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 Kidogo mzee na kubwa bwana! I’ve always had a fondness for Rhodesian Ridgebacks since I grew up in Kenya and one of these majestic animals was my next door neighbor. Since those early days in Nairobi, I haven’t had much opportunity to see these dogs again until my husband’s cousin got one a few years ago.
Last weekend at the Detroit Kennel Club Dog Shows, we got another opportunity to see lots of these dogs close up. We were there representing the Nederlandse Kooikerhondje at the Meet the Breed booths. We had a breed Fun Match with AKC judge Marie Povilitis, who was also there exhibiting her Rhodesians.
Another favorite breed (don’t worry guys, I’m still nuts about you kooikers and not looking for a different breed to replace you!!) is the bizarre-looking Borzoi. The ones shown here both won their Grand Champion titles during these shows, and are magnificent indeed!
 
 Conquored by Kooikers! Rosy, along with Hamlet, Yorick, and other representatives of the Kooikerhondje Club of the USA, participated in the Detroit Kennel Club Dog Shows on March 3 & 4. Rosy was exactly eight months old on Friday, the day we drove up to Michigan.
On Saturday, she decided that with 1000 intact male dogs at the Cobo Hall in downtown Detroit, it would be a good time to go into heat! It took me a while to realize what was going on, since in my experience kooikers are slower to mature and go into heat when they are a little older. The male kooikers at the Meet the Breed booth, where we were all stationed, were interested in her, but no one was being obnoxious about it. Then I saw a telltale spot of blood on the concrete floor and thought to check her tail. Sure enough, her white breeches were marked here and there with red!
Poor dear traveled all that way, and spent most of the weekend in her crate! She was still able to earn a ribbon for Best Female Puppy (OK, she was the only girl puppy there, but I’m sure she deserved it nevertheless!) and second place to Rosewood’s Dragon for Best Puppy overall.
Of course, now that she’s a young lady, we can’t keep calling her a puppy, can we?
 Rosy 9 months
The Kooikerhondje Club of the USA (KCUSA) held it’s fourth Fun Match last weekend in Weyers Cave, VA. Participating were 10 dogs from five different states: Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. Next year’s Match will be held in a different geographic location to accommodate the kooiker population not on the East Coast!
AKC judge Carol Noe was the professional eye evaluating the animals on that sun-splashed autumn afternoon. Many of the dogs and owners were in the ring for the first time, and Carol was patient in explaining what was expected of everybody.
 Fall Fun Match Participants We took four Rosewood dogs to the Match: Hamlet, Elsinore, Yorick, and the new puppy, Rosalind. One of the advantages of having a very small number of participants in each category was that every dog placed and got a ribbon!
 Hamlet and my niece Carissa Taga’s Quarto-Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: ……….. First Place, Altered Adult
 Joyce and Elsie Taga’s Weika, Lady Elsinore………………………….First Place, Altered Female
 Rose and Yorick Germanic (Yorick)…………………………………… Second Place, Intact Male
 Pat and Dwayne Martin with AKC judge Carol Noe and Rosy Ammervills Rosalind……………………………………………Best Puppy
Two other Rosewood dogs were there–Duncan and Dragon, litter-mates from Bianca’s and Yorick’s litter this June.
 Dragon takes Nathan for a turn around the ring.  Wayne and Duncan show their confidence in the ring.
 Dogs 101 Season 3, Episode 5 which features the kooikerhondje is now posted on the Animal Planet web site! The episode first aired November 27, 2010 at 9:00 p.m.
Unfortunately, the folks at Animal Planet only stream the first two minutes of the episode, which doesn’t show the duck hunting for which the dog was developed. To see the duck hunting, which I think is the heart of the program, you can buy the entire episode from Amazon Video on Demand for $1.99. The one-hour episode focuses on large and small breeds, and features the Kooikerhondje (including Hamlet and Elsie, as well as other Rosewood dogs), the Leonberger, Dandie Dinmont Terrier, Tibetan Mastiff, and Affenpinscher. The kooikerhondje segment begins at minute 31:45.
A Call About Dogs 101, Spring 2008
I was sitting in my sister-in-law’s living room when my cell phone rang. It was a producer from Powderhouse Productions, who creates Animal Planet’s Dogs 101 series. They were featuring rare breeds in an upcoming season, and had seen the Rosewood website. They wanted to know if we were interested Continue reading Rose’s Dog Blog—The Animal Planet Dogs 101 Story
These pictures were taken on June 6, 2010. Hamlet is getting to be an old man, and turned nine on June 28. He can still run with the best of them, and doesn’t let Yorick push him around! Yorick is almost one year old in these photos (his birthday is July 24).
Yorick is a bright kid–in the space of a couple of minutes, I taught him to stand on a rock, stay, and jump off on command. Hammie might think this is ridiculous entertainment, but that doesn’t keep him from joining in and having fun! Click on the photo to enjoy the slideshow.
 Hamlet and Yorick on a Sunny Afternoon
 Hamlet, two years, 16 in. (41 cm.) 28 lbs.  Hamlet left profile, two years. Taga’s Quarto-Hamlet, Prince of Denmark answers to Hamlet or Hammie. He was born on June 28, 2001 in Denmark. He’s a quick study in obedience, and eager, eager, eager to please. Although Elsie annoys him to distraction sometimes, he is generally a quiet, laid back young prince and doesn’t take himself too seriously. How could he, with those freckles?
After unsuccessful attempts to breed Hamlet, he was discovered to be infertile. This appears to be a random occurrence, and is not due to health or hereditary issues. There have been no fertility studies done on kooikerhondjes. He was neutered in 2005 and is unavailable as a stud dog, and all of his excellent qualities are retired from the kooiker gene pool!
To read more about Hamlet, visit here.
| PEDIGREE FOR HAMLET |
Taga’s Quarto-Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
UKC reg. R153-856
DOB June 28, 2001 |  |
| Sire: Corak Urjette v. Muskyteira | S: Boris-Timmy V.D. Hemke Hoeve | S: Boris V. Rietwijk |
| D: Saartje |
| D: Urjette Coranne V. Muskyteira | S: Dodo |
| D: Coranne Omaira V.D. Stam Dolerna |
| Dam: Taga’s Erika | S: Taga’s Gino | S: Taga’s Brutus Of Tjemme |
| D: Taga’s Abby Of Rakker |
| D: Taga’s Joy A Julie | S: Taga’s Andy Of Rakker |
| D: Franziska De Princespioen |
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The great pleasure of a dog is that you make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, he will make a fool of himself too.
– Samuel Butler
Personally, I would not give a fig for any man's religion whose horse, cat and dog do not feel its benefits. Life in any form is our perpetual responsibility.
- S. Parkes Cadman
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.
- Groucho Marx
To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs.
- Aldous Huxley
Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring—it was peace.
- Milan Kundera
Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.
- Mark Twain
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