[TraceyTracey]

I went to doggy day care yesterday to collect Daisy and the lady had kindly groomed her (which she does quite often) and she showed me a pile of hair, tangles/matts that came from her. I was quite startled as I groom her daily and as far as I am concerned she has a couple of tangles a day and I hardly sheds any hair. .

She has quite fluffy fur and can get tangly and she gets the odd matt, she is 10 months old and was spayed at 8.5 months.

Could her puppy fur be shedding or perhaps is she shedding because of the spaying... please let me have your thoughts because the amount of hair that had come from her was quite worrying given that I groom her every day and check her for tangles and matts, thanks .

 

[pinkpixie1588]

It could be because of how the well-meaning lady groomed her. Depending on what type of comb/brush she used, if she sprayed anything on her first, and how she attempted to work through tangles/mats, it all could've been coat breakage. Not good, if that's the case. I would try to find some kind way to ask her not to be groomed while you aren't there, or send her along with a nice brush and grooming spray to minimize breakage.

 

[uniquelovdolce]

yeah i thought the same thing if u groom her everyday and u hadnt noticed that much shedding , it might have been breakage , maybe the brush, maybe pulling out tangles.. hmm ...

 

[LJSquishy]

The woman may have used a brush that isn't intended for a Maltese coat, like a slicker brush. Those basically yank out the hair, break it, and split the ends all at the same time. I like the suggestion of bringing your own brush & grooming spray for her to use (get a 2nd set if you only have one now) for the woman to use if she wants to brush her out while she's at daycare.

 

[mi_ku_5]

Are you sure you are brushing correctly? (all the way to the skin, not just the surface) That would be my first guess, especially since you and the groomer are finding mats. If you aren't getting all the hair out, there was a lot of build up. All dogs shed, even Poodles. The just shed differently. W/ breeds like Maltese and Poodles; they shed a tiny bit all the time. (like people) Instead of just falling out on the furniture, their hair gets caught in the coat. If it isn't brushed out, you get mats. Maybe you should ask the groomer what kind of brush she is using and if she can show you how to brush correctly.

 

[myfairlacy]

well it could have been two situations, as maltese don't shed. I've seen a lot of owners that don't think their dog has matts, but they only skim the surface of the coat and don't get the brush down into the hair..so there will be matts and tangles in the coat that the owner apparently doesn't know about. Otherwise, I agree with everyone else's posts above...the lady might have used a slicker brush and broke off a lot of her coat...slickers can do a lot of damage to a long Maltese coat.

 

[Tina]

My guess the groomer is grooming like I used to. With a heavy hand. Maltese have a more delicate hair than even human's, so you have to be very gentle when brushing. The madan brushes really helped me a lot. It goes through the coat gently. I learned the hard way. As everyone else has said it all depends on the equipment used to brush her with that depends on how much hair you end up pulling out.

 

[08chrissy08]

It's also possible that the groomer caused some of the matts herself. A lot of groomers haven't figured out that maltese have to be brushed before being bathed or it just makes any knots tighter. For this reason, I brush my two VERY well before they go to the groomer.

 

[TraceyTracey]

Thank you ladies, this has given me a few things to think about.

The lady that looks after Daisy who groomed her (brushed her only) uses the same brushes and combs as me.

I will make sure I am doing my brushing properly in case the problem is me and I have also just ordered a Madan Pin brush which I understand is a very good brush.

Thanks