Is it normal for golden retreivers to have weird matted balls of hair under their ears?

My 1 1/2 yr old golden has what seems to be strange matted balls of hair under her ears which are getting bigger (and heavy)? What can these be? Are these part of her ear?

Is it normal for golden retreivers to have weird matted balls of hair under their ears?
Could be that you are not brushing her enough. Hair tends to get knotted and will form these matts. Your best bet is to carefully cut the knots out, if you do not feel comfortable doing this... please do not try it.... have your groomer remove the matts. You can easily cut her ear. Once the knots are removed make sure you are better about brushing!





I have to brush my Newfoundland every single day and focus on the underside of her thighs and behind her ears because that is where she is most prone to this matting. Do not let her matts go, they can pull at the skin making the area irritated and painful, OK?





We once has a client come in who was devastated because her dog could no longer use his back legs, well, we took one look at the area and his fur was matted so severely the skin was practically tearing away. No wonder he could not move his back legs!
Reply:It's not "normal", but not unusual....many dogs will matt when not brushed regularly. Dogs often will matt up around the ears...usually from scratching. If the mats are loose, you can cut them out, but if they are close to the skin, it may be necessary to have them shaved out. Take her to a professional groomer and they will be able to know the right way of removing the matts.
Reply:it's problably matted hair from not being properly being groomed. This pulls on the skin and can give skin problemsteh simple care is to cut teh mats out and then keep teh dog brushed and combed or take to the groomer on a regular basis
Reply:Do you ever groom your dog? You are probably going to have to have the mats removed, best to let a groomer do this if you haven't experience with cutting out mats.


Once they are removed, try brushing her daily in the spots that seem to mat the most.
Reply:A lot of goldens that don't get brushed behind their ears enough usually have these matts there.





If they are getting that big, the only choice is to have them cut off.





Get a comb and every day or every other day comb behind the ears to keep them tangle free.
Reply:its normal if they are not groomed daily! just tart grooming daily or every other day and matted balls will disapear!


cut the matted part away so you don't pull and hurt the dog by pulling his hair then regular grooming will do the trick
Reply:Golden Retrievers need regular grooming to prevent matting.


She should never have been allowed to get in this state.





Get a small pair of scissors and gently snip away the matted balls behind the ears. They can be very uncomfortable for the dog so you should make sure that you regularly brush her and check her every day. Another place where matting can occur is under the feathering at the back of the legs.





My Goldens are all brushed and checked daily and I trim them myself to prevent them getting matted.





If you are unable to do this yourself perhaps a trip to a Grooming Parlour every now and then might be a good idea.
Reply:They are matts. Your not brushing her enough behind the ears! I do this every other day to my Goldens just to keep them matt free!





You will have to either carefully get the matts out or take her to a groomer to have them cut out.





Careful brushing will keep these matts away!
Reply:It is not 'normal,' but quite common amongst dogs that are not being properly groomed.





Take him into a good pet-dog groomer and ask them to do a thorough grooming AND to instruct you on how to maintain his coat. I'm guessing that if he's matted under his ears, then his grooming is probably lacking on other points as well.





No big deal, just have it fixed and learn how to keep it fixed.





Tony Anceta
Reply:It is probably hair that needs to be groomed. Their hair sometime matts up and needs brushed or combed out.
Reply:No its not normal, lack of washing %26amp; grooming your dog doesnt help, the best thing to do is to take the dog to the vet %26amp; they will shave all that matted balls off %26amp; clean this area up, at the moment your dog wouldnt be able to hear to well...
Reply:No they are not part of his they are exactly what you said matted balls of hair. You should either get some electric clippers and shave them out yourself or take him to your local vet or groomer and they will be able to shave them out for you at little cost. It is important to have these removed because they will continue to get tighter and closer to the skin on the ear and eventually cause sores and infection if left untreated. Please do not use scissors, I have seen countless pets with large lacerations from owners trying to use scissors, as these mats get close to the skin it is very difficult to tell where exactly the mat ends and the skin begins.
Reply:It's not normal, but it's common. It means you're not brushing and combing around her ears properly. Take her to a professional groomer, they'll clip the mats off with a clipper blade and you can start brushing from now on to prevent them from coming back. Please do NOT try to remove them yourself, the skin is very thin around their ears and you risk seriously injuring your dog.
Reply:WHY would you see matts forming on the dog and NOT take a brush or a matt rake to them? Allowing matts to form and get bigger is not only uncomfortable and painful for the dog, but leads to skin disorders and even maggots if let gone too long. For pity sake groom the dog!
Reply:golden are not crop ear ........so owner need to clean her ear every 4-5days once......by ear cleaner.....or if there have had any infection ......owner should use ear cracker\drop that keep health for your pets.........golden only grow thick coat ...... within chest and tail........meanwhile hair grow under their ears...... may be there is coz your pets hormons is strong......so it bring down your pet to daily blood circulation(etc...hair changing)........there grow long time , ......and ear hair become thick and mat\tangle......bring for the grooming services.........thank for reading