The Keeshond is a very old breed and there is little doubt that the fact it was never intended to hunt, kill animals or attack criminals accounts for its gentleness and devotion. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Keeshonden were used as watchdogs, good-luck companions, and vermin controllers on river boats, farms and barges. They were known as Wolfspitz (Germany), Chiens Loup (France), Lupini (Italy), and Keeshonden (Holland).
During the 1700's, in Holland, Cornelius "Kees" de Gyzelaar, a leader in the Dutch Patriot revolt against the reigning House of Orange, kept one of these dogs as his constant companion.
The Keeshond became the symbol of the Patriot Party. This is the basis for the breed name as "Kees' dog", which in Dutch would be "Kees hund". The Patriots' were defeated, however, and many Keeshonden were destroyed to disavow any connection with the failed rebel party. The only Kees that remained were a few on barges and farms.
The breed was not revived until nearly a century later through Baroness van Hardenbroek and Miss J. D. Van der Blom. Throughout the late 1800's, Keeshonden had appeared in England under the names of "fox-dogs," "overweight Pomeranians" and "Dutch Barge Dogs." This British dog was the progeny of the German Wolfspitz crossed with a percentage of Dutch imports.
"After the calm beauty of Antwerp, Rotterdam was a disappointment and we were glad to escape from the bustle and coal dust of this busy port and steam north through the canals on our way to Amsterdam. This was in 1902 in a large yacht which my father had built, the interior layout he designed himself. "Gwen must launch her"said Mother, and what an exciting and proud moment it was for me when the bottle of champagne struck the bow fairly and squarely and I said. "I name you Joyeuse". Three hundred and fifty tons: a beautiful clipper bow. Such was the yacht that brought dear Barkles, Zaandam Zaanie, Dirk & Edam to England from their humble barges. Soon we began to meet the sailing barges and sailing windfree they came in ones and twos. Look! They have little dogs on board. In great excitement, Ellen (The Countess of Wharncliffe), Mother and I rushed to the side of the yacht to see more closely what kind of dog they could be. They were barking at us and then ran to the bow of the ship, putting their paws up on the bulwarks and barking frantically to keep off what must have appeared to them as a great white monster that was approaching. When they found it still came on and was passing them, they ran along their boat barking and "saw us off' from the stern. "Well, I've never seen any dogs like those before"" exclaimed Mother. "They might be tiny Alsatians" said Father. "Could they be a dwarf species or just mongrels" said Ellen. "But they are all exactly alike on all barges" voiced Ellen's husband.
"My Life with Keeshonden"
Gwendolen Wingfield-Digby
This little book describes one young girl's excitement on her first sighting of a dog that has changed Keeshond fancier's lives. Although her lifestyle was clearly far removed from today's Keeshond owners, when it came to the charms of a Keeshond, she was no different from us today.
After her introduction to the breed she goes on to describe how she got to know the crews of the Dutch barges and persuaded her father to buy two dogs for her - Barkles and Zaandam - for which he paid two guilders each. There were more raiding parties to follow and soon two more bright-eyed puppies were to join the team - she called them Edam and Dirk. They became the basis for the British breeding stock that invigorated the breed.
After the turn of the 20th century, Mrs. Wingfield-Digby and Mrs. Alice Gatacre aroused great interest in the Keeshond in England and in 1926 an English breed club was formed with "Keeshond" as the official name. With rare exceptions, the Kees in the United States are derived from this British breeding.
In the United States, the first litter was bred in 1929 by Carl Hinderer of Baltimore, MD. The first Keeshond was registered with the American Kennel Club in 1930 in the Non-Sporting Group. The Keeshond Club of America, as it was later named, was organized in 1935. Mrs. Virginia Ruttkay pioneered Keeshond breeding in the Eastern US, founding her kennel in 1946. Mr. and Mrs. Porter Washington of California purchased their first Keeshond in 1932, providing foundation stock for many successful Western US kennels.
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