The honest answer is: it depends. But there's a clear logic to it — and once you understand it, you can work out the right rhythm for your specific dog.

This guide is written for owners of curly and wavy-coated breeds — Poodles, Portuguese Water Dogs, Lagotto Romagnolos, Bichons, and similar. If your dog has a straight or double coat, the intervals will be different.

Matting is one of the most common, and most misunderstood, coat problems we see. Here's what's actually happening, and why we handle it the way we do.