Breeds / Medium
Nederlandse Kooikerhondje puppies
Cheerful, quick and devoted at home, an athletic little Dutch decoy dog that is sensitive to handling and typically reserved with strangers.
The facts
- Size class Medium
- Country of origin Netherlands
- Adult weight 9.1 to 13.6 kg
- Adult weight in pounds 20 to 30 lb
- Adult height 38 to 41 cm
- Energy level High
- Grooming Low
- Coat type Medium wavy and double
- Typical lifespan 12 to 15 years
- Good with children Fine with supervision
- Good with other dogs Fine with supervision
Where these come from:
About the Nederlandse Kooikerhondje
The Kooikerhondje is a Dutch sporting breed, used at duck decoys where its waving white tail lured birds down a netted channel to be caught. It is a medium dog of 38 to 41 cm and 9.1 to 13.6 kg, orange red and white, with a wavy double coat and heavy feathering on the ears, legs and tail. The character is cheerful and busy outdoors but quiet in the house, closely bonded to its own people, and often reserved with strangers until it has had time to decide about them.
This is a high energy, highly trainable dog that does well at agility, obedience and scent work, and it needs daily activity to stay settled. Grooming is straightforward: a weekly brush through the feathering and the occasional bath, plus nails, ears and teeth. It is sensitive, so heavy handed training backfires and calm consistency works. Ratings with children and other pets are moderate, so supervise and socialise early. The thing new owners miss is how small the gene pool is, which makes thorough breeder health testing critical.
What to expect at eight weeks
At eight weeks a Nederlandse Kooikerhondje puppy is sleeping around 18 to 20 hours a day, is not house trained, and cannot hold on for more than an hour or two at a stretch. A medium breed puppy at eight weeks is a manageable armful that will not stay that way. Most of the growth happens between now and six months, so buy for the adult dog where you can. This is a high energy breed. At eight weeks that shows up as intensity rather than stamina, and it will need a job to do long before it needs long walks. Grooming is straightforward, but start handling the coat, feet and ears in week one anyway so it is never a fight later. The socialisation window is open and closing: everything it meets calmly now, from vacuum cleaners to men in hats, is easier for the rest of its life.
Health worth knowing about
Conditions this breed is reported to be predisposed to. Predisposed does not mean inevitable, it means ask about it.
- Hereditary necrotising myelopathy (ENM), detectable by DNA test
- von Willebrand disease type III, detectable by DNA test
- Polymyositis, an inflammatory muscle disease diagnosed by blood testing and muscle biopsy
- Kidney disease, monitored by blood and urine testing
- Epilepsy, diagnosed clinically once other causes have been ruled out
- Patellar luxation, graded on veterinary orthopaedic examination
From Nederlandse Kooikerhondje breed information at https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/nederlandse-kooikerhondje/. Discuss any of these with your own vet.
Your Nederlandse Kooikerhondje puppy's first six months
- Vaccination schedule, dated for your country.
- Worming and parasite schedule.
- Feeding calculator. Set expected adult size to Medium for a Nederlandse Kooikerhondje.
- Adult size predictor, to check growth against the 9.1 to 13.6 kg adult range.
- Puppy names and the first week checklist.
Other medium breeds
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Not veterinary advice. Breed information is general. Your own dog, and your own vet, always win.