lease save what you can,” or “Can you please leave the ears (or tail or head) fluffy?” are familiar requests when a pet owner knows, or has just been informed, that their dog will have to have a short trim because of matting.

Many groomers flatly refuse to do any dematting on dogs, even if it means just doing some spot detangling on a pet that they will otherwise clip closely. They argue that they don’t want to put the pet through any discomfort when it is the human’s fault that the coat is matted.

Another school of thought is that by using the proper products and tools, small areas of the coat can often be left longer and fluffier without harming the dog. This results in a more pleasing-looking finished product and happier customers.

Here is an example: For many years, I have groomed an adorable blonde cocker mix every three weeks. Her signature look is her long, luxurious, flowing ears. Recently, she missed her regular appointment because she was in a boarding kennel while her owners traveled. So when she came in next, I gasped a little when I saw her. Framing her head on either side were tennis-ball-sized tangles in her ears.

When I got her into the bathtub, I realized those tangles were even worse than they looked. They were close to the ear leather and hard, not loose. It occurred to me that I might have to shave her ears for the first time. But I didn’t want to do that, as she is an older dog, and there is a chance she might never live long enough to regrow that beautiful long hair. I knew her owners would understand but would dislike the look if I did have to shave her ears.

So, I decided I could detangle her ears by combining appropriate products, specific grooming tools and my experience. The entire process took less than fifteen minutes, and the dog had no resulting irritation from the detangling and never showed signs of discomfort while I worked.

Here are the steps I followed:

Next, I sprayed her ears with one of my favorite detangling products and worked it deeply into the tangles with my fingers.

I then wrapped each ear in two sheets of absorbent paper towel and slipped a terry cloth drying hood over her head to help block the dryer sound and keep the paper towels in place. This absorbs much of the moisture and reduces drying time dramatically.

After drying everything from the ears back, I removed the hood and carefully fluffed the head and ears until they were completely dry.

Next, I used the slicker brush and made a little progress pulling the dead hair out of the now smaller sections of tangle. But the tangle was still winning the battle.

I reached for a multi-toothed matt breaker. (These, too, cut and damage coat, but they also save some hair when used correctly.) After a few moments, I could remove most of the remaining matted fur from her ears.

Another spritz of dematting spray was applied to the targeted to the area, and after that, my slicker brush pulled the rest of the snarls out. Between the products I had used and the technique of cutting a large matted area into small segments, I could comb right to the skin at last.

I only spent about ten minutes physically dematting—removing those massive tangles after the products I chose did their part—and the sweet dog on my table never protested the process. Using specifically designed tools and products enabled me to send her home wagging happily, her signature flowing ears intact. The fur there is thinner, to be sure, and if you look closely, you can see where there are shorter areas, but as far as her humans are concerned, she looks the same beautiful way she usually does, and they are pleased.

These techniques will work on most small areas of matted fur. Tails, which generally have slightly coarser hair texture than other body parts, respond particularly well to being dematted. Sometimes trimming an inch or so of length off first, then reducing the tangles into segments, as described above, results in a tail that still has a nice coating of fur rather than being shaved smoothly.

Taking time to save specific small areas, even if tangled, may result in dogs that look much cuter after being groomed and owners who appreciate that their pets still maintain some of their signature looks. Of course, educating the owners on proper coat care is paramount, but sometimes pulling off a quick dematting miracle can benefit everyone concerned.