Grooming The Keeshond

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In general, brush toward the head or from the belly toward the top of the back. Hold one hand against the fur while you brush away from that hand with the brush. Puppies should be at least every other day until they have their full guard-hair coat (5-6 months). (This also gets the pup use to being handled and groomed). From then on, they should be brushed every week or two. This will take about 15-20 minutes. Always carefully check the fine hair behind the ears. This is the one area that can mat badly. Work out any mats with the end-tine of a comb. Do not cut the mat out unless it is so large that is the only way to remove it. Always brush your keeshond out before giving him or her a bath. The mats bind tighter in water. Teach your puppy to lie on its side while you are grooming. As the dog gets older, it is much easier to groom lying on its side than standing up. 

Puppies can be groomed with a slicker brush until the longer coat begins to come in. It then becomes easier to groom with a large headed pin brush and a long-toothed comb. Continue to use the slicker on the hocks and behind the ears.

BLOWING COAT – At approximately 12-14 months of age the dog will begin to shed its undercoat. It is important that this dead hair be removed in a timely manner. One of the greatest tools ever invented is the Teflon-coated undercoat rake. When the dog is blowing coat, the undercoat rake will make quick work of removing the loose hair. If the dead coat is not removed, it mats and can be difficult to deal with, as it then becomes painful to the dog to have the matted coat removed. Matted fur can be removed by using the tip of the comb. Hold the comb in the hand as you would a knife, with the index finger extending along the top of the comb. Draw the end of the comb nearest the tip of the index finger through the matted area several times. When the mat is broken up, use the pin brush to go over the matted area. The regular weekly brushing should take care of keeping the coat in good condition. Males and females tend to blow coat once a year, plus the unspayed females will usually drop some coat with each season.

NEVER LET ANYONE TALK YOU INTO SHAVING YOUR DOG!!!!

The Keeshonds double coat insulates it against both cold AND heat. Shaving the coat will mess up the dogs natural cooling system and is extremely harmful to the skin. I’ve seen many shaved Keeshonden come through the rescue system that NEVER grow a full coat back in again. You’ve got a beautiful coated dog, please keep him/her that way!!

 Puppies tend to get dirty easily and can be bathed fairly often, although not more than once a week, unless the pup gets into something awful! When the dog matures it will only need to be bathed 2-3 times per year, unless you’re showing, then bathing will be more frequent. The usual time for bathing is after removing all the dead hair when the dog is blowing coat. 

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER bathe a Keeshond without grooming the dog first!! If the dog happens to be shedding and you haven’t realized it, you will have a real mess on your hands and a painful grooming session for your dog!

FAST CLEAN-UP

There are a number of “self-rinsing” shampoos on the market now which can be used for quick clean-ups. If the dog has a bout of diarrhea and soils the “pants or trousers”, give the area a heavy spraying with the self-rinse shampoo, and then clean the area with paper towels. This not only cleans the stain, but also removes the odor. Another quick fix for soiled “pants” is baby powder. Liberally apply the baby powder to the fresh stain and then brush it out with a slicker brush.