I didn't see a grooming forum here, so I figure Health & Wellness is close enough.

I have a young male Bichon-Poo, named "Max," who is about 1 1/2 years old at the time of this posting.

This particular breed is well-known for having a problem with matting and hair knots. I got a little behind in grooming so his hair mats started to become a problem, but they weren't out of control yet. I think I did a good job at DIY grooming at home, and successfully removed over 90% of the hair mats without causing discomfort, but there are a few spots that are very hard to work on. His forearms, and face are the hardest places to work on. Max gets too jittery and moves around too much when I attempt to work on those spots. Also given his puppy like nature, he treats it as play.

I have consulted professional dog groomers, but every one of them wants to just cut everything off.

I have been following all the proper safety procedures to avoid inflicting any injury or discomfort to the dog. When snipping hair knots, I use the scissors parallel with the direction of the hair. I managed to successfully remove some really big hair mats from his back legs with Wahl pet clippers, but the front legs are proving difficult. I also gave him a general trim to overall shorten the fur a bit. I am using grooming tools recommended by a professional groomer, a large steel tooth comb and stainless steel grooming brush. I am working on a high countertop with a towel spread out. Maybe I should invest in a professional dog grooming table with an arm. These don't come cheap and I'd have to find a place to store it. All I really need is just the arm, but I don't think there's any way it could be clamped to a kitchen counter.

I have had to bribe him with treats to distract him just long enough to cut out some hair knots from his face and forearms. He still has a few bad hair mats on his front forearms I have yet to remove.

Fred