Criterion Kooikerhondjes

10/16/2026

10/16/2026

No turtles were harmed in the making of this video. Braam likes to kick them so notice he’s not allowed to meet this one 😅

10/15/2026

Casper got park-concert privileges tonight. 🧡

10/12/2026

10/11/2026

🐾 Why I ask puppy applicants to meet a Kooiker before committing to one 🧡

Kooikers are incredible dogs, but often misunderstood. Curated photos and videos on the internet are adorable and fun, but not the whole picture. We often hear that people expected a big Cavalier or a small Brittany, so when the dog acts like a Kooiker, it can feel "wrong." Their size, temperament and energy can surprise people too, and these traits can vary across dogs and lines.

Meeting Kooikers in person helps families decide whether this is the right breed for them. What anyone liked (or didn't!) about the dogs they met also helps me and other breeders determine if we might have the right puppy for that home.

Kooikers bond very tightly to their people, and rehoming is devastating for them. While we will always take a puppy back if needed, we want to avoid a rehoming due to a poor match from the start because of the distress it will cause.

So before being approved for my waitlist or seriously considered for a puppy, I ask that interested families meet a Kooiker first.

Luckily, Kooikers are at shows, trials and dog events all over the country most weekends. Search for events near you at akc.org/events/search, and many other organizations also put on non-AKC events (UKC, sport organizations like USDAA, NADAC, and BHA, local clubs, etc). Some Kooiker-heavy events coming up soon:
📍 KCUSA FastCAT trials, Oct 16–18, Brookville, OH
📍 KC of Philadelphia shows, Nov 12-15, Oaks, PA
📍 AKC National Championship, Dec 12–13, Orlando, FL
📍 KCUSA National Specialty, April 29–May 2, 2027, Tulsa, OK

(We have a litter on the way, so we aren't welcoming visitors right now. Our focus is biosecurity and keeping things calm for mom until puppies are old enough to meet people!)

This breed is amazing, but it isn't for everyone, and that's fine! My goal is a great match for life, and to do that, nothing beats the information gained from in-person experience with Kooikers. 🧡

Old photo from 2017 when we went to Portland to educate about Kooikers - fun fact, this visit to the Scottish Gardens was the first time we met Jewel's mom Bella!

10/10/2026

Jewel bored inside on this hurricane-rainy day

10/10/2026

🍓 Jewel's babies are the size of a strawberry! I felt two little lumpy strawberries in there yesterday 🥰

[Backstory on the sickeningly cute human-inspired fruit-fetal size tracker... fruits don't match up well with puppy size because they are either the right size or the right weight, but generally not both. To make this, I used published CRL data from medium breeds and scaled to approximate Kooiker puppy birth weights, and then basically split the difference in terms of what fruit best approximated both. It's not exactly science, so forgive me some Canva-related artistic interpretation here.

Also, I couldn't decide if birth size should be a big orange or a small grapefruit? I went with orange because.. they're Kooikers.. but open to input on this! 😂]

10/09/2026

10/08/2026

10/08/2026

Huge congrats to Bridget and Paxton for finishing the year as third-ranked owner-handled Kooikerhondje! We will be rooting for them when they compete in Orlando in December!