How to look after Spanish Water Dog's coat, my way with Bruno Spanish Water Dog - 2. How to Split Spanish Water Dog's matted coat

In this section, I will show you "How I handle matted corded coat of my Spanish Water Dog.

Like as I mentioned at previous blog, SWD has 2 type of coat, one has no undercoat and does not get matted, the other has a lot of fluffy woolly coat and larger cord and gets matted if not attended, or not swimming.  That is my dog's coat....

For easily matting SWD coat with under coat - I always wonder what is the fluffy coat mean on corded SWD's coat.

When my dog swim nearly everyday and when it is wet, this fluff gets tighter and keep the cord large and tight, and he never has matted coat.

But in winter time, when he does not swim and coat is too dry, this fluff start wonder out from cord and start being naughty thing, fluff together and create matting.

To write this blog to show how beginner's how to show, I started to take fluff out, I studied his fluff afterwards. 

Looks like, wool, wool which I do felting for hobby...

And I tried to felt to see if that works, and it did, did felted so well.

That is the reason why if you left unattended, it matt up like felt.

So I felted SWD's nose... 

**********

Okay, so let's go back to the original 

First Video of how to split and take the fluffy under coat between cord which making matting, then you can start:

1) Find Matted Area  

2) Gently Split 

3) Take fluffy coat from the matted cording

My Spanish Water Dog has nicely cording coat but woolly coat, and the bottom of the cording have fluffy undercoat which if not attended, can be matted together.

I have been doing this on my Spanish since the last dog, over 14 years. It should not be painful thing to do, the fluff is not actually attached to the skin, on the matted coat rather. 

First look for the matted area, where the corded coat start to stuck together, or stuck completely already.

First, please have a look at this video - how to split and take under coat around corded coat. Not heavily matted here but this video gives you basic idea of splitting cord and take the fluff.

Taking undercoat means not actually plucking the hair from the skin, it is excess fluffy coat at the bottom of the cording, which keeps bind together and makes matt if not controlled.

First, Find the matted area, then split gently and take the fluff stuck in between the cord

You can see at the bottom of the cording, fluffy under coat start to get stick together and forming matting.

You would like to take this fluffy coat out pulling gently out. 

Once you take the fluff, the cording is clear and you can see the skin. Leaving thin matt ending up the felted hard mat eventually. 

Find the matt

Split and take the fluff out

You have to make sure all the cording are separated
and you can see the skin

*******

< Further matted coat >

Once you start mastering basic splitting, 

then multiple matted cord can be split easily.

But if it can not be split with your fingers easily, it turn rather felted. 

I will show you this in next chapter

**********

In the end, all of the coat have to be mat free, and skin has to be seen, it is important for their health and hygiene, and comfort.

I hope this gave you some idea?

********

My company MD10 Ltd celebrated 10 years on 9 Feb 2021

One of the breeder in Spain told me once, "Spanish Water Dog will change your life".... and it did, to change my job completely. From small video production company to International Dog Shampoo distributor, of MD10 from Spain.

www.md10shop.eu