These dogs are known for their friendly personalities and their love of people. They are extremely energetic and best suit a family who already lead an active lifestyle that they can easily slot into.

They are a very clever breed, which makes them relatively easy to train however, they need lots of socialization with other animals in different environments in order to grow into well-rounded and happy dogs! Kooikers are very sparky and well-behaved and love nothing more than being involved in tasks around the home.

These dogs originally come from the Netherlands and have supposedly been around for hundreds of years. It's thought they were first developed during the 16th century and originally worked as duck toiling dogs, meaning they would drive birds into cages and nets. They went on to be very popular during the 17th and 18th century, often depicted in works of art by Rembrandt and Steen. Their popularity started to fall in the 20th century and was made even worse with the onset of WW2. However, they were just about saved and recognized by the Dutch Kennel Club in 1971. They first landed on English soil in the 1980s, after Mollie and Billie Yates imported 15 of them following a visit to Europe. They have since been used in the development of the Nova Scotia Duck-Tolling Retriever but remain very rare.