Kooikerhondje Grooming

About the Kooikerhondje

A small Dutch duck decoy dog that worked by flashing its white plumed tail to lure ducks along a channel into a trap, and one of the more distinctive small gundogs.

The coat is medium length, slightly wavy or straight, close lying, with feathering on the ears, chest, legs and tail, and a moderate undercoat. It needs a brush once a week and a comb through the feathering.

The detail worth a page is the ears. A correct Kooiker has black hair at the tips of the ear feathering, called earrings, and it is a prized breed characteristic.

Groomers who do not know the breed have trimmed them off, either tidying the ear or assuming the dark tips are dirt or staining.

They grow back slowly and, on a show dog, their loss matters. Say it before anyone picks up scissors.

The earrings, and everything else that is not cut

The black tips on the ear feathering are a breed characteristic and they stay. So does the rest of the ear feathering, the chest fringe, the leg feathering and the plumed tail.

A Kooiker is shown as a natural dog. The legitimate trimming is the hair between the pads, a light tidy of the feet, and the sanitary area, and nothing else.

That makes it one of the breeds where a groomer doing a careful, tidy job has done the wrong job, alongside the PBGV, the Berger Picard and the Glen of Imaal.

Bring a photograph. It is the only reliable way to convey a natural finish.

The actual work is combing. Brush weekly with a slicker and comb the feathering to the skin, especially behind and under the ears, in the armpits, on the chest and at the rear.

Feathering over an undercoat is the classic matting combination, and it is the same problem a Cocker has, in a smaller package.

Never cut a mat out with scissors.

A very small gene pool, and what to ask

This is the fact a prospective owner most needs and it is not about grooming.

The breed nearly died out in the Second World War and was rebuilt from a very small number of dogs, so the modern population descends from a narrow base.

The consequence is that several inherited conditions run at meaningful rates, and Dutch and international breed clubs have run structured programs to manage them.

Von Willebrand disease, a bleeding disorder, occurs in the breed and has a DNA test. That one is worth flagging to a veterinarian before any surgery or dental, because a dog that bleeds abnormally is a surgical problem rather than a grooming one.

A hereditary neurological condition affecting the spinal cord, and an eye condition, are also reported, and both have testing available.

Patellar luxation and epilepsy turn up as well.

None of that is a reason to avoid the breed, which is otherwise robust and long lived. It is a reason to buy only from a breeder who tests and is open about results, and to expect a waiting list.

Ask which tests were done on both parents and ask to see them.

Ears, water and the rest of the routine

The ears are drop, well feathered and lie against the head, on a dog bred to work water. That is the standard recipe for ear trouble.

Check weekly, lift the leather, look and smell. Wipe the visible part and dry thoroughly after every swim and bath.

Comb the ear feathering a couple of times a week, since it mats close to the head where it rubs and a matted ear holds warmth against the canal.

Bathe every couple of months, and comb the dog out fully BEFORE the bath rather than after.

Do not clip. It is a weather resistant working coat and clipping softens it and can leave the feathering patchy.

Nails every three to four weeks and teeth brushed.

Feel for ribs monthly.

Kooikers are sensitive, quiet dogs that bond very closely and do not respond to loud or forceful handling, so slow unhurried appointments and continuity of groomer are worth more than efficiency.

Features that look like faults

Several breeds carry a perfectly normal feature that a groomer or a new owner reads as a problem and tries to fix.

Kooikerhondje: black eartips, which look like staining and get trimmed off.

Australian Terrier: a topknot softer than the body coat, which looks like a texture fault and gets stripped.

Glen of Imaal: front legs that turn out slightly, which look like a deformity.

Finnish Spitz: puppies born much darker than adults, which looks like the wrong color.

Pyrenean Shepherd: hair over the eyes, which looks like it needs trimming back.

Toybob: a kinked tail, which looks like an old injury.

If something about a purebred animal looks wrong, check the standard before correcting it. Somebody usually selected for it on purpose.

What to tell your groomer

Say the black eartips are a breed feature and must never be trimmed or scrubbed at.

Say the dog is shown natural: pads, feet and sanitary only, nothing else cut.

Bring a photograph, since the breed is rare and a natural finish is hard to describe.

Ask for the feathering combed to the skin, especially under the ears and in the armpits.

Ask for the ears checked and dried, since the dog works water.

Tell a vet about von Willebrand disease before any surgery or dental.

Keeping the coat between grooms

Common Questions About the Kooikerhondje