Articles on breed basics and FAQ, care, behavior, training, and the answer to the all-important "how do you say the breed name?"
Articles on health topics including how-tos for health testing and accessing results. Musings on the breed's unique genetics.
Coming soon - Q&A-style comparisons of Kooikers with other common breeds, by experienced owners of both breeds.
There are currently five health tests required for American Kooikerhondjes to earn their CHIC number and thus be “fully health tested.” Here is how to do them and how to interpret them.
You are a veterinarian or a new Kooiker owner bringing your dog to a veterinarian who has not met this breed – what do they need to know?
Kooikers are like no other breed and a true understanding of their normal temperament and character seems to get lost among wishful thinking and assumptions.
Frequently asked questions about the breed
Kooiker-like dogs are extremely common in Dutch paintings from the 1400s onwards. Do they depict Kooiker ancestors? Or are they symbolic?
Kooikers may be affected by gene mutations causing IVDD.
Kooikers are NOT a typical “color breed” – the breed standard describes them as an orange and white dog with black pigment – but there are color genetics at play!
What do Kooikerhondjes and Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) have in common? Not much on the surface, but as it turns out, they share aspects of their history, genetics and population dynamics that may be illuminating in the pursuit of breed preservation – the domestic cousin of conservation.
The Kooiker standard changed ahead of full recognition in AKC in 2018. What changed and how does that influence our interpretation of the ideal Kooiker?
In an attempt to rescue the breed’s genetic diversity, an outcross program was initiated in 2020 in Finland – why and how will this work?
What grooming is required for this breed?
Are Kooikers bird dogs? Or gun dogs? Or sporting dogs? What do these words mean in the context of a breed that is a spaniel but was not meant to work under a gun, and can Kooikers be redeployed to do more traditional bird dog work in the field?
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