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Matted Dogs
I would like to address the problem Groomers face when presented with a dog whose coat is a matted and knotted.
EVERYONE including Groomers and Owners have to abide by The Animal Welfare Act 2006, see here for details
http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/welfare/act/index.htm
From 6th April 2007 (and in Wales from 27th March 2007) animal welfare law was improved. Not only is it against the law to be cruel to an Animal, you must also ensure that the animals welfare needs are met.
It makes owners responsible for ensuring that their animal welfare needs are met.
These include the need:
• For a suitable environment (place to live)
• for a suitable diet
• to exhibit normal behaviour patterns
• to be housed with or apart from other animals (if applicable)
• to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease
The law also increases the minimum age a person can buy an animal to 16 and prohibits giving animals as prizes to unaccompanied children under this age.
Anyone who is cruel to an animal or does not provide for its welfare needs may been banned from owning animals. Fined up to £20,000 and /or sent to prison.
When a dog is presented to us extremely knotted with the coat matted close to the skin. This is very uncomfortable for the dog, being unable to move properly without causing discomfort.
To try and brush or comb out each knot would cause extreme distress and pain to the animal and is cruel to put the dog through this and is no-longer allowed under The Animal Welfare Act 2006.
The ONLY option for us and to ensure the dogs comfort and protection is to remove the knots with care and as quickly and without distress for the dog. If you have ever had a single knot in your own hair, you know just how painful, trying to brush out that knot can be, and also just how sore your scalp is afterwards from where that knot has been pulling on the scalp whilst it was there. Now equate that to a dog or cat whose whole body is covered in knots.
Their skin is being pulled constantly by those knots.
It makes them hate being touched by anyone because in hurts to be touched. Their only way to alert anyone to this might be to snap and bite to warn people away.
• Tangles take days to form, and minutes to remove with a comb and brush
• Knots take weeks to form and take hours to remove with expertise by trimming or clipping out
• Matted coats take months to for and take hours to remove and cannot be removed painlessly unless clipped off if there is enough Matt free hair behind the knot to do so.
• Pelted sheep like felt coats takes 6months to form and take hours to be removed painlessly by clipping off slowly in one whole body sized pelt, and in some cases require anaesthesia at a Veterinary Surgery to ensure the animals welfare if it is too distressed.
For the dog, it doesn't end there.
After those knots have been removed there then follows the normal reactions of repair and rejuvenation of the skin that over the past few weeks or months, has been smothered and restricted by the tightness of those restricting knots.
Over the following few days, for the skin to begin to return to normal the first thing that happens is the blood flow returning to the skin surface. We all know what happens when we got out in the cold without a coat we shiver, this is a normal bodily function that speeds up blood flow and to feed the millions of nerves present on the skins surface, not only heat us up, but protect us and allow us to react quickly to cold, heat, danger.
These nerves are the ones that tell us our skin is sore, and as said above, we know how our scalp feels after one tiny knot, now you can see just whilst going through this stage.
• The dog is shivering - it's not through cold, but the blood returning to the nerves on the skins surface
• The dog doesn't want to be touched – the skins nerves are all returning and reacting to the relief of freedom from the knots
• The dog is hiding away – it doesn't want to risk being touched whilst its skin is tender. It might react in the only way it can, by biting, and it doesn't want to do that.
• The dog is sleeping a lot or doesn't want to “Go Walkies” would you if your skin felt like sunburn with every movement?
It takes time for the skin to return to normal, usually around a few days.
But if there are hidden skin conditions or parasites under that matted coat, caused by the lack of attention and air circulation over many weeks or months. These will now be visible and require the attention of the animals Vet. These can range from yeast infections, flea dermatitis, even maggots!
If Brushing and combing is not done regularly by us owners, so much so that by this time small knots have appeared, which we then try and brush or comb out, because they appear easy to get out. This causes the animal pain or distress, so no-wonder they run each time they see us coming with brush and comb in hand, or try and bite us whilst we are grooming!
Regular daily grooming is the answer,
As responsible dog and cats owners, by examining our pets daily during the grooming process that involves brushing and combing through their hair, removing tiny tangles that would in time make huge knots, then the problems mentioned above can be avoided.
Not only that, the pheromones released by both animal and owner during the grooming process are what's called “Happy hormones”.
They relieve stress, give a feeling of well being, and make both feel so much better!
If these hormones aren't allowed to be produced on a regular basis, they can lead to the feeling of stress, bad temper and depression.
Hence why an animal not groomed regularly will exhibit signs of refusal of being groomed or bad temper at being handled.
So can the Blame for a matted knotted dog be laid at the Groomers hands?
We are here for the animal's welfare and feelings first.
Without question, we do what is BEST for each individual animal we are presented with. No "ifs or buts”.
The Groomer has to do their very best to relieve the present condition as quickly and as distress free as possible for the animal in their care. ©JG2009
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