As you know Paula grooms dogs too up in Sudbury and posted this on Facebook.
What do you mean he is matted?
Now as someone who has dematted many dogs I want to say DO NOT WASH YOUR DOG if it has knots. If you do you make the knots tighter. Knots do hurt. When it gets felted they can get skin lesions. It's not fair to you or to them to keep them in a long coat if you don't want to comb them out on all layers not just on the top layer. There is NOTHING wrong with a short coat.
The more you groom the better you get at it. TRUE! The faster you get too as you become confident.