GRooming my 18 month old Standard poodle by myself

Question
HI I recently decided to try trimming the 4-5 inch long coat on my male standard by myself, using Oster clippers that were a gift from my mother-in-law. Prior to the trim, he had been shedding little pills or lumps of hair, wherever he reclined on the light colored carpet, almost daily.  I used the clippers and a pair of hairdressers scissors to get his coat down to about an inch and a half all over, except his ears, which I left long and curly.  He has some thick frizzy kind of mats in the area around his neck where his collar and his lead rub, and also had some matted lumps around his chest.  I tried clipping these mats shorter, hoping I could comb the rest out, but it seems to be pretty uncomfortable for him when I try to comb through them, and they are really tight. And, while the trim looks great, he is still shedding a bit, and my beige carpet has black polkadots in places. Any suggestions?

Answer
hello Bev.
The matts on your dog NEED to come out. matts can be very painful on a dog. It feels like their hair is being pulled. In order to get these matts out, if they are as tight as you say they are, you will have to shave them out. I know you just did a gorgeous cut on your poodle, but getting the matts out should be more important. The hair will grow back! As far as the little black polkadots all over, it sounds like your dog just needs a really good brushing. You can try taking your dog to the groomers for a bath and brushout. they will blowdry the coat nice and straight, and get rid of those tiny pin matts all throughout your dogs coat. I hope this answered your question!