lhasa poo matting and shaving

Question
In spite of daily brushing, our 11 month old lhasa poo was extremely matted.  She had been trimmed one other time when she was about 7 months old.  At that time she had some mats, but the groomer was able to remove them.

I realized that this the mats were much worse and would probably need to be cut out this time.  The groomer said that her puppy coat was growing out which caused the matting.  Is this true and is that why the matting was so bad and could not be controlled with daily brushing?  

When I picked her up from the groomer this time, she was completely shaved.  Was this the right thing for the groomer to do?  How long will it take for her hair to grow back?

Also, what is the best cut for her to prevent such severe matting in the future?  I prefer her with a longer look and do brush her daily and bathe her weekly.  Is there a special shampoo to help remove mats and does it work?

Answer
Hi Linda,
I had to get to the end of your letter to solve the mystery of the ever growing matts- and this is the answer. You answered my question when you said YOU bathe her. By bathing her repeatedly when she already has matts you exacerbate the condition exponentially. True the puppy coat is changing, but matting will continue to happen as long as you do not properly prep for her bath.
Every time the coat gets wet, the matts pull more hair into the knots and as the hair dries they get tighter and tighter. Think of it as felt - or boiled wool. So every time it rains or she runs in the wet grass you are adding to the problem. To remove them takes skill and patience and frankly is not always worth the stress you put your dog through. If it was that bad even you recognized the problem then the groomer did the correct thing. Especially since the weather is still warm. Brush burn is a common result of de-matting and if the matts are so widespread as to having to shave her down completely you can be sure of it.
If you truly want to have a longer haired dog you will need to either take a course in grooming yourself or have her groomed at the very least every 2 weeks professionally. If that sounds impossible then you are wiser to have the groomer do the traditional puppy cut and for a fluffier look it must be done every 4 weeks religiously. The shorter you go the further out you can book. However, do not wait longer than 8 weeks for sanitary and visual reasons. Or the groomer will just whack the knots out. Groomers get frustrated seeing dogs return repeatedly in that kind of condition and feel sorry for the dog. Your wishes become secondary to the dogs comfort.
As far as shampoos and conditioners are concerned there is no silver bullet for this - it is strictly about getting the dog up off the floor onto a surface you can manage and getting the brush to her several times a week and make sure you use the correct equipment, not some inexpensive tools you pick up at some big box pet store. A metal greyhound comb is essential to comb through with in order to tell if there are spots you missed brushing. I also recommend blow drying the dog otherwise they roll all over getting it all tangled again.
I am sorry if this all sounds daunting to you but you have what is called a high maintenance dog and it only gets more difficult if you don't get the importance of continuity in grooming. It is a life long vigil and will make it easier on all of you.
good luck.