Traditionally, the Spanish Water Dog was shorn once a year (usually with the sheep) to have the same length of coat all over,  though now, both the AKC and Kennel Club standard say that clipped dogs are allowed (but not required), the clipping always complete and even, and never to become an “aesthetic” grooming. This is probably counterintuitive to dog show handlers accustomed to “managing” a coated breed, but this single coat, always curly and with a wooly texture, is never brushed or combed, and should be exhibited either in natural curls or in rustic cords with tapered tips.

Thumbnail image: Shared from Wikicommons under Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1727347. Image with sheep: Shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic