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Mats

We picked up a dog at the local pound that was listed at a Maltese mix. It look pure Maltese...about 6 pounds. We've taken it in and had it groomed...but I would prefer to have her hair grow. I'm trying to grow it out...but the mats are horrible to deal with. Any good ideas on getting rid of them. Thanks for your help. Sandy

Unfortunately, the only way I was able to cope with mats was to cut them out. I don't know of any other way. The Maltese has such fine hair might be the reason. I myself would like to know of another solution.

I have found a wonderful product called Nova Pearls by Tomlyn. My Zoey has had hardly any matting because of this product. After you shampoo, you spray it on the damp hair, blow dry, and no knots or matting. It also makes the hair very soft and smells great.

One way to combat the mats, whatever product you use on them, is to first realize, you have to brush your Maltese every other day (if not everyday). Different textures of coats determine how often they must be brushed and some coats just require a once a day brushing. Second of all, when brushing do you brush all the way down to the skin? What I mean by this is parting the hair so that you can see the skin and brushing from root to tip. If you don't brush all the way to the skin, you could encounter mats by the skin, when not brushed out can mat so terribly the only way to get them out is to cut the dog down (have the hair shaved.) This in addition to a good coat product should help you to keep your Maltese's hair looking great!