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Kooikerhondje breeders

About the Kooikerhondje The Kooikerhondje is a small orange-red and white dog from the Netherlands, placed by The Royal Kennel Club (RKC) in the Utility Group.

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Advertise your Kooikerhondje puppies, litters and stud dogs

Breed Kooikerhondjes? List your kennel

If you breed Kooikerhondjes in the UK, add your kennel to caninebreeder.co.uk so buyers looking for Kooikerhondje puppies for sale can find you by breed and area. With just 13 puppies registered with the RKC in each of the last three years, a clear listing helps buyers find you before a litter arrives. A basic listing shows your kennel or company name, website, social media, location and categories. An upgraded profile lets you advertise a Kooikerhondje stud dog, post planned litters and set out the ENM and vWD3 results behind your dogs. Add your listing or compare plans.

No breeders are listed here yet, so the first profiles get the page to themselves.

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Create your free breeder profile Advertise a litter Advertise a stud dog

Is it free to advertise here?

Yes. A breeder profile and your litter and stud dog adverts are free. Premium profiles, featured placement and sponsored articles are optional paid extras; see pricing.

Do I need a licence to advertise puppies?

In England you need a dog breeding licence from your council if you breed three or more litters in 12 months or breed and sell dogs as a business, and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own schemes. Licensed breeders show their licence number and issuing council on every advert. Puppies must be at least eight weeks old before they go to new homes.

Is my listing already here?

We add licensed breeders from councils' public registers. Search for your kennel name; if it is listed you can claim it and edit everything.

About the Kooikerhondje

About the Kooikerhondje

The Kooikerhondje is a small orange-red and white dog from the Netherlands, placed by The Royal Kennel Club (RKC) in the Utility Group. According to the RKC breed page, its traditional job was working at duck decoys: the dog waved its white-plumed tail to draw ducks along narrow waterways towards nets where they were caught. When the breed was first recognised in the UK it sat in the Gundog Group, but because it does not work alongside hunters with guns it was moved to Utility. The RKC also mentions a Dutch story in which a Kooiker raised the alarm when intruders entered the chambers of Prince William of Orange.

Size and build

The RKC breed standard describes a dog only slightly longer in the body than it is tall at the withers, carrying its head high. Dogs stand 37 to 42 cm (14.5 to 16.5 in) at the shoulder and bitches 35 to 40 cm (14 to 16 in). Movement should be flowing and springy, with good reach and drive from behind.

Coat and grooming

The coat is medium length, straight or slightly wavy but not curled, with a good undercoat, moderate feathering on the underline and the backs of the legs, and a well-feathered tail. The colour is clear orange-red patches on white, and black tips on the ears, known as earrings, develop with age and are highly prized in the standard. The RKC lists grooming more than once a week, and the breed does shed. The Kooikerhondje Club of Great Britain recommends regular brushing, daily during a moult, and only occasional baths so the coat keeps its natural water resistance.

Exercise and home

The RKC suggests up to an hour of exercise a day and says the breed suits a small house with a small or medium garden, in town or country. The breed club says Kooikers adapt to their owners' pace, often enjoy swimming, and put on weight easily, so food needs watching.

Temperament

The standard describes a lively, agile, self-confident dog that is good-natured and alert without being noisy, and friendly with people it knows but aloof with strangers. The breed club adds that Kooikers get on well with other dogs and cats if they meet them when very young. The RKC gives a typical lifespan of more than 12 years.

Kooikerhondje health tests

Kooikerhondje health and testing

Breed Watch places the Kooikerhondje in Category 1: the RKC has not identified visible, conformation-related health concerns for show judges to watch in this breed. That covers how the dog is built, not inherited disease.

The RKC Health Standard lists prioritising genetic diversity as Good Practice. Best Practice adds two DNA tests, both for recessive conditions: a dog needs two copies of the faulty gene to be affected, and carriers show no signs.

  • Hereditary necrotising myelopathy (ENM) is a degenerative disease of the spinal cord. It causes loss of coordination and paralysis of the hind legs, with early signs usually seen between three and 12 months of age, and there is no cure (RKC ENM test).
  • Von Willebrand disease type III (vWD3) is the most severe form of this clotting disorder, causing nosebleeds, bleeding gums and prolonged bleeding after injury, surgery or whelping (RKC vWD3 test).

The Kooikerhondje Club of Great Britain also flags polymyositis, an immune-mediated muscle disease for which no test yet exists and which is being researched. The club has asked owners to report health test results and conditions such as epilepsy and patella luxation to a global breed health register.

Tests and schemes

  • Prioritising genetic diversity (RKC Good Practice)
  • DNA test: hereditary necrotising myelopathy (ENM) (RKC Best Practice)
  • DNA test: von Willebrand disease type III (vWD3) (RKC Best Practice)
  • Breed Watch: Category 1

Choosing a Kooikerhondje breeder

Choosing a Kooikerhondje breeder

Kooikerhondjes are uncommon in the UK. RKC registration statistics show between 48 and 65 registrations a year from 2016 to 2019, falling to 13 a year in each of 2023, 2024 and 2025, so most breeders have only occasional litters and keep waiting lists. The Kooikerhondje Club of Great Britain, listed on the RKC Find a Club service, publishes a planned litters page. A good breeder will show you ENM and vWD3 DNA results for both parents, or explain how the pairing ensures no puppy can be affected, and tell you the litter's coefficient of inbreeding. The club's health page says puppies should be wormed before they leave and go home with their pedigree, vaccination record and advice on raising them. You should see the puppies with their mother: in England a licensed breeder may not sell a puppy under eight weeks old or show one to buyers without its mother (Schedule 6), and anyone breeding three or more litters in 12 months and selling any of the puppies needs a council licence.

Questions to ask

  • Can I see both parents' ENM and vWD3 results on the RKC Health Test Results Finder?
  • What is this litter's coefficient of inbreeding, and how does it compare with the breed average?
  • How are the puppies being introduced to visitors, given the breed can be reserved with strangers?
  • Have the parents or close relatives had epilepsy, polymyositis or knee problems, and do you report to the breed health register?
  • Which vaccinations, worming and paperwork come with the puppy, and will you take it back if needed?

Kooikerhondje questions

What are the black ear tips on a Kooikerhondje?

They are known as earrings. The RKC breed standard describes black tips on the ears that develop as the dog matures and says they are highly desirable. The rest of the coat should be clear orange-red patches on white.

Is the Kooikerhondje a gundog?

Not in the UK. The breed was developed to lure ducks into traps at Dutch duck decoys by waving its white-plumed tail. It was first placed in the Gundog Group, but the RKC moved it to the Utility Group because it does not work alongside hunters with guns.

What health tests should a Kooikerhondje's parents have?

The RKC lists prioritising genetic diversity as Good Practice and DNA tests for hereditary necrotising myelopathy (ENM) and von Willebrand disease type III (vWD3) as Best Practice. Ask to see both parents' results and the litter's coefficient of inbreeding.

Are Kooikerhondjes friendly with strangers and other pets?

The breed standard describes a good-natured, alert dog that is friendly with people it knows but aloof with strangers, so early, gentle socialisation helps. The Kooikerhondje Club of Great Britain says Kooikers get on well with other dogs and cats as long as they are introduced to them when very young.

More for Kooikerhondje owners and breeders

Official sources