Conquering Mats Part 2

***NOTE***

If you haven't yet read Part 1 of this series, click here to read it.

We'll start with the simplest of these "tricks" that involve a minimum of special grooming tools: a slicker brush, a metal comb, and your fingers.

First mentally note where the mats are.  Choose and work with a small area at a time. It can be helpful to have some tiny treats on hand to occasionally reward your little one for accepting this grooming situation.

Keep de-matting sessions short.  Give your little pal frequent breaks to play and  have some fun with you.  It's better to have several 10-minute sessions than work for a solid hour.

 To begin the "mat attach," gently brush around the mat to get loose, dead hair out of the coat.   "Slicker brushes" work well for this  as they are designed to be easy on the coat while helping to remove tangles, dead hair, and excess undercoat.
 
 Next, pull the mat apart with your fingers. This process helps to loosen the matted hair.  This pulling action should be from the center of the mat outwards so that your hands pull from the opposite directions.  Take care not to do any pulling away from your little buddy's body as this would be quite painful.
 
 After pulling the mat in opposite directions with from the left and from the right, change your pulling angle. Now pull the mat in opposite directions from above and below.  Again, remember not to pull any hair away from the body because this would hurt!
 
 Often mats can be pulled a part several times just by working at them with your fingers.  The smaller that they can be divided, the more effective a metal comb and slicker brush are likely to be.
 
 After separating the mat as much as possible with our fingers, use a metal comb.  With one hand, hold the mat very close to your little buddy's skin to prevent painful pulling. Start by gently combing very close to the outer end of the mat. If combing successfully works to untangle the end of the mat, very gradually comb closer and closer to the body.
 
 Another word of caution:  combing depth should also be done progressively. Avoid trying to comb through the entire thickness of the mat at once.  That kind of pulling translates into major pain!  Instead, work with a light touch.
 
 Follow-up combing with gentle strokes of the slicker brush.
 
It may be necessary to recycle through this 3 step process again if the mat smaller, but still not gone.
 
 In summary, there is a simple sequence for successfully conquering basic mats:
 *Pull the mat apart in opposite directions with your fingers to make it smaller and more manageable.
 *Hold the mat next to the skin with one hand and work on the mat with a metal comb, using your other hand.
 *Brush the hair gently with a slicker brush.
 

A third article on "Conquering Mats" will explain how to tackle the worse and thickest kind of mats.  Keep watch for the next Bichon-Gram announcing this final article in this  important series!