There are fewer than 500 of these dogs in the United States and only 7,000 in the entire world.

They are the Nederlandse Kooikerhondjes (koiker – hond – jas) and these rare pooches, called Kooikers for short, have been a 38-year passion of Rod and Marta Beckstead of Jim Thorpe, who now own three pedigrees. The Kooiker is one of two new breeds to be featured in the Westminster Dog Show on Feb. 11 and 12. The other new breed is he Grand Basset Griffon Vend, a member of the Hound group.

The duck and the dog

The Kooikers has been traced back to the 1500s in Europe and was ironically named after a man.

“The Kooiker was a man who captured ducks to take to market in the Netherlands,” Beckstead said.

He explained that the Kooiker would build tributaries off of a farm pond that attracted ducks. He would install a netting system under the tributaries and then feed grains to the ducks to get them to come in from the pond to the tributaries.

“Once the ducks were accustomed to look for the food, the Kooiker would employ his dog that would calmly socialize with the ducks until they became comfortable in his company and they associated him with their food.”

After a while, the dog would act as a lure and the ducks would follow him to the end of the tributaries where they would be captured in the submerged net.

“There are also Kooikerhondjes depicted in the scenes of several very old Dutch paintings,” he said. “They’ve been around along time, but are relatively rare outside of Europe.”

Of conscience and contracts

Beckstead, who recently retired from his job as a consultant pharmacist in Allentown, moved to Jim Thorpe last year. He has been raising and training dogs of different breeds since the 1980s.

“I started with Siberian Huskies,” said Beckstead, who remembers having his first pet dog when he was 4 years old. To get the Kooikers registered as a new breed with the American Kennel Club for show competition, you need proof of three generations of pedigree dogs and you have to have a minimum of 150 of the breed registered with the AKC.”

Kooikers are beautifully colored white with red-orange patches, some with black “earrings” of hair at the end of their ears. They grow to be a little over 20 pounds. They’re about 15 inches high and live to be 12 to14 years old.

Beckstead and his wife, Marta, currently own three of these canines. I-Ron was brought home from a trip to Zurich, Switzerland, where they also acquired Quinci, I-Ron’s daughter, and The Bandit, who is I-Ron’s grandson.

“We call him The Bandit because he’s a stealer of hearts and kisses,” he said with a laugh.

As the former president of the United States Kooiker Club, Beckstead is very conscientious about the breeding and the care of the dogs he owns now and those he has sold over the years.

“My philosophy about breeding is straight and narrow,” he said. “Never breed them more than twice and never before the age of 2 or after the age of 3.”

He claims that overbreeding causes the same gene pattern that could pass along illnesses and other hereditary problems.

“They should be family pets when they are done breeding.”

When he sells a Kooiker, he has the buyer sign a contract that if for any reason, the buyer can no longer care for the dog, he must return it to Beckstead. He told a story about a Canadian couple who had purchased a dog from him.

“They called me some years later and said their dog had Lyme disease and kidney failure,” he said. “I told them to put her down.”

A short time afterward, Beckstead received a surprise. The couple had driven from Canada to his door.

“They handed me a blue suede bag,” he said. “Inside the bag were their dog’s ashes. It was an emotional moment for all of us.”

TV time and family fine

The Beckstead Kooikers have won many ribbons and championships from United Kennel Club show competitions through the years but when asked what is the greatest pleasure he derives from his long time love of the breed, he said it’s not about the awards.

“My Kooikers, along with our three miniature poodles and an old border terrier are my buddies, my friends. They’re family. They fill a need for my wife and I, especially now that our kids are grown and living on their own.”

At age 80, Beckstead now leaves the showing of his dogs for the younger because “who wants to see an old fat man” prancing around the ring of judges.

This past Thanksgiving, after the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, The Bandit was shown on TV at the Philadelphia Kennel Club competition.

“He’s been on TV six times, and this time right after his performance, he stuck his face into the camera and they kept it on him for about seven seconds,” he said.

At Westminster in New York City, the Kooikers were shown within the “miscellaneous class” because the AKC hadn’t yet officially accepted the breed for their competitions. All three of the Beckstead dogs won certificates of merit.

I-Ron, Quinci and The Bandit will be featured at a Meet the Breeds exhibit at the Lehigh Valley Kennel Club today and Sunday at the Allentown Fairgrounds.

In the meantime, Rod and Marta will spend quiet times at home enjoying their family of furry friends.