Smudge was a Dutch spaniel, a Kooikerhondje, literally ‘the duck hunter’s small dog’. In England we tend to call these dogs Kooikers. They originate in the Netherlands, and are much more common in Europe. especially northern Europe.
Smudge’s kennell name was Kerfkooiker Guinevere, and she was born in Barnsley on 13th February 2017. Sadly she died of cancer on 28th June 2024, aged just 7.
Smudge was named after a brown smudge on the tip of her nose! When a puppy in 2018 & also in 2019 she was exhibited at Crufts. I showed her periodically therafter as she really was a little too big for a female Kooiker (compared with the breed standard), and in 2018 started training and competing in KC Rally, Smudge received her RL2ex title in 2019 and was working toward Levels 3 & 4, with a halt due to COVID. She also undertook some scentwork training, but did not like Agility much – she did not compete at this.
Living at home, she kept the other dogs in order, and her favorite games were with a ball and an empty plastic bottle which were tossed around energetically.