Why Matting Gets Worse in the Summer & How to Prevent It

If your dog's coat seems to go from manageable to matted overnight once summer hits, it’s not your imagination. Warm weather makes this more likely to happen. And a lot of it comes down to heat, humidity, and shedding. It’s the perfect storm for turning little no-big-deal tangles into serious mats.

It happens faster than you’d think, too. So here’s what’s going on with your pup when they get matted in the summer, and what you can do about it to make life a little easier and more comfortable for them.

Why Summer Makes Matting Worse

In summer, dogs have two big ways to dump heat. They can pant or it can come out of their paw pads. So they have to shed some of their coat, especially if it’s thick.

It doesn’t help that they’re going to get wet more often in the summer. Swimming, sprinklers, baths, and even humidity in the air are all going to make your dog get wet. And when their coat gets wet and it’s not properly dried, the hair can clump together. Those clumps will only tighten over time, especially where there’s friction. That’s why you often see mats behind the ears, under the collar, in the armpits, around harness lines, and on the backs of legs.

Double-coated breeds like huskies, golden retrievers, Australian shepherds, and similar breeds also blow their undercoat in spring and early summer. That loose fur doesn't always fall out cleanly. Instead, it’ll often get trapped under the outer coat and can mat against the skin.

With double-coated breeds, it’s extra important to brush the extra coat out regularly. Otherwise, it can compress into dense pads that are painful to remove and can cause skin irritation, hot spots, and even infection underneath.

The other high-risk group are your pups with curly and wavy coats. Thinking about poodles, doodles, and bichons here. Their hair texture naturally wants to tangle as it is, and summer activities accelerate it. One afternoon at the lake can undo a week’s worth of brushing.

What Matting Does to Your Dog

It sounds like a cosmetic problem, but it’s not. Tight mats are a serious problem. They pull on the skin, and that can be anywhere from uncomfortable to seriously painful. Dogs with severe matting might develop bruising or raw patches underneath that you can’t see until the mats are removed.

There’s also the fact that mats trap heat against the skin. This is bad news in Texas where it’s mind-bogglingly hot as early as May. A badly matted dog is hotter and more uncomfortable than a well-groomed dog with the same coat type.

Moisture gets trapped under mats too, creating conditions for bacterial and fungal skin infections. Hot spots—those angry red patches that seem to appear from nowhere, mentioned a bit earlier—often start under mats where moisture and heat have been sitting against the skin for days.

How to Prevent Your Dog from Matting in the Summer

Prevention beats removal every time and it’s not close. Once mats get close to the skin, you often have to shave the dog for their own health and safety.

Your best first line of defense is brushing. For double-coated breeds, that might mean every other day during shedding season. For curly coats, daily brushing during active summer months is a good idea. A slicker brush handles surface tangles well, but you might need an undercoat rake or dematting comb to get through the really dense fur underneath.

Dry your dog thoroughly after they get wet. For thick or curly coats, you’ll need a high-velocity dryer. This removes moisture from the undercoat in a way that towels can't reach.

Pay attention to friction zones. If your dog wears a harness, check behind the front legs after every use. Collar areas, ear fringes, and leg feathering are all spots where mats like to start quietly.

Lastly, professional grooming can go a long way when you have it done on a regular schedule. Four to six weeks is good for most breeds, but for curly-coated breeds, you’ll likely want to do every three to four weeks. A good groomer can catch tangles early before they tighten into mats. Plus, they have deshedding treatments that help remove loose undercoat before it has a chance to compress.

If you're already dealing with mats, don't try to cut them out yourself. Mats sit close to the skin, and it's easier than you’d think to cut the skin along with the mat. A professional groomer has the tools and the experience to remove mats safely or to shave the area cleanly if that's what it takes.

Need help keeping your dog's coat under control this summer? Call Woofie's® of Frisco-McKinney at (469) 242-0892 or book online for mobile grooming that comes to your driveway.