How do I prevent my pet poodle's fur to form mats and tangles? Please help me?

Question

I always brush my poodle but there are still mats forming.How can I prevent this? Any tips?

Answer 1

Poodles are a high matiance dog and since they do not shed they have to be taken to a groomer a lot and cut clipped and trimmed. My cousin has a bichon frise and like poodles they do not shed so she puts 1 table spoon or less of extra virgin oil in his food, it works for her. Also she brushes him every night for 40 minutes while watching T.V so it does not seem like such a chore. She does not show her dog so they don't grow it long and get a short kennel clip which i heard is great!
Here is some more information from some sites (names listed at sorces^_^)
Clipping Your Own Dog

General hints regarding clipping are these: make sure you have good quality clippers and scissors. Never force the clippers or use dull blades, because you can scrape the skin and cause clipper burn. Poodles with whites, grays and browns, have more sensitive skins than do the blacks, and that a dog that is regularly clipped does not scrape as easily as one left unclipped for a long while. Sores made by scraping can get infected very easily and at times need to be treated with an antibiotic or fungicide.

I recommend the No. 10 or a No. 15 Oster Clipper blade for puppies or dogs that are not trimmed regularly or the have sensitive skin. A No. 30 or higher is normally only used in show trims and should not be used by inexperienced groomer as they can burn the skin.

Equipment

Most grooming equipment can be picked up at a good pet store or at a dog show. Some groomers will order professional type of equipment for you. Ask for there help if you are not sure what to get. (I do not buy anything from stores that sell puppies or kittens, but this is a personal chose).

Clipper and Blades: Good clippers are costly and should be cared for, they will last longer and the blades will stay sharper. A good set of Oster clippers cost about $175 and blades anywhere from $25 to $40. Never use clippers on a very dirty dog or you will have to sharpen the blades. Clippers must be oiled and greased inside regularly. They will break if you drop them and it always seems that they get kicked off the table by a dog so never leave them on the table. It is convenient to have a number of blades for your clippers. They can be changed in the midst of clipping if they get too hot, and whatever size blade you choose to use is always ready. The blades should be changed rather often, since a dull blade pulls the hair and tends to leave the coat ragged. The small carbon brushes and springs wear out quickly in an old clipper, making the machine rattle when it is run; as they are easily replaced by unscrewing the small knobs on the side of the machine, these extra parts should be always on hand.

Scissors: A good pair of scissors cost $50 to $75 and should be chosen carefully. I prefer "double ducks" with a 7 inch blade. There are many on the market so test them out and see how they fit your hand, all scissors have a difference feel.

Brushes and Combs: I use different brushes and combs depending on whether the dog is in a show clip or a pet trim. For a show clip I only use a wooden handled bush with long flexible steel pins (some call these wig brushes). I use an English comb called a "greyhound" this is a steel comb with long fine teeth. Everyone has a preference and it depends on what you are used to. For my pets I normally use a "cocker" slicker brush. They are silver with a red handle. I find they don't scratch the skin like some slicker brushes do. I never use a slicker brush on a show coat; it tends to split the ends of the hair. Any good steel comb will work on pet trims.

It is important to brush out all the mats and tangles before you bath the dog, as they will only get worse once they are wet. Bathing tends to tighten up the knots.

Nail Clipper: I use the guillotine type of nail clipper but they all seem to work well. The most important thing when trimming nails is to not get them to short. Take off a little once a week. If you do plan on grooming your own dog regularly have some "quick stop" on hand to use in case you nick the dogs quick (you can purchase this at most pet stores). The quick is a small blood vessel running through the nail. If you trim the nails often the quick will recede. Clipping the nail to short and hitting the quick is not life threatening to the dog but it will make it harder to do his nails the next time. It is painful for them if you cut into the quick and should be avoided.

Bathing: Bathing your dog can either be a nightmare or a pleasant experience for both of you depending on how you go about it. I have a raised bathtub (it's easier on the back) with a non-slip floor. It is necessary to have a long shower hose with good water pressure. The biggest mistake most home groomers make is not getting out all the shampoo. It really makes not difference what shampoo you use, but you have to make sure you rinse them really well. Leaving soap in the hair will dry out and irritate the skin; this is why a lot of them tend to scratch (assuming they don't have fleas). Speaking of fleas, regular shampoo will not kill them or the eggs. You must use a shampoo specifically for ticks and fleas. Read the labels, some will kill only the fleas on the dog and some will kill the eggs and adult fleas as well as one that jump on later. I use a light cream rinse on the dog when I bath because it makes the coat easier to brush later. When you towel dry the dog don't rub the coat against the grain this will encourage knots. Just squeeze the coat with good absorbent towels. I bath my dogs every two to three weeks, more often if they get dirty. I have my standards in the house and like them to be clean.

Drying: I use a stand up commercial dryer for my dogs but they are very costly, ($400 and up). For pets a good hand dryer will work just fine. If the weather is warm you can partly air dry them and just use the hand dryer to fluff them up at the end. If you do use a commercial cage dryer make sure that the animal does not get to hot especially if they are older, they can get heat prostration even from a dryer.

Ear Cleaning: Some poodles tend to have ear problems for a number of reasons. They have heavy leathers and not much air gets in, making it a perfect environment for breeding bacteria. It seems that once you have ear problems they are very hard to clear up, they seem to re-occur. Poodles also tend to grow hair in their ears again keeping them from "breathing". I will tell you what I do with my dogs but it may not work for all. I clean their ears every time I groom or once every two weeks. I remove "pluck" any hair I can reach in the ear canal with my fingers. I wipe them out with a light mixture of vinegar and water (very diluted as the vinegar will burn) making sure that the ear is dry when I'm done. If you think they are damp inside (after bathing this could happen) use a hand dryer to dry them out. (Wet ears grow bacteria easier then dry ears). I tend not to dig at them with q-tips if possible; this will drive the wax further into the ear canal. I find that the more you dig at the ear the more infections you cause. If the dog does have an ear problem talk to your vet about the best way to treat it. Never let the ears get really bad, as I have heard of dogs rupture their eardrums by excessive head shaking because of bad ears.

If you do develop a chronic ear problem send me an email and I will send you a recipe for a great ear fixer. I have used it for the past year and have had no ear infections.

General

Grooming is one of the biggest expenses in owning a poodle. If you can afford it and don't like dog hair in your house or bathtub have them groomed by a professional shop. Pick your groomer as carefully as you would pick your hairdresser.

If the cost of regular grooming is to costly for you, have a groomer do it every second time, this will save you a bit of money.

If you want to do all your own grooming get a good book and some help from other who do it themselves.

I prefer to see a poodle cut right down then to see them unkempt, matted and dirty. Keeping them clipped very short is a necessity for dog that live on farms, bushy area, or if they are use for hunting.

Some good grooming books and videos are:

The Complete Poodle Clipping & Grooming Book (by Kalstone) $35

The Poodle (Oster video 30 min.) $47

If you can't find these books in your local area they can be ordered from:

Dogs in Canada

89 Skyway Avenue, Suite 200,

Etobicoke, Ontario



Canada M9W 6R4

Phone [phone] EST

Fax [phone]

Attn. Book Dept.

Good Luck

Answer 2

I'd say a good grooming would do the trick. A poodles hair doesn't do well long for some reason. Brushing it often doesn't even seem to prevent it was matting up.

The only other suggestion I might have is to use some sort of conditioner when you bath your poodle. That should help keep the matting under control between baths.

Answer 3

I have a poodle mix. The main reason that their fur gets tangled is from rubbing with a towel after a bath. Avoid rubbing the fur in all different ways. Consider getting your pet used to being dried with a blow dryer. That lets the little poodle ringlets of fur dry as they are meant to and not get all knotted up. Works well for us. I'm glad I had read this technique in a book when we first got our dog.

Answer 4

there are products in pet supply stores and some groomers sell them. i think they work like a conditioner. i don't know much about poodles but my vet recommended a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil an the dogs food once a day. they said it helps make the coat healthy. you may also want to feed your dog a premium dog food, vet recommended. we did this for our dog and he doesn't shed as much or smell doggie. i know poodles don't shed but this idea may help with your dogs coat.

Answer 5

You do know that poodles don't shed. How often do you take it to the groomers to be clipped? Try getting a short kennel clip. They last the longest for the money spent. Also never clip their ear "feathers". We did that to my poodle once and she gave us dirty looks for a week until my mother actually apoligized to the her. Belive me, we never did that again.

Answer 6

reading is way better the book maintains u thinking and you get more detail in what folks are thinking and you have more imagination

Answer 7

I'm a guy, and personally, I don't like long nails. I know a lot of like very long, painted nails cause they're "so pretty", but I don't like them.

Answer 8

Reading the book instead of seeing the movie is the ultimate way to see what the writer intended. Reading uses your thoughts, hones your reading skills, and can transform your life vocabulary

Answer 9

A little bit of toenail is fine... but I agree along with you. Long nails are kinda gross.

Answer 10

Get your dog groomed regularly. my grandma has a poodle and she takes him to the groomer to be professionally bathed every 1-2 weeks.

Answer 11

How often do you have your dog groomed at the dogparlour???
depending what type of poodle once a month, would be a good idea