Breed Standard

So, today I was simply getting on with my dissertation and during a moment of procrastination (i.e spending my time on facebook) I discovered that the Kooikerhondje breed standard in the UK is due to change in April.

For my 16th birthday I was told I could pick any breed of dog I like and get a puppy. Moving to our new house in the countryside and finishing secondary school was a great time. I chose the Kooikerhondje and 6 months later Elliot joined the family. The Kooikerhondje is a small/medium sized dog, with beautiful markings and an alert happy nature. Every morning Elliot does what we call "roly polys" to greet us and he actually looks as though he is grinning. Everyday with him I wake up happy.

Originally I wanted to do obedience or agility with my dog, but good grades doesn't come naturally to me so I didn't have time to do my A-levels well and keep up with the dog training effectivly. So we decided that showing would be the next best thing to do with him, as it did not require intensive training/time. I quickly became swept up in the show world and Elliot won himself a respectable number of colourful rosettes.

When I started university we went to shows less. My mum has a full time job, and I am in London most of the year. We also began to notice that as Elliot got older he did not enjoy shows as much and was very quiet a reserved compared to his excitable barking and ten to a dozen tail when I messed about with freestyle tricks. (Freestyle is also known as doggy dancing). So we decided to only go to shows that were close to home, and to go to Crufts every year. It certainly did Elliot some good as the few times a year we do go to shows now, he does appear more interested and excited.

But as we went less and less to the show ring, we noticed that Elliot won less and less. People were forgetting who he was and rather than "judging the dog on the day" nobody seemed to notice us or him. What also suprised me was the number of new dogs that were appearing, (mostly bitches) all seeming to come from a common sire or dam and all beginning to show smaller foxier snouts compared to the square heads that I was always under the impression was desirable in the breed. I began to become suspicious of the dog world more and more and question the judges themselves. It was becoming apparent to me that its not what you know/what you have but who you know.

It is not all about the winning. I genuinly enjoy the day out with my dog. I love walking around the stalls, grooming him before a show so he is lovely and white and having some proper bonding time. Not to mention getting him used to big crowds and areas with lots of other dogs. I won't lie it is a lovely bonus to walk away with a rosette, but it isn't the priority for me. And more so now, I find myself wanting to go to observe what is happening the the breed in the short 5 years I have been showing Elliot.

I have not seen the new breed standard for the Kooikerhondje, I have just heard that it is happening. I only hope it doesn't stray too far from the original, which was based on the Dutch Breed Standard. The home of origin of the Kooikerhondje. Although it would not surprise me if it does. I can remember clearly being told at a show one day "Oh we want to change the breed standard. We want to create a British Kooikerhondje and move away from those dogs selected in the European countries."

We've all seen what can happen when someone decides to produce their own version of a breed for the UK showring.