DESCRIPTION AND STANDARD OF POINTS

Approved By The Keeshond Club Of America And The American Kennel Club in 1949

1. General Appearance and Conformation.

The Keeshond is a handsome dog, of well-balanced, short coupled body, attracting attention not only by his alert car­ riage and intelligent expression; but also by his luxurious coat, his richly plumed tail, well curled over his back, and by his fox-like face and head with small pointed ears. His coat is very thick round the neck, fore part of the shoulders and

chest, forming a lion-like mane. His rump and hindlegs, down to the hocks, are also thickly coated forming the char­ acteristic “trousers”. His head, ears and lower legs are covered with thick short hair.

The ideal height of fully matured dogs (over two years old), measured from top of withers to the ground, is: for males, 18 inches; bitches, 17 inches. However, size con­ sideration should not outweigh that of type. When dogs are judged equal in type, the dog nearest the ideal height is to be preferred. Length of back from withers to rump

should equal height as measured above.

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2. Head.

EXPRESSION:- Expression is largely dependent on the distinctive characteristic called “spectacles”,- a delicately pencilled line slanting slightly upward from the outer comer of each eye to the lower corner of the ear, coupled with distinct markings and shadings forming short but expres­sive eyebrows. Markings (or shadings) on face and head must present a pleasing appearance, imparting to the dog an alert and intelligent expression.

FAULT:- Absence of “spectacles”.

SKULL:- The head should be well proportioned to the body, wedge-shaped when viewed from above. Not only in muzzle, but the whole head should give this impression when the ears are drawn back by covering the nape of the neck and the ears with one hand- Head in profile should exhibit a definite stop.

FAULT:- Apple head, or absence of stop.

MUZZLE:- The muzzle should be dark in color and of medium length, neither coarse nor snipy, and well propor­ tioned to the skull.

MOUTH:- The mouth should be neither overshot nor undershot. Lips should be black and closely meeting, not thick, coarse or sagging; and with no wrinkle at the comer of the mouth.

FAULT:- Overshot or undershot.

TEETH:- The teeth should be white, sound and strong (but discoloration from distemper not to penalize severely);

upper teeth should just overlap the lower teeth.

EYES:- Eyes should be dark brown in color, of medium size, rather oblique in shape and not set too wide apart.

FAULT:- Protruding round eyes or eyes light of color.

EARS:- Ears should be small, triangular in shape, mounted high on head and carried erect; dark in color and covered with thick, velvety, short hair. Size should be pro­ portionate to the head,- length approximating the distance from outer corner of the eye to the nearest edge of the ear.

FAULT:- Ears not carried erect when at attention.

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3. Body.

NECK AND SHOULDERS:- The neck should be mod­ erately long, well shaped and well set on shoulders; covered with a profuse mane, sweeping from under the jaw and covering the whole of the front part of the shoulders and chest, as well as the top part of the shoulders-

CHEST, BACK AND LOIN:- The body should be com­ pact with a short straight back sloping slightly downward toward the hindquarters; well ribbed, barrel well rounded, belly moderately tucked up, deep and strong of chest.

LEGS:- Forelegs should be straight seen from any angle, and well feathered. Hindlegs should be profusely feathered down to the hocks,- not below, with hocks only slightly bent. Legs must be of good bone and cream in color..

FAULT:- Black markings below the knee, penciling excepted.

FEET:- The feet should be compact, well rounded, cat­ like, and cream in color. Toes are nicely arched, with black nails.

FAULT:- White foot or feet.

TAIL:- The tail should be set on high, moderately long, and well feathered, tightly curled over back. It should lie flat and close to the body with a very light gray plume on top where curled, but the tip of the tail should be black. The tail should form a part of the “silhouette” of the dog’s body, rather than give the appearance of an appendage.

FAULT:- Tail not lying close to the back. 

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ACTION

Dogs should show boldly and keep tails curled over the back. They should move cleanly and brisk­ ly ; and the movement should be straight and sharp (not lope like a German Shepherd).

FAULT:- Tail not carried over back when moving.

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4. Coat.

The body should be abundantly covered with long, straight, harsh hair; standing well out from a thick, downy undercoat. The hail’ on the legs should be smooth and short, except for a feathering on the front legs and “trousers”, as previously described, on the hindlegs. The hair on the tail should be profuse, forming a rich plume. Head, includ­ ing muzzle, skull and ears, should be covered with smooth, soft, short hair,- velvety in texture on the ears. Coat must not part down the back.

FAULT:- Silky, wavy or curly coats. Part in coat down the back.

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5. Color and Markings.

A mixture of gray and black. The undercoat should be very pale gray or cream (not tawny). The hair of the outer coat is black tipped, the length of the black tips pro­ ducing the characteristic shading of color. The color may vary from light to dark, but any pronounced deviation from the gray color is not permissible. The plume of the tail should be very light gray when curled on back, and the tip of the tail should be black. Legs and feet should be cream. Ears should be very dark,- almost black.

Shoulder line markings (light gray) should be well defined. The color of the ruff and “trousers” is generally lighter than that of the body. “Spectacles” and shadings, as previously described, are characteristic of the breed and must be present to some degree. There should be no pro­ nounced white markings.

VERY SERIOUS FAULT:- Entirely black or white or any other solid color; any pronounced deviation from the gray color.

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SCALE OF POINTS

1. GENERAL CONFORMATION and APPEARANCE:- 20

2. HEAD:-

   Shape 6
   Eyes 5
   Ears 5
   Teeth 4

3. BODY:-

   Chest, back and loin 10
   Tail 10
   Neck and shoulders 8
   Legs 4

   Feet 3

4. COAT:- 50

5. COLOR and MARKINGS:- 10

   TOTAL 100