How the heck do I remove balls of matted fur from dogs inner thigh area?

[Yumyo]

Long hair border collie. We groom every other day to keep on top of all the matts but somehow missed this area. When she rolls onto her back I can see terrible matted fur. I can’t work out how to reach it. Do I need to train her to let me lift up her back leg maybe? Anyone any tips?

Will she let you shave them off so you can start from scratch and then groom the area regularly?

You’ll need to cut it out. Or take her to be groomed and they will do it for you

Yes she gets matts behind her ears that she lets me cut out. But I am just not sure how to access this area very easily.

Ah, I hold my spaniel sort of upright on my knee and get someone else to groom those bits when they get matted.
Day to day grooming I do similar, but can comb him through myself.

Sit on the floor and get her to lie between your legs and roll onto her back, so long as you’ve got the right end, you can cradle her between your legs like an upturned turtle whilst simultaneously snipping the matted fur out and occasionally administering tummy rubs.
treats afterwards for good behaviour. Worked well for ours.

Will she lie on her back? That’s the easiest way.

I have a long haired border collie who hates being groomed and gets matted trousers. I cut the matts out in the shower, it's the only time he'll stand still and let me get round the back and between his legs.

If you can't manage it yourself then you'll need to get them shaved out at the groomers.

Yeah she doesn’t tend to sit on our laps the way you describe. She is cuddly and snuggles in next to us but doesn’t take too kindly to being manhandled onto our laps unfortunately. And as soon as the scissors come out she immediately turns over from tummy tickle position

Yes going to have a go a few times myself to see if I can coax her in to the right position. Then may have to give up and try groomers. Is this bread and butter stuff for groomers? She has never been before and I am worried she will panic

Be sneaky! Get her on to her tummy between you , one distracts with fuss/treats etc whilst the other whips out those scissors!
Or go to a groomers. It would be a normal thing for them. Only you know how she will cope though. Might be that you could stay with her? (Disclaimer: I’ve never used a dog groomers)

Groomers will be used to nervous dogs so don't worry! An experienced groomer won't push a dog into something they're uncomfortable with either.

A last resort could be getting them shaved at the vets and then you can start from scratch?

Yes I did wonder about trying asking the vets too. I will maybe try phoning round a few groomers in the morning and see if someone can help

Might try in the shower too. She does tend to freeze to the spot there and may let me

Get an electric shaver - £20
Roll them over and get to work!

I was recommended using the human 'tangle teaser' brush for my Scottie, I can tease out most matts in her fur now with it but for the odd matt that's too hard my husband distracts with lots of treats while I cut them out with scissors

Start introducing her to groomers esp as she seems to need groomed, just a visit then a bath gradually build up.

You need two people. Person one hides ham or cheese in their hands and person two does the trimming. It’s incredibly stressful and you need to be physically and mentally strong. I am not being dramatic I am speaking from experience (my husband and I had to do it to our dogs private areas a few weeks ago!) 😬

You want a matt splitter, £2.99 on Amazon.

It depends how bad it is as to whether a groomer will do it. If really matted they may refer to vets as it can be very hard to remove mats without knicking the skin

Yes fearthewankingdead I fear that is what it will entail. The fur is matted into a ball but doesn’t look like it is close the skin as far as I can tell. It’s hanging off her in a ball shape

There's now a tangle teaser for dogs. My long haired border collie has one.

Have someone hold the front end giving yummy cheese, liver etc. Round ended scissors going in from under the tail? I wouldn't bother with combing out matts that you can't see when the dog is upright!

Cover the wall in your shower / bath in peanut butter or pate, at a height that she has to stand up to lick it off. Then you get busy with the scissors while she’s licking it off. It does mean you have to clean the bathroom afterwards but at least the dog is sorted

That sounds incredibly painful and honestly I don't think it's something you should attempt to remove yourself if you're not very experienced.

Speak the some local groomers and see if there's anyone with spaces who could at least have a look at her and see if she needs to be referred to a vet.