Keeshond grooming in Gloucester, MA

The AKC standard covers the body in long, straight, harsh hair standing well out from a thick, downy undercoat, and says the coat must not part down the back. The neck carries a lion-like ruff, fuller on males, the hind legs are thickly coated down to the hocks in the breed's trousers, and the tail forms a rich plume. The head and ears wear smooth, soft, short hair, velvety on the ears. Kees stand about 17 to 18 inches and weigh 35 to 45 pounds.

The spectacles are part of the coloring: a delicate dark line slanting from the outer corner of each eye toward the lower corner of the ear, with expressive eyebrows, as the standard puts it. No groomer creates them, and the short facial hair needs little more than a wipe. The work is in the undercoat, which packs under the ruff, behind the ears and in the trousers if it is not brushed out.

A quick brush over the top of a Keeshond's coat skims the guard hair and leaves the undercoat untouched. Line brushing fixes that. You part the coat in a horizontal line, brush the layer below the part outward from the skin, then move the part up a little and repeat until you reach the top. The AKC's double-coat guide describes the same idea for groomers as line combing: working through the coat section by section, lifting away loose hair while minimizing stress on the coat.

The AKC's tool for a Kees is a pin brush, once a week, which keeps the undercoat brushed out and shedding to a minimum. Add a metal comb to check your work: if it glides from skin to tip, that line is done. Ten minutes a week this way does more than an hour once a month. Our how-to on de-shedding a double-coated dog at home covers the heavier weeks when the undercoat is letting go.

The Keeshond worked the canal barges of Holland and the Rhine before it was a companion, the AKC notes, and the coat shrugs off a damp day. Salt water is another matter. At the time of writing Gloucester's Wingaersheek Beach allows dogs on odd-numbered days from October 1 to April 30, and wet sand settles into the trousers and the base of the plume. Rinse with fresh water that evening and dry the coat before you brush.

From April to November, tick season on Cape Ann, line brushing doubles as a tick check, because each part shows you the skin. In winter, rinse salt from the feet after walks on Gloucester sidewalks. And on a daycare day a groom can be added to the visit; the Pup Van collects in Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea for $10 each way.