Mats behind the ears.

[Emmasmom]

Liam loves to bite and pull Emma around the ears. She had been really good for a long times, months in fact, but lately has been getting mats where he is biting at her. I think this is part of her problem. His problem is that his fur is really fine around the ears. Emma's fur is crinkled like Jasper's.

 

[SheepOfBlue]

Sca has kind of grown out of it (thankfully) but Dow got them for his whole life. One thing that might help is when you get a mat sometimes you can cut vertically and they brush out rather than cut the whole mat. Give it a try as it might not work on a Sheltie (Dow was a heinz 2)

 

[danisgoat]

Dandie started blowing her coat this week, and I was working on brushing her last night and I found a couple of really small mats behind her ears. I worked on them with a comb, slowing working them out. She didn't seem to mind too much, and they came out pretty easily, as they were new.

I am thinking maybe the increase in mats behind the ears has something to do with the timing of when they blow their coat? Good question.

 

[BarbV]

Don't you mean to slice in the same direction as the fur growth?

That's what I do to break up the matts for combing without actually cutting the matts off. Cutting sideway would just cutt off the matt, I think.

 

[Pal's Mom]

I have this problem a lot because the boys tug at each other all the time in playing. I watched a u tube video on grooming. They said to hold the hair at the base of the mat then comb it out. I use a slicker brush and comb behind the ears at least every other day because it is such an issue for me.

Donna

 

[Smudge]

I have this problem a lot because the boys tug at each other all the time in playing.

Fluffy does this to Smudge a lot. She has to give a small jump to do it though. She bites his tail and holds on to it a lot, too. It's a wonder the poor kid has any fur left.

I've never seen Smudge do it to Fluff. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen, it just means I've never seen it.

 

[BarbV]

Yes, that's when Indy tends to get matted as well.....dog saliva seems to be like glue! Bacca definitely goes for the ears when he is "playing".

 

[Calliesmom]

Dixie had some mats behind her ears- Cran often eats her head and I'm sure that's what causes her problem
Cran doesn't get many mats but Dixie prefers legs and feet to ears
Callie had some on her bad ear- I think the extra fluid from her ear cleanings contributed to that. lots of checking the ears, then brushing if needed, has helped a lot

 

[Chris]

Baby powder or cornstarch -- that's our answer. The hair behind the ear is oilier and wavier, in most cases. The powder helps absorb the oil and reduces "Collie balls," as we call them.

 

[k9kreationz]

For those that have had shelties for a long time, question. Is this something that goes away as they age? I noticed Miko was like this when he was younger, but now, he rarely gets mats. But Koji, ugh, always matted.

Jessica, if you don't like using scissors to slice through the hair (in the direction the hair grows) to loosen up the mat, I use something like this dematting tool. It makes me feel less guilty than having to just cut it out.

Also, you said you stay away their head when bathing. I would suggest putting cotton in their ears to help (a big enough wad that it doesn't go into the canal, but small enough it won't fall out). Also, when I was my boys' heads, I tend to turn the ear down and just go for it. You gotta wash their heads. Then I use an ear cleaner to clean the inside area of their ears. I figure the ear wax isn't helping the matts either.

I'm told the baby powder helps, but I don't use it. Mostly because I hate the smell of baby powder. Unfortunately, it reminds me of doggie poop bags, lol. I wonder if baby wipes would help keep the area clean since you they also don't like getting their faces washed. Hmm....

Just throwing out some ideas.