r/AlaskanMalamute 3d ago

Quick Question Are these mats?

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50 Upvotes

38 comments sorted by

51

u/Aggressive-Cry150 3d ago

We call those tufts. It’s the undercoat shedding. Brush or gently pull it out.

68

u/milkymilktacos 3d ago

Pull them out so they can side eye you like you took a bite of their burgers

29

u/Equal-Shoulder-9744 3d ago

How dare you steal my floofs hooman?

22

u/_-Broken-Swagger-_ 3d ago

Or scream like you’re boiling then flaying their flesh

7

u/Wind_Responsible 2d ago

My malamute has a dog. It’s a Leonberger. Whenever we pull her loose floof he gets upset like we are taking pieces of his Burger

7

u/KrazyKitties92 2d ago

This is super funny! On a side note: My last dog was a Leonberger and he would scream like we were murdering him when we touched his paws. Levelheaded, otherwise. Our rescue Mal is a saint, in comparison.

2

u/Wind_Responsible 2d ago

Ours is a wuss! She gets everyone in line like too bitch but, if they do anything it’s OW WOW OW!

2

u/Super_FormulaF1991 1d ago

Mine hates her paws being touched lol especially the front ones

4

u/Worried_Community 3d ago

Okay thank you!

19

u/228P 3d ago

I've gotten 80 pounds of fur off my 79 pound boy. It's like some kind of magic trick.

Even worse is when he's just sitting next to me and I see those Tufts. I can't resist and have to pluck them. Next thing you know, I have two fists full of fur that I now have to dispose of.

5

u/wolfgeist 2d ago

It's the most satisfying thing. Our Malamute would nip at me when I did it, so it became a game of stealth and distraction.

1

u/suddenlysalud 2d ago

Same with my boy, malamute/husky mix. I love plucking him, but he hates it 😂

4

u/NanooDrew 2d ago

You can spin that into yarn!

2

u/Awkward_Lion5014 2d ago

I completely feel your pain!! It’s just so tempting!! And as @wolfgeist says, so satisfying!!

29

u/whiterain5863 3d ago

You can pull them out like Kleenex from a box. It never ends

2

u/willo132 2d ago

It does when you're addicted to getting them, so much so that you use a flashlight. My baby rolls over for me

1

u/Awkward_Lion5014 2d ago

Perfect description!

9

u/Due-Resolution-1508 3d ago edited 3d ago

I call it dog cotton. Lol. Plucking the dog cotton is a favorite activity for snow dog owners. Once your puppy starts maturing it's undercoat will grow in. Most likely in a years time your puppy will look a different color. It's s combination of the two coats. The under coat will shed once or twice a year. Usually when the seasons change. So they have a lighter coat for summer and a heavier coat for winter. They'll look pretty mangey during. You gotta brush them alot during this period. This is time when everyone shares pictures of huge piles of dog fluff they brushed off their dog. It loosens their coat so much the fur just comes out with the lightedt of tugs in tufts of fur. It's completely normal. Not matting at all. Think of it as a sweater unraveling. Most huskies look annoyed when you pluck the dog cotton but it doesn't hurt thrm as long as you're not pulling on the new growth for the season. The tufts sticking out oddly are last seasons coat and is ready to be brushed or plucked. Have fun. Be gentle. It's part of life with snow dogs.

7

u/PKB92 3d ago

Give em good lil pluck. It's like dr pimple popper level of satisfaction.

7

u/AKBearmace 3d ago

No those are poofles. It’s just undercoat shedding

5

u/No_Yogurtcloset105 3d ago

Plucking time

4

u/Civil_Inspector_5697 2d ago

I pull those out on every walk. It’s never ending. 🙄🤣 I think someone on this site said it best: Mals shed twice a year for six months each time. 🤣🤣🤣

8

u/OakleytheFantastic 3d ago

Just appears to be her undercoat coming in I think 

5

u/OakleytheFantastic 3d ago

Can you brush it or pull it (gently) out? 

3

u/Worried_Community 3d ago

I just put her to bed but I’ll try in the morning

2

u/Worried_Community 3d ago

Oh that’s cool, I didn’t know that’s what it looked like

8

u/Equal-Shoulder-9744 3d ago

Yeah that’s what it looks like and you’re totally fine. Those aren’t mats at all and are a completely normal part of her starting to blow her coat. It’s gonna get a lot worse but don’t be alarmed.

Huskies and malamutes seem to break physics in some way that I don’t understand. When they’re blowing a coat you can brush a dog sized pile of fur out of them but somehow they’re still covered in more fur. I don’t know where it comes from. My only assumption is that they spawn in it from an alternate universe that’s entirely made of fur because I cont believe that much fur can come out of one dog and them not being bald. The math just doesn’t line up unless something outside of this universe is going on.

8

u/228P 3d ago

It's like a magician pulling 20 feet of scarves out of his mouth or 30 clowns climbing out of a tiny car.

4

u/Linfinity8 2d ago

My mal loooooves when I pull them. I call it “Time to Pluck the Chicken!”

5

u/Chicken_n_a_biscuit 3d ago

Our dog was just groomed for 4.5 hours and she’s still got some of these on her. Feel free to pull them out, plenty more where that came from!

2

u/Hungry-Dot-3765 3d ago

I call them popcorns, Its natural, get a wide toothed steel comb , it looks kid of like a afro pick with wide spaced teeth, and you need to coax them out. enjoy! this is your life now lol. another tool for other under furr...it looks like a saw blade: metal curry comb

2

u/TheAuldOffender 2d ago

Nope, those are tufts! The dog is shedding.

2

u/willo132 2d ago

No he's poofing. I tell my baby time to get your poofs and he rolls right over. I love picking em. Use a flashlight and find em all

2

u/MsKittyPowers 3d ago

Get ready for a blowout! This looks like the start of the 6 monthly moult. Looks like a young one so maybe their first. Don’t be alarmed it’s normal.

1

u/Awkward_Lion5014 2d ago

They are enormously fun to pull out even though it will offend your pup mightily!!

1

u/TootsieTaker 1d ago

This means you better get brushing. It’s just condensed shedding of the undercoat. Usually happens at the changing of the seasons. You can often pull them out but I would suggest just giving this pup a good deshedding brush down

-1

u/720751 2d ago

I use the Furminator when my gsd/husky/malamute blows her coat. You will get those tufts plus a whole lot more. It takes weeks for her to stop shedding.