my beardie girl is nearly 10 months and I have groomed her every day since I got her at 8 weeks, however this last 4 weeks something bizarre has happened!! she is getting terrible matts in her coat even if I spend an hour detangling an area the next day she will be matted again. She is very active and jumps and rolls about a lot but still I cant believe the extent of the matts. In all info i have read on beardie coats it says regular grooming will prevent problems. I have had to cut some out as they just arent workable the fur changes into thick cotton wool texture. can anyone advise any products and also do certain kind of collars cause less problems as her collar area is really bad?
she is in desperate need of a bath but I am worried about bathing her until she is tangle free in case this makes it worse?
many thanks
emma

Has she been spayed by any chance?

no she hasnt been spayed yet she finished her first season just before this fur problem started.

http://www.scbcc.co.uk/

There's a page on grooming the Beardie above :)

Do you finish with a comb through after brushing?  It helps to catch any mats forming ;)

Hopefully a Beardie person will be along soon :)

The beardie people I know always groom using a spray bottle of very dilute Lenor disolved in water. They comb and brush the very slightly damp coat and this leaves a very thin coating of an anti-static which helps with tangles. It is washed out during bathing of course.
I know there are many products which claim to do the same but with lots of dogs with lots of coat it makes sense.It is designed to be next to human skin so no worries there.

That's interesting Toolz. I was going looking at Crufts for a conditioning spray, as of my three Rough Collies two have the correct coat texture and do not mat. The third tangles as you look at her, and comes back from the woods with twigs, leaves and I swear sometimes squirrels tangled into her coat. As she is rarely shown, a friend recommended I try some sort of conditioner, which I wouldn't normally put near a Rough.

Do you know what dilution they use, please?

M.

Oh, and just for interest, yes my girl had to be spayed after a litter was aborted and she became infected. However, she had a bad coat texture and profuse coat even before that, which thankfully doesn't actually seem to have got any worse.

Hi
I use a spray of Summerwinds Protect a Coat Conditioning Oil diluted in water every time I groom.  You need to sort out the dilution to sort your dog.  It can also be used as a conditioner.  Can be bought from http://www.petcetera.co.uk for just under £10.  I would give a bath as soon as you have got mats out and condition coat well.  Spray summerwinds as you brush each layer of coat.  Hope this helps - I don't have beardies but do have 4 persian cats and shih tzu's  and did show OES a long time ago so used to long coats.  The persians have been very changing coats at the present and mats seem to appear before your very eyes.  I know some dogs coat texture changes as they finish their season so maybe that is the cause.  Best of luck with it!

Also of course the Beardie may be changing from puppy to adult coat so there may be loose lost coat which will be dead and of a different texture, getting caught up in the new coat.

I used a detangling spray for a very matted (felted to the skin) castrated Samoyed belonging to a relative as they had got into such a mess with his candy floss coat.  They had just been surface brushing and the old coat had felted up with the new and when bathed he smelt bad with all this dead coat.

I showed them how to groom in sections down to the skin, and proved once the dead coat was all out that he would not smell after a bath, but also that his coat would stay clean if groomed properly.

Also if the beardie is a pet and not likely to be shown it can help to thin or remove coat in the areas that tangle the worst, without visibly altering the appearance, for example the armpits, inner side of thighs etc.

thanks everyone I will try some of your suggestions I have been using puppy shampoo and puppy grooming spray think its time for tougher action now! I am hoping this will improve with her adult coat im sure I read somewhere that the in between stage is worse? Brainless that is the exact word I was looking for "felted" but I have been brushing to her skin. so I will try with these suggested products and hopefully get her in the bath at last!
thanks all
emma x

Hi I have 3  beardies Pm me and I will give you some tips .

Roni

In response to Lily Mc

I've asked and they say about a thimble full of Lenor to a litre of water ( bottled spring water). I suspect the anti-static ingredients are very similair to the dog coat sprays but  with so many dogs in show coat it's more economical and smells great too.

Thanks Toolz, will give it a try.

M.