Mention “earrings” in connection to a purebred dog breed, and most “dog nerds” will immediately think of the Nederlandse Kooikerhondje. The AKC breed standard indicates that the Kooiker’s ears may have black hair at the tips, the so­ called “earrings,” and that they are are “highly desirable.”

It wasn’t always so.

The Dutch Kennel Club recognized the Kooikerhondje in 1971, and in 2011, added the word, “Nederlandse” to Kooikerhondje. Long before that time, however, black earrings were merely mentioned in the 1962 standard. When the breed standard was revised in 1966, wording changed to make earrings “desirable.” In 2011, the wording was altered slightly to make black earrings “very desirable,” and that’s the wording we see now in the standard approved in 2017.

The point of this post, however, is to mention that at some point in the future, the Kooikerhondje’s AKC standard will not be the only one to mention “earrings.” When the Romanian Carpathian Shepherd Dog gains full AKC recognition (it is currently an FSS breed), we presume (perhaps boldly) that the FCI standard will remain largely intact, and it reads as follows: Colour: Piebald: The ground color must be white with well-defined black or grey markings. Solid colors: Solid white or solid grey. Tips of ears should be pigmented in dark grey or black (earrings).

The earrings are more subtle in the breed also known as the Romanian Mioritic Shepherd Dog (or simply Mioritic), but they are no less engaging in this well-furnished breed. The Mioritic is a wonderful breed that is little known in the rest of the world, in part because the remoteness of the Carpathian Mountains where the breed was selectively bred to care for grazing flocks. It is, however, not only one of the oldest Romanian dog breeds, but was considered to be the best sheepdog in Romania, and as such, was greatly popular in its native country for generations. The breed wasn’t introduced to the world until 1935 at an exhibition in Bucharest, but WWII kept the event largely under wraps.

So the next time you play Trivia Pursuit – purebred dog edition (remind us to invent it!), you will know that the Kooiker isn’t the only breed with earrings!

Image of Nederlandse Kooikerhondje from Deposit Stock Photo