Does anyone have any tips how to remove a knot of hair from behind dogs ear?

[Diddytv]

She is nervous as she doesn’t understand what I am planning to do when I approach her. She knows I want to poke around behind her ear. I am not sure what best plan of action is ? 😬

@TurquoiseBaubles

Has anyone ever used this?

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I use their undercoat rake which is great but I was wondering if the "matt stripper" worked or just cut the entire length off!

I have one of those, it tends to cut out the whole mat. They are good for small matts, especially behind the ears but have a tendcy to pull at the hair, you need to keep the hair slack with another hand and my dog isn't especially keen on the sawing motion so I tend to use scissors more often.

I ordered one of those catrus, haven’t used it yet

I know people with working spaniels who brush them over with horse mane and tail detangler before taking them out. This helps prevent tangles starting the first place, and makes the ones that do crop up easier to remove.

Oh thanks for that suggestion. I just looked on Amazon, I wonder if it works differently to the dog detangler I got already

I'm not sure. Possibly it just works out cheaper per mil and if you're working two spaniels every other weekend all winter you'll get through a lot. Dogs brushed down with it look ever so shiny!

I've had Pekes and SHih-Tzu for the last 35 years. I find using round ended scissors with the slightly bendy end helps a lot as I can't cut into the dog. Also slice into the knot vertically - a few slices in, rather than across, often loosen the knot enough for the brush to take it out.

Where possible hold the hair on the skin side of the knot so that when you brush you're not tugging on the knot at all. That really does help. As does conditioner sprayed in - Pet Head works for mine at the moment. If you can't hold it skin side, then slice into the knot and brush gently.

I get mine used to brushing when they first come to me - baby brushes and using them more to caress the dog while she's sleepy - and very gradually getting more invasive over the weeks.

My shih-tzu both go to the groomer but if I left knots in for six weeks I'd get virtually bald dogs back on grooming day. My Pekes never went to the groomer and used to beg to be brushed, lying on their backs and waggling their paws at me.

I've had adult rescues and I get them used to being brushed in exactly the same way as pups - baby brushes - a lot - and oh so very gradually getting a little more serious about it.

I have horses and use baby oil or coconut oil to brush out their tails which get dread locked very easily.
Mane and tail spray on the manes, it's just a silicon spray.
Cheaper version is the Lustre pink spray which you can get in Boots.
We had a spaniel who matted really badly if we didn't keep on top of his grooming and would just rub any of the above on our hands and just stroke and rub him to soften the hair and prevent matts.

Thank you for all these tips. I wondered about using olive oil perhaps but didn’t want anything that would attract other dogs to sniff her on walks. Maybe baby oil or coconut oil would be better from this point of view