This is a before, during and after photo of one of our lovely regular customers. Unfortunately he missed 2 of his routine appointments and came to us rather matted. He has a very soft undercoat which needs regular attention and grooming to keep on top of it. Referring to the pictures you can see that we had to take his coat very short because there was no way that we could brush these tight tangles out.
Matting is when a tangle cannot be brushed out because the dead coat has compacted around it. Below is an extreme case, but matting is also common in places such as behind the ears, underneath the tail, in the armpits and in-between their back legs. Keeping on top of your grooming will help to prevent this, in conjunction with using the correct tools.
Dematting is very difficult and can be dangerous there it is best to send them to a professional groomer rather trying to remove them yourself at home.