Dog Grooming Basics 101 for Pet Groomers

KEESHOND

	GROOMING PROFILE
	Grooming Demand Rating
	High
	Full Grooming Interval
	4 to 6 Weeks
	Maintenance Interval
	Twice Weekly Minimum

BLADES & TOOLS

Slicker & pin brushes, steel combs, matt rake and/or splitter, thinning shears, scissors, clippers and blades.

AREA	BLADE #
Anus Area	#10

COAT & GROOM TIPS

Regular brushing and combing twice a week is essential in order to remove substantial wooly hair shed from the dense downy undercoat, and not only the long outer coarse guard coat which protects the undercoat. The density of the hair coat can be misleading to novice groomers or owners of this breed; it is dense. The comfort of the Keeshond through the professional grooming process is significantly increased when the dog owner has maintained proper regular brushing and combing. Detangling products may work well on this type of wooly under coat when matted or heavily-undercoated. Allow extra time to groom these energetic dogs with poor coat conditions.

Using protein coat conditioners and de-tangling solutions during the pre-bath brush and comb out stage can make the job a lot easier on this breed. Start with a slicker brush session, followed by a comb out session. It may be easier to start with a coarse comb, and then a medium comb.

Using modern high velocity dryers to blow off excess water after the bath can save a tremendous amount of drying time. Some groomers prefer to use a large pin brush instead of slicker brush for the hand fluff dry process. You can expect even more loose hair to remove after the bath, and finish with a final comb out.

Don't forget to scissor the hair under the feet even with the pads, and trim any other stray hairs around the feet.

A light coat of a protein conditioner mist can add sheen to the coat as a final touch when grooming is complete.

MORE GROOMING TIPS FOR PROFESSIONALS

"Keeshonds must be dried thoroughly with a professional quality blow dryer. A damp Keeshond does not dry in humid environments and that can create odor and skin infections." Submitted by a PetGroomer.com visitor.

"I have bred and shown Keeshonden for over 15 years now. I am also a professional groomer. Over the years here are a few things that I would recommend:

1. The Keeshond can often have very sensitive skin, I would recommend as gentle as possible of a shampoo. I personally like Quadraped Flea Shampoo and/or Whitening Shampoo with La Pooch Conditioner. The La Pooch conditioner is the trick here. The Keeshond must be conditioned!

2. Brushing BEFORE bathing is essential. If you leave in the mats you will simply cement them in and it takes a good deal of work and pain for the dog to dig them out and they do tend to have sensitive skin. I recommend not only going through the dog thoroughly with a pin brush (I recommend Chris Christensen or Vellus pin brush's) and then following complete combing through with a good quality greyhound comb (good quality the key here). The La Pooch pin brush is very helpful for matted dogs and does not damage the coat.

3. The dog can be fan and/or cage dried for a time until damp dry but then should be completely dried by either a stand or preferably a force dryer. For the pet dog the force dryer is particularly helpful to the groomer because it will blow out that dead under coat and eliminate much of the brushing that you will have to do. If you brush out what is left in with either the universal slicker or the la Pooch slicker you will get most of the dead under coat.

4. If you need to clip the dog, I recommend the lion clip highly. They need to still have the feeling of the rough around their head and have a little on their tails. Make sure that the owners understand that the dog can sunburn easily with the coat gone and to be aware of not leaving the dog in the direct sun. There are several sunscreen products on the market today.

5. I would recommend nails weekly at a minimum. They do not dig much and are not a high active dog except for food so nail clipping is essential. I would recommend a Dremel over a file.

As for the show Keeshond it is very complicated. Again getting with the breeder or an expert is best. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions."
Joy Crisler
Show Me Keeshonden & Brittanys
Where Family Matters
http://www.geocities.com/~showmekees/

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BOOKS AT AMAZON.COM

INTERNET LINKS

Books Dedicated to Keeshond

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Multi-Breed Books

These books contain little or no breed specific grooming information. They do provide very good to excellent general breed information. Of course, having pictures of the breed is a great help when grooming the breed compared to having nothing else.

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