What are the best grooming tools to eradicate hair mats on long haired breeds?

If you are not used to de-matting a dog, get it done by a dog groomer because you can seriously injure your dog trying to do it yourself, or have a groomer show you how to safely use tools. As a dog groomer, I used a combination of tools to de-mat a dog. It can be quite labor intensive and painful for the dog if matting is severe. Some dogs with less severe matting can have the mats split with a combination of using scissors (skillfully) and/or mat splitter and then using a slicker brush to help remove matting when mat splitter has madethis possible. Some people have a dog that is matted and it is quite easy to remove the mats, and others have dogs they think it should be no big deal to get the mats off, but the job is huge. Different coats can make a difference on what you need to do the job and how much effort it takes, as well as how tightly and compactly the mats are situated. I've seen dogs with brick like large matted areas down to the skin, and dogs with badly tangled hair and cotton candy coats that are easier to de tangle. I used scissors only to split mats on some coats, and a combination of scissors, mat splitters, and sometimes professional dog clippers to get mats off. I've even used horse shears (skillfully! Not for anyone unfamiliar with this!) on badly matted chows. For best results: Get a groomer to do this and suggest products and methods of maintenance grooming to prevent mats for your dogs' coat. Some fine haired dogs get easily matted if bathed incorrectly. Inadequate brushing is a big contributor to bad mats. Slicker brushes can hurt the dogs skin if not used correctly, so get a groomer to show you how to use your tools to prevent mats, and how to split mats when minimal to prevent a bigger problem.

A good metal comb,and a de-matting rake,sometimes if the mat is really bad I will use thinning shears to try and break the mat up a bit to make it easier to comb out.

de-matting comb

slicker brush

furminator comb

wide tooth metal comb

corn starch

groomer to shave if matted to close to skin

Along with what the others said, a product called *Cowboy Magic Detangler and Shine.* You can Google that. This stuff IS almost like magic.