A CAREFUL RECONSTRUCTION

Being a rare breed in its own country, the DutchSmoushond is certainly unknown in the rest of theworld. Is it an old breed? Yes and no. The breed wasknown from about 1850 and was registered and ex-hibited at dog shows from the first quarter of the20th century. However, during the Second WorldWar, it became extinct and by 1947 there were nopure Smoushond left. In 1973, two Dutch ladiesbegan to rebuild the breed, but without having anyliving examples of the old Smoushond available, the

present breed, not even 50 years old, is a careful re-construction of an extinct one.

GENTLEMEN'S STABLE-DOGS

It is absolutely certain that this breed has itsroots in the Netherlands. About 1850 - so the storygoes - the Smoushond was owned mostly by Jewsliving in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. "Smous" was(and is) a term of abuse for Jews; it could be an ex-planation of the breed’s name. Others believe thatthe word Smous has derived from the dog's mous-tache and beard - in Dutch "Smousbaard". Mr. Pulzer owned a pub in the old city centre ofAmsterdam. Being a dog fancier, Pulzer had no ob-jections to dogs going into his pub, so a small groupof regular customers took their dogs with them to thisestablishment. These dogs looked very much alikeand were obviously related. Most of them had beenpurchased from a certain C.J. Abraas who, in his stallsituated not far from the pub, sold these small hairycreatures. The name he gave his 'breed' was HeerenStalhonden (Gentlemen's Stable-Dogs). Other nameswere Stable Pinscher or Dutch Schnauzer.

Nobody has been able to find out where Abraasgot the dogs he sold. We do know that he wasn’t abreeder himself and that most of his dogs came fromRotterdam. Some historians think his dogs arrivedby boat from England. Others are convinced thatAbraas's dogs were of German origin and closely re-lated to the German Pinscher, albeit yellow-colored.Rhine barges still sail from Germany into the harborof Rotterdam. My personal view is that there is cer-tainly a relation between Abraas's dogs and the wire-haired German Pinscher. Just have a look at thepictures, dating from the same time.

NOT A LADIES' PET

A century ago, the Smoushond is not an obscurebreed - quite the contrary. In the famous Dutch dogbook Hondenrassen (edition 1904), by Count Henrivan Bylandt, the Smous is very well-represented asHollandse Smoushond or "Wire-haired Dutch Ter-rier". This book has several illustrations of the breed,and its standard, witch states: He is a stable dog, nota ladies' pet; good ratter and very gay companion.”At that time, the height at the shoulder was between14 and 17½ inches. By 1905, the Smoushond wasnot only a well-known dog in its home country, butalso in Germany and Belgium. In 1912, another Dutch author, L. Seegers,wrote that the breed resembled an Irish Terrier - notbecause the Irish Terrier was an ancestor, but be-cause some Smoushonden were crossed with IrishTerriers. Both authors, Van Bylandt and Seegers, werenot only the first breed judges, they were also com-mittee members of the breed club and writers of thebreed standard (1905).

H I S T O R Y

Being a dog fancier, Pulzer had no objections to dogs going into his pub, so a small group of regular customers took their dogs with them

to this establishment.

HOLLANDSE SMOUSHONDtext and illustrations by RIA HÖRTER

Dutch Smoushond - From Stable Dog to Family Dog

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MR. STINSTRA ANDHIS ‘TOMMY’

A certain Mr. Stinstraplayed a key role in thebreed’s early history.Around 1890, he wasvery interested in thebreed and owned aSmoushond, ‘Tommy’(born circa 1892), pic-tured in magazines inand outside the Nether-lands as the "one andonly good representa-

tive of the breed". In 1874, 20Smoushonden were entered in aDutch Agriculture Show, and in 1890at the first dog show organised by theDutch KC ‘Cynophilia’, Stinstrajudged two classes of Smoushonden.His criteria for a good Smoushond areclear: Forty years ago, the Smoushondwas quite popular, especially in Ams-terdam. The colors were light anddark yellow, brownish, black andwhite. Whites and blacks were rare,most of them were yellow. Their bodywas not long and they were a little highon leg. A Smoushond must be able tosee clearly, without being bothered bytoo much hair. His head is somewhat round with a puggy nosewhich is black-colored. The ears are cropped, not pointed butround. His eyes are big and dark with a lively expression. Thebody is rather short and the coat is sturdy. The tail is also dockedand the Smoushond has strong fore- and hindquarters withround feet. In his critiques, Stinstra told exhibitors that a flesh-colorednose, being too high or too low on legs, light eyes, too muchwhite and a curly coat were most objectionable. In 1890 and1891, only four Smoushonden were entered in the shows of theKC ‘Cynophilia’.

‘SAMOS’

It seems the breed gradually declined after Stinstra’s death.People were still interested in the dog, but began breeding theirown types. Some of them resembled big Brussels Griffons, oth-ers incorrect Affenpinschers. In 1905, the first re-evaluation

began with the founding of a breed club. In 1919, this club had91 members throughout the Netherlands, but for some reason,the breed never became popular. ‘Samos’, who was consideredone of the best Smoushonden ever, was born in August 1915. The first breed club had disappeared by 1925. That sameyear, a dog fancier drew up an inventory resulting in a secondbreed club. During the Second World War, breeding dogs wasdifficult; in the years after the war only four litters were regis-tered, born in 1946, ’47 and ’49. The Dutch KC withdrewrecognition of the breed club after 1949 since no Smoushondhad been entered in the stud book and there was no longer con-tact with the club. Was this the end of the story?

TWO AMBITIOUS LADIES

In 1973, two Dutch ladies launchedan ambitious plan. They wanted torecreate the Dutch Smoushond, but theonly dogs they could find were merelylook-alikes whose owners were per-suaded to cooperate in a careful breed-ing program. Those two ladies, Mrs.Mia van Woerden and Mrs. Riek Bark-man-van Weel were not only very de-termined, but also aware of theimportance of good PR. Riek Barkmantravelled around the country lookingfor good examples and every year shereported about their progress in the

H I S T O R Y

continued from page 262

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In 1995, Mrs. Riek Barkman was interviewed by Ria Hörter(right). A portrait of Mrs. Barkman and her dogs was published in

‘De Hondenwereld’, October 1995. (Photo: Marinus Nijhoff)

This portrait of a Smoushondwas on the wall in

Mrs. Barkman’s house, 1995.It’s ‘Samos’, depicted in 1934.

(Photo: Marinus Nijhoff)

. ‘Flip’, a Smous male, pictured before 1912, and owned by

Mr. D. Jurriaanse from Leiden

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Dutch dog magazine, DeHondenwereld. She kepther own stud book anddata and collected hun-dreds of photographs,knowing that some daythe breed would be recog-nized again. Many dogfanciers in the Nether-lands were aware of there-creation of this breed,and they followed thebreeding program withgreat interest. The first litter of anew Smoushond genera-tion was born in 1972.The father of this litterwas discovered in an ani-mal shelter and the mothercame from the province ofGroningen. Mrs. Barkmanfound her thanks to an advertisement in a local newspaper. Be-tween October 1974 and October 1975, 73 puppies were born. Ofcourse, there were disappointments; it seemed to be extremely dif-

ficult to get thetypical yellowcolor. A secondproblem wasbreeding a goodscissors bite - toomany dogs wereborn with an un-derbite. In 1977,Mrs. Barkmanspotted the first'real Smoushon-den' and in 1978,the yellow colorseemed to be undercontrol. It was notonly 'dogs fromthe street' that con-tributed to the new

Smoushond; in early years Border Terriers were used to improvethe coat texture.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

In 1978, the third breed club was founded and by 1979, 544Smoushonden were registered in Mrs. Barkman's stud book. Breed-ing, health and temperament have always had priority; beautycomes third. If you live outside the Netherlands, it is very difficultor even impossible to acquire a puppy; the breed club wants to fol-low every dog during its entire life. In the Netherlands, purchasinga Smoushond means waiting for about 2 years. The influence ofthe breed club goes even further; when a dog or bitch is healthy

and good tempered, the owner is obliged to make the dog availablefor breeding one time. This breed is still 'under construction’. Every puppy is seenand described at the age of seven weeks. At the same time, there isa puppy test to ensure that the right dog goes to the right owner. Atthe age of 1½ years, the dogs are described again during a so-called'Day of Inventory'. It's obvious that the present breed club leavesnothing to chance. The old name 'Dutch Terrier' is more or less wrong; the truename should be 'Dutch Pinscher'. The Smoushond is recognizedby the FCI (group 2, section 1); the valid breed standard datesfrom 2001.

H I S T O R Y

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Origin: 19th-century Holland (the Netherlands)Original Purpose: Stable-dog, ratter; now companiondog.Description: The present breed standard says that thehead is one of the most typical characteristics of theSmoushond; seen from above it is broad and short.Today, Stinstra's description is still valid. The generalappearance of a Smoushond is of a rough-coated,lively, active, strong, squarely-built dog. They must havethe stamina to follow a horse and carriage and the en-ergy to catch rats in the stable. This dog is not ponder-ous or coarse. The head is one of the most typicalfeatures; seen from above is it broad and short. Theskull is slightly domed and the forehead slightlyrounded. The stop is distinct. An underbite or an evenbite are permitted, but a scissors bite is desirable. Thelips are thin and tight with black rims. The high-set ears,dropping with the front edge close to the cheeks, aresmall, thin and triangular with slightly rounded tips.They are very typical for the breed. The body must give an impression of sturdiness, andthe back is broad, muscular and straight. The neck is onthe short side and muscular. The chest is broad, not un-duly deep, with well-sprung ribs. The loin is slightlyarched and the croup is well-muscled. The forequartersare straight with strong, oval bone; hindquarters aremoderately angulated, strong and muscular with well letdown hocks. The undocked tail should be rather short,carried gaily, but not curled above the back. The coat is still an important aspect of the breedand is minutely described in the standard: coarse,rugged, hard, straight and never curly, wavy or woolly.There must be sufficient undercoat and a parting on theback is a serious fault. The color of the coat should be solid yellow in dif-ferent shades, but preferably dark straw yellow. Today,the Smoushond is a pleasant and easy family dog. Height/Weight: Approximately 14.5 to 16.5 inches fordogs; approximately 13.75 to 15.75 inches for bitches.Weight about 20 to 22 pounds. Information: www.smoushond.nl (Dutch breed club)and www.kennelclub.nl (Dutch Kennel Club). Bothwebsites are in Dutch.

The general appearance of a Smoushond is of a rough-coated, lively, active,

strong, squarely built dog. (Photo: Alice van Kempen)

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The present breed, not even 50 years old, is acareful reconstruction of an extinct one.

(Photo: Alice van Kempen)

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