Some History of the Kooikerhondje

The Kooikerhondje is an old breed that originated in The Netherlands (Holland).  The Kooiker can be seen in paintings from the 16th and 17th century, but didn't become an official breed until June 18, 1966.  They were originally bred to lure ducks into traps.  Unfortunately, by the end of World War II, the dwindling duck stocks left the Kooiker out of a job, the breed almost became extinct.  In all, only 25 Kooikerhondjes were left in existence.

In 1939 Baroness Van Hardenbroek vaan Ammerstol decided to resurrect the little Kooikerhondje.  In order to rebuild the Kooikerhondje, the Baroness prepared a detailed description of the ideal dog and asked traveling salesmen to look for a dog that fit those criteria.  At long last, her efforts were rewarded when the work came back of a bitch named Tommie on a farm in the northern province called Friesland.  The Baroness went to Friesland, and was delighted to discover that Tommie did indeed fit the description.  Fortunately, the farmer, eho would not sell Tommie, agreed to lend his dog to the Baroness for breeding.

The Baroness took Tommie back with her and began a seach for a suitable male.  She found a suitable male named Bobbie and he sired Tommie's first litter which had only one male survivor.  The puppy was named Bernhard van Walhalla (her kennel name).

In 1943 Tommie had her second litter from a new dog named Bennie.  This litter consisted of 4 bitches, which were named after Tommie and after the little princesses of the Netherlands:  Trix, Irene, Margrietje and Tommie 2.  (This was quite audacious of the Baroness, since in 1943 the Netherlands was occupied by Nazi-Germany and any reference to the royal family was absolutely forbidden.)  The Baroness, as before, searched for suitable males to breed to these bitches and found them mostly on farms and with private families.  Tommie was returned to the farm in Friesland when she became too old to have another litter.  There she lived out her life until sadly, a harvester accidentally killed her.

Eventually, other people became interested in breeding the Kooikerhondje.  Using several sources Tommie's offspring, mongrels who fit the description, and two dogs belonging to a decoyman named Bosma they created their perfect dog.  In 1966 the raad van Beheer (the Dutch institute that decides whether a breed can become officially recognized or not), decided that a provisional register could be installed.  The dogs that passed the judging could be admitted to the register.  Nico, great grandson of Margrietje, was the first Kooikerhondje to be admitted to the provisional register and can be found in almost every modern Kooikerhondje's pedigree.

It was December 20, 1971, when the Kooikerhondje received its final recognition, a sufficient gene pool had been established.  From that moment on no unregistered dogs were allowed to participate in the breeding program.