American Eskimo Dog Grooming

About the American Eskimo Dog

The American Eskimo Dog is a German Spitz that was renamed during the First World War, and it carries the full spitz package: a long, harsh, straight outer coat standing away from the body over a dense woolly undercoat, with a full ruff around the neck, feathered trousers and a plumed tail carried over the back, in brilliant white.

It comes in three sizes, which is unusual and worth knowing: toy, miniature and standard, from around six pounds up to thirty five. They are one breed with one coat, and the grooming is identical apart from how long it takes.

So everything the Samoyed and Keeshond pages say applies: line brushing every two or three days, an appointment every six to eight weeks, dramatic twice yearly coat blows, and it is never shaved. The one thing specific to this breed is that it is white all over, which makes staining visible in a way it is not on a colored spitz.

Three sizes, one routine

The toy stands up to twelve inches, the miniature up to fifteen, and the standard up to nineteen, and all three are the same breed with the same coat and the same standard beyond height. They appear in the same lines, and a litter can contain more than one size.

The grooming does not change. What changes is the clock: a toy Eskie is an hour, a standard is two or more, mostly in drying.

Say the size when you book, because a salon quoting for a toy and receiving a standard has the wrong slot.

The coat is unevenly distributed, as on every spitz. It is heaviest at the ruff around the neck and chest, then the trousers on the hind legs, the tail, and behind and under the ears. The back and flanks carry less.

Those heavy areas are where an Eskie mats and where a casual brush skims. Line brushing is the method: part the coat down to the skin and work outward in sections, so the hair finishes standing rather than lying flat, then check with a metal comb. If the comb will not pass freely from skin to tip, that section is not brushed.

Every two or three days, and the ruff, behind the ears and the trousers every time.

Never bathe a matted coat, and never brush a dry coat hard, which breaks harsh hair.

Keeping a white dog white

This is the part specific to the breed, and the good news is that it mostly takes care of itself.

A harsh standing outer coat repels dirt rather than holding it, and mud that dries usually brushes straight out. An Eskie that has crossed a wet field is often white again by evening with no intervention, exactly as the Samoyed page describes.

So resist the urge to bathe frequently. Over bathing softens the coat and strips the oils that make it shed dirt in the first place, which makes the dog dirtier rather than cleaner. Every couple of months is plenty.

Where discoloration does appear is not dirt at all. It is staining from saliva and tears, and it shows up around the mouth, on the feet from licking, in the beard area and under the eyes. That is porphyrin, the same iron compound that stains a white Maltese, and it oxidizes in the hair and does not wash out.

Prevention is the only thing that works: wipe under the eyes daily and dry them, keep the hair around the eyes short so tears reach air, dry the muzzle after drinking, and keep the feet trimmed and dry.

Whitening shampoos brighten a clean coat slightly and do nothing about set stains. Anything sold to remove tear staining that contains an antibiotic should be avoided.

Persistent heavy tearing is a veterinary matter rather than a cosmetic one.

The coat blow, and never shaving

Twice a year the whole undercoat releases over two to four weeks, and even on a small Eskie the volume is startling. An undercoat rake worked in sections then a slicker to lift what it loosened, daily during a blow and outdoors.

A bath and a high velocity dry at the start of each blow is the most effective single intervention available and removes more than a fortnight of brushing.

Dead undercoat left in place is what mats: it packs against the skin, binds with the growing coat and becomes a felted layer that holds moisture and causes hot spots.

And then shaving, which this breed is at particular risk of for two reasons: it is small enough that people think of it as a haircut dog, and the coat is obviously enormous.

The general argument applies: removing the outer coat takes away the sun barrier and leaves the insulation, so the dog is hotter, and white dogs have pink skin underneath that burns readily.

The specific argument is worse. Spitz breeds carry a real risk of post clipping alopecia, where clipped coat grows back thin and patchy or fails to return for years, and the Pomeranian and Pomsky pages set out the same warning. An American Eskimo Dog is squarely in that group.

The right answer to a hot Eskie is a thoroughly deshedded coat, shade, water and walks at the ends of the day. Trimming is limited to feet, hocks and the sanitary area.

The appointment, and a smart vocal dog

Two hours for a standard, less for the smaller sizes, and most of the back half is drying. A dense double coat holds water for a long time and an Eskie that goes home damp underneath is a hot spot risk, which matters more on a small dog where the coat is proportionally deeper.

The order is: line brush through dry and deal with any felting, bathe, high velocity dry with brushing throughout, then feet, hocks, nails and sanitary area. Nothing else is cut.

Nails every three to four weeks. On the toy and miniature sizes the usual small dog caution applies: never leave one on a raised table unattended.

Ears are small, upright and open, so problems are uncommon and a weekly look is enough.

Teeth matter on the smaller sizes for the usual toy breed reasons, crowding in a small jaw, and this is a breed that commonly lives thirteen to fifteen years.

On temperament, Eskies are highly intelligent, alert and famously vocal. They were circus performers for a reason: they are quick to learn and they enjoy having something to do. They are also wary of strangers and bark readily, which is worth mentioning to a salon so nobody mistakes noise for distress.

They do not cope well with being ignored or left for long, so a shorter appointment or being kept where people are helps.

What to tell your groomer

Say which size you have, because the appointment length is completely different.

Ask for a deshedding treatment rather than a bath and brush, and book one at the start of each coat blow.

Decline any offer to shave the dog, and say why: spitz coats carry a real risk of never growing back properly.

Say the coat should stand off the body and is brushed outward from the part, not smoothed flat.

Ask for the hair around the eyes kept short and the feet cleared, since those are where staining shows on a white dog.

Say when the ruff and behind the ears were last brushed to the skin, and mention the dog barks readily so nobody misreads it.

Keeping the coat between grooms

Common Questions About the American Eskimo Dog