popular for having them behind their ears, under their arms and legs, and around the “back end” area. These dense clumps of hair can be difficult to extract. That’s why daily brushing and thinning their hair in these areas can be a great preventive measure.

If you have golden retriever matted hair issues, it will just worsen, and it should be removed. Here are a few tips and measures to follow to help rid your dog of these nasty mats!

Method 1: Cleaning The Mats

To solve your golden retriever matted hair problems, here is the first method! 

Please Make Sure Your Dog Is Calm.

Pet, speak to your dog in a quiet voice. Give him medications as you begin to do. If you can, try to get him to lay down. The removal of mats can be very painful for your dog. They have very sensitive skin, and mats will pull and stress the skin.

Spray The Coat With The Detangler.

You can spray your dog’s coat with a detangling spray before you start. Keep the detangle spray on for a couple of minutes. This will help loosen the mattresses and make it easier for them to brush. Detangling sprays can not always operate on thick mats in your dog’s coat.

Brush Your Dog With It.

Mats are also found around the head, under the neck, under the stomach, and along the back of the legs. Using a slicker brush with wire bristles that are slightly bent at the ends to find the mats. Make sure the bristles don’t touch the skin of your dog to prevent discomfort.

Take The Mat At The Foundation.

Take the base of the mat in your hand in the position nearest to your dog’s skin. This protects your dog’s skin from constant pulling and harming it. It will also help keep the brush from burning since your hand is between the brush and your dog’s skin.

Detangle The Mat With Your Fingertips.

When you find mats, first try to untangle them with your fingertips. Be very gentle. This can be painful for the skin of your dog. Separate the matte hair a little at a time. Patience is the secret to this!

Rub Cornstarch Into The Matt.

Cornstarch is also used as a killing aid. It could help to loosen and untangle the fur. Another solution is to spray each mat with a light coconut oil coat before combing it out.

Take The Mat.

Sometimes when a mat is very tangled, a comb or other dematting tool may work better than your fingertips. This pick action allows the hair to be divided by going in and out instead of pulling through. Instead of beginning at the base, go up from the ends. This will help to relax your hair even though it may not be completely separated.

Comb With The Dematting Comb.

If you still can’t detach all the mat with your fingertips, use a dematting comb. Pull the comb from the base to the tip of the mat.

Again if the mat is bad, reverse the motion and comb from the tip to the base to reduce the pressure on your dog’s fur. Do not peel straight away, but use a teasing motion. Make sure you hold onto the mat to avoid pulling the skin of your dog.

Try The Mat Rake.

If your fingers, a brush, or even a comb are not working, try a mat rake. The mat rake has sharp teeth and can be sliced through the mat. This is meant to be done very softly.

Complete Brushing.

If the mat is loose enough, use the slicker brush to finish brushing the mat. Clean in the direction that your hair grows, and keep brushing your dog’s coat.

Method 2: Cut Out The Mats

Here is a second solution to your golden retriever matted hair problems. Read on to learn more!

Try Using A Mat Splitter.

Try a mat splitter if the mat doesn’t break apart or loosen with your fingertips, a rake, or a comb. Keep the mat at the foundation. To cut the matt into smaller strips, use the mat splitter. Act with your fingertips or a comb over it. When you cut your hair, use a scissor movement. Be cautious with a mat splitter because it is sharp and can seriously hurt your dog’s paws, skin folds or loose skin, and the tip of your tail.

Try The Electrical Clippers.

If anything else fails, try the clippers. Use the clippers to shave off the mat, work slowly to avoid injury. This can leave a bare patch on the coat where you’ve shaved. Be careful – don’t cut your dog’s skin too close!

Take Your Dog To The Groomers.

If your dog doesn’t comply or the mats are too tough, take your dog to the groomers. They have the expertise, skills, and tools to work with these challenging mats. If it’s required, they can shave down the mats for you as a last resort!

Avoid The Use Of Scissors.

Some recommend the use of scissors; however, this may be a dangerous practice. You can seriously damage your dog—you can pull, strain, and/or cut your skin, particularly around sensitive areas such as your ears.

Golden Retriever Matted Hair: How To Prevent Matting

Here are some ways to prevent matting and save yourself from the troubles of removing golden retriever matted hair.

Brush The Dog’s Hair Daily.

The number one thing you can do to avoid mating in your dog’s coat is frequent and thorough combing and brushing. How much you need to brush your dog depends on the type of coat you have and whether it’s shedding “season” (when their coats change from a thinner summer coat to a thicker winter coat or vice versa). Breeds with long coats, curly coats, or fine fur should be brushed more frequently, even daily in some cases, whereas other coat styles may only need to be brushed once a week.

One of the most common errors made while brushing a dog’s fur is combing the top layer, potentially making matting worse. If you’re just concentrating on the top layer of your dog’s hair, your brushing is simply moving any loose fur down and getting closer to the surface. You may prevent this by using the right brush for your dog’s coat type—such as an undercoat rake if your dog has a double coat, or a rotating pin comb or a slicker brush if your dog has a single layer of curly coat. Check out this article for an in-depth look at what combs or brushes are ideally suited to your dog’s specific coat.

Using a detangling leave-in conditioning spray can also make brushing easier, particularly if your dog has a long coat that is easily tangled. Spray the leave-in conditioner on your dog’s damp coat after washing and before drying, or gently spray it over dry fur and brush it over your dog’s coat.

Remove The Leash Of Your Dog When Not In Use And Use A Rolled Leather Collar.

Mats often develop underneath the collar of your dog or parts of the chest and armpits where their walking harness rests. Remove the belt when it’s not on the leash. Consider using a rolled leather collar instead of a flat collar to avoid tangles around the neck.

Make Daily Visits To Your Professional Groomer.

Some breeds and breed mixtures require extensive coat care to avoid mating, such as Poodles, Doodle-mixes, Coton de Tulear, and Bichon Frisés. Even with daily at-home brushing, they’re fine fur is matted very easily, particularly after it gets wet. Even using an ear-cleaning solution on a daily basis, there might be enough moisture to place the hair around the ears (like in the photo below). Consider scheduling a professional brush out service with your groomer between full grooming appointments to keep the matt at bay, or request a partial grooming appointment).

If you want to keep your dog’s coat long, these maintenance appointments are necessary, combined with regular brushing to avoid mating. We suggest that you go to the groomer for a full groom and haircut service every 6 to 8 weeks if you have a dog with a high maintenance coat form to maintain the coat’s tip-top shape.

Daily at-home grooming and maintenance appointments mean that your dog can have a much easier experience with the groomer during their spa treatments. Even when performed by a professional, mat removal can be very unpleasant for a dog, and you don’t want your dog to equate the groomer with a painful brush or full shave every visit.

Pro Tip: 

Take your dog to your groomer for enjoyable mini-visits between appointments, where they can say hello to the staff and snack on some tasty treats. This will help create a healthy association for your dog and keep them from expecting bathing and grooming every time they get in.

Keep The Dog’s Fur-trimmed Short.

Another way to stop matting is to keep your dog’s coat clipped nice and short, making it easier to wash. If you follow this path, you’ll need to take them to the groomer more often than not.

A shorter haircut is only recommended for dogs with single-layer coats—double-coated breeds or breed mixtures (Siberian Huskies, Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, Rottweilers, etc.) should not be shaved unless recommended by your veterinarian for medical reasons. Many dog owners assume that their double-coated breed would be cooler in the heat if they shave their hair, but shaving their outer coat down actually has the opposite effect! Shaving a dog’s coat exposes their skin to an increased risk of sunburn and skin cancer. Their outer coat is essential for both temperature control and sun protection.

What Groomers Can And Can’t Do To Mats

Quality professional groomers do not want to shave your dog shorter than requested or as appropriate. Matting also makes their job challenging since it determines the length of the dog’s coat they can cut, as they have to clip under the mats. If there is a pelting present, this means that the haircut is going to be very short. This could be frustrating for pet owners when they pick up their dog from the grooming shop expecting a longer haircut, but sometimes the groomer doesn’t have any other choice.

There are a few things you can do to stop this annoyance. Find a reliable dog groomer with whom you feel relaxed and who you feel knows your grooming preferences. Spend a couple of minutes with them when you drop your dog off for a meeting to decide what you want. Have them feel some mats over your dog’s body before you go. If they encounter trouble spots, then you have a chance to chat about what you’d like to do.

There are a few choices that you can explore with your matting groomer.

Shave the matt areas shorter, thus leaving the rest of the coat to the desired length—while attempting to blend these shorter areas. It is always noticeable where the coat is shorter. This is easier to do if the mats are limited to those places, such as the abdomen or the inner legs.

Shave all over with the shorter duration required to remove the mat. This might be very short if the mats have knotted close to the skin, but the haircut is even, and it won’t look so spotty.

Overall, the best thing you can do is avoid mats from forming with daily brushing and coat maintenance (including keeping your pets on safe and effective medications to prevent fleas and other parasites from their coats). Make sure you’ve got a reliable dog groomer who will teach you tips and tricks to handle your dog’s fur and keep your puppies well-coiffed, happy and safe.

Golden Retriever Matted Hair: Do You Need Golden Retriever Grooming?

Do you need a Golden Retriever to groom? The short answer to that is yes. Golden Retrievers have a beautiful golden double coat that doesn’t need a lot of daily care, but the weekly brushing is wise, particularly when it’s shed. Besides shaving, your Golden will need to trim their thighs, heels, and ears.

You can take your Golden to the grooming lounge, but you can also take care of yourself. Here are a few tips and suggestions to get you started.

It’s smart to start brushing when your Golden is only a puppy. A young puppy’s coat doesn’t need to be groomed yet, but this way, your Golden Pup will get acquainted with the brush, the scissors, touching and stroking him or her, looking at his or her teeth by opening the mouth, etc.

This will make the grooming experience a good one for both you and your dog. Your local grooming salon will also be glad that your pup will encourage people to contact him or her if you plan to take your dog to the groomer!

Some dogs enjoy being washed, groomed, and bathed. Goldens need to be brushed regularly, and they need to be brushed every other day while they’re grinding. You should check the skin and skin of your Golden Retriever for wounds or parasites when brushing your Golden Retriever.

It also helps you to check if your ears are clean. The thick coat and undercoat keep your Golden warm in winter, cool in summer, and protect against all sorts of external factors. Abundant hair on the legs and ears can be quickly trimmed; see the “trimming advice” later on in this blog.

Golden Retriever Matted Hair: Advice On Golden Retriever Grooming

The Golden Retriever comes with a double coat: an undercoat that insulates from heat, cold, and water, and an outer coat that covers the skin, for example, when your dog runs through thick bushes. The coat of the Golden Retriever does not need much grooming, and the dog should look natural and regular. Still, some pieces need to be trimmed to give the Golden a well-maintained and functional look.

Final Words

As its name suggests, the Golden Retriever is best known for its flowing, golden coat of dense, fluffy fur. It’s easy to keep the medium-length coat of the breed shiny and elegant with daily grooming. Also, this adorable canine is also known for its loyal, easy-going nature and affection for the people who care for it. Because the Golden Retrievers are so easy-going, and their coats are so easy to care for, grooming a golden retriever doesn’t have to be a hassle, but it can be a fun bonding time for you and your canine friend.