What must I do with mats?

[Yvonnedw]

Hi there
Bella is now 10 months old. I am trying to grow her coat as she has such a pretty, soft, shiny coat.
I noticed she has mats under the front armpits.  The slicker brush does not help, so I cut them off.  Three days after this the mats are back.
Any suggestions?  She is a family pet.  I do her grooming.  do I need to take her to a parlour?

[elaine.e]

William is a show type with quite a lot of coat. I like to keep his coat quite long but I use clippers to do his armpits, under his tail, his foreface, the insides of his ears and his throat down to his breastbone. I keep the rest of his coat vaguely under control with a mix of hand stripping and thinning scissors, plus ordinary scissors for his paws and tail.

His armpits are the worst area for matting, and also his skin tends to get a bit pink and sore there, with little spots sometimes, so I try to keep the hair very short there to keep the area cool. I think scissors will do the job just as well as clippers.

[Hurtwood Dogs]

Dave has a very thick coat and after a lot of arm pit mats including one with a grass seed that got infected poor love , I've given up and shave under there also.. Depending on the sort of area you walk in, unless you have the time to groom thoroughly twice a day and particularly if you're not intending to show him, then I'd just give him a good clip under there and keep it short.

Hannah x

[Yvonnedw]

Thanks ever so much for the advise.  I decided to just brave it.  I have shaved under her armpits and using the scissors cut the leg hair and paws.  I have a thinning scissors, but I think it is a cheapy.  I seem to pull the hair?  She does look a bit cooler.  Thanks once again.