Nederlandse Kooikerhondje Breed Magazine - Showsight

SHOW GROOMING A KOOIKER

previous belief, a healthy dog on a high-quality diet will not dry out from using the high velocity dryer. We do not like to over- bathe our Kooiker, though we did six AKC shows in a row each weekend and had to bathe him before each one. (This is not ideal, but when we are scheduled like this, we had to do it!) His coat never dried, broke, looked frizzy, or suffered any damage. He took home several wins during that period as well! What we do NOT want to see in Kooikers is the dryer being used to fluff the coat. We go with the grain to shine the coat, get dead skin and coat out, and keep the coat flat and beautiful. After our Kooiker is bathed and dried, we use a slicker brush or a comb to brush his entire body, feathering, rear, earrings, etc. This should leave your Kooiker looking smooth and groomed. You should not see any separation of coat or an oily looking coat. After our Kooiker is dry and brushed, we trim his feet! We do this by doing his nails first; we clip and Dremel them smooth and short. Then we start by clippering or scissoring the hair on the bottom of the feet at the pads. We want the dogs to have protection, but they also need “grip.” You can use clippers or scissors. Just go flat against the foot and trim off any excess hair. Then we trim the hair between the pads and around the toes. We do this by taking our finger and pulling up the hair between the toes, using scis- sors to trim the excess hair. We “round” the feet. When the foot is in a standing position, it should look completely natural and round. There should not be scissor marks or an obviously groom- ing appearance. This should not alter the appearance of the dog or indicate a trim on any of their feathering. We do also check his teeth to see if any plaque needs to be scraped, but dogs on a high- quality diet usually have minimal plaque buildup, so scraping is usually not necessary.

Once at the show site, we do try to keep our Kooiker clean and dry. As much as we want to make sure that Kooikers remain a working breed and are able to do their job, it is still a dog show, and so, your dog is expected to be groomed and clean. The coat should look smooth and together, not separated, oily, or tangled. If you have a male, you should check their male bits and make sure they are dry and clean. No judge wants a handful of anything wet or sticky! If you have a female, check the lady parts; and if she is in season, wipe her with a grooming wipe before showing, to mini- mize dripping. Then we simply go to our ring, run a slicker brush or comb over the dog, and head into the ring. It is important to note that even those who do not show their Kooikers should be doing regular brushing, nail trims, and feet trimming. We trim the feet to avoid snowball and mud build-up, to give the pads proper grip, and to keep the house neat and clean by having less mud and water on the feet. Regular nail trims are extremely important for any dog of any breed, as the nails directly create the conformation of the feet and allow your dog to stand, walk, and run the appropriate way! Our breed is a natural dog and we want to keep it that way. In order to do this, we need to band together to show our Kooi- kers in a natural coat. We should not be fluffing them, spray- ing excessively with conditioner or water, and we should NOT be trimming anything other than their feet. We all need to work together to keep our Kooikers looking natural in the show ring. We, and many other natural Kooiker exhibitors, have already proven that we can and will win with our natural dogs. Contrary to popular belief by some professional handlers, we do not have to try to become a Golden Retriever or a Setter in the ring. This is not what our breed is!

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