Matted fur from shedding?

[Ali925]

 I recently noticed a large tuft of fur sticking out of Blu to the side of his tail, close to the leg.  He’s been shedding a bit but he hates being touched back there so I don’t get to groom him much.  He also has a TON of fur, not long, but he’s just very fluffy.  I tried gently pulling on it because it’s a much lighter gray than his normal coat (which usually means it’s fur that is shedding off…) and thought it would come out in a nice tuft but it didn’t.  I can tell it’s still very much attached and now I believe it’s a bit of matted fur?  

I feel bad that I didn’t realize it happening?  Like I said, he’s not crazy about being touched back there, but tonight I managed to work on it a tiny bit before he got too annoyed.  I’m trying to gently work it out but I’m afraid I won’t be able to fully take care of it.  Any advice?  I can’t just leave it alone right?  Even though I think it’s from his shedding it won’t work itself out, correct?

He hates being handled, but I think I’ll need to take a closer look to make sure there aren’t any “messes” trapped under there.  From what I could tell there wasn’t anything messy in it, just tangled up fur.  

I guess if all else fails, I will need to make a trip to the vet?  I don’t feel comfortable doing any sort of trimming, etc… too risky.

Thanks in advance.  

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Do you trim his nails? I trance for nail trimming and thats when I do any brushing in the bum region. So if you trance or do burrito you could trim the fur then. And if your vet does the nails, maybe have a nail trim while your vet clips that peice out for you

[Ali925]

Thanks for the advice K&K…So it’s not that uncommon to end up with this when they’re very furry? I felt like I did something wrong by overlooking it..and then mistakenly trying to pull on it..I don’t think he was happy with me..

I have only had him for 4 months, and I was able to get away with trimming nails thus far…he was neutered a little while back and my vet did them there although he didn’t think he really needed it yet. So I was about to look into that soon… I have never done it. We’ve had my other bun Oreo for much longer, but we had been able to conveniently be at the vet at the right intervals to get hers trimmed too..but I need to work on it for both of them. They both HATE being handled above the ground, it’s a nightmare trying to do it. So I avoid it like the plague…however I know I need to work on handling them some because I’ll be trying to bond them soon and I’ll have to be able to transport them.

Long story short, my husband and I might try to tag team them this weekend and try it ourselves. But I can almost guarantee we’ll fail and end up just taking them to the vet. In general, I stink at handling them, so whether it’s for this or something else, I’ll have to start working on it I guess. I’m just always unsuccessful and it ends up in a thumping craze.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I have a lop with long hair. He gets mats near his bum too and on the sides of his feet. I bought a little trimmer for my horse (you can get them at Walmart for about 10 bucks made by Wahl) and I tried it on Bindi and it worked great so I bought him his own. It works great because it’s quick and won’t cut the skin so it’s safe. He hates the noise but it’s so quick to take off mats he doesn’t fuss too much.

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