The Kooikerhondje does not hunt ducks. Not exactly. His job is to lure ducks into a decoy by calmly moving between decoy-screens which provokes the bird’s curiosity. The birds are then lured further into a decoy pipe where they’re captured and ringed for ornithological research (or bagged for dinner).
This handsome breed with the well-feathered tail also has black hair at the tips of its ears which are called “earrings” and mentioned in the breed standard: “The ears may have black hair at the tips, the so-called earrings.”
Genetics determines the length and amount of these “earrings.” One source indicates that years ago during breed development, dogs with a lot of black hair were introduced into the lines in order to develop those earrings. Kooiker puppies usually have some black on them when they born, hairs that fall when they’re older puppies. A puppy that doesn’t have any black hairs when he’s born won’t develop earrings.
Image: Kooikerhondje by Linda Zielinski
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Earrings do not appear to be a simple inheritance. Dogs with profuse earrings can produce those with sparse ones and vice versa. That is why the standard says “may” have earrings, not must. They are highly desirable but not mandatory.
Thanks, Deborah, this is great information to share with readers!