Hollandse Smoushond
The stable dog that died out in 1949 and was found again through the newspapers.
Vital stats
| Size | Small · 37–42 cm (males) · 35–40 cm (females) |
| Weight | 7–11 kg |
| Life expectancy | 13–14 years, often longer |
| Energy | Moderate — a walking dog, not a running one |
| Shedding | Low — the harsh coat is plucked out, not shed |
| Coat | Coarse, wiry, 4–7 cm · straw yellow only, dark straw preferred |
| Group | Terrier · Schnauzer type (FCI №308, Group 2) |
| Origin | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
Breed traits
Friendliness
Care
Mind
Temperament
The FCI standard asks for a dog that is affectionate, friendly and free-spirited, lively without being nervously over-active, and not easily frightened. That last clause is doing real work: the people rebuilding the breed from 1973 had almost nothing to choose from and still refused to breed on from nervy dogs, and it shows in what the Dutch clubs report now. Most Smoushonden are open with visitors rather than watchful, easy with other dogs, and patient with children who are not rough. They are sensitive to tone, so a raised voice costs more than it buys. What survived intact from the stable is the interest in rats. Hedges, sheds and the gap behind the sofa get checked, and a hamster or a house rabbit needs to live behind a door.
Habits & quirks
Yellow or nothing
The standard admits self-coloured yellow in any shade, with a preference for dark straw, and allows the ears, moustache, beard and eyebrows to run a darker yellow. Any other colour is undesirable. There is no black Smoushond and no brindle one, which makes the breed unusually easy to identify and unusually easy to fake badly.
Built to keep up, then stop
The job was trotting beside a carriage for hours and then working the stable. It gives you a dog with real staying power on a walk that switches off completely indoors, which is why it does well in a flat.
Checks the corners
Rat work was half the contract and the instinct is intact. Give it a hedge, a woodpile or a shed and it will search them properly, which is also the cheapest way to tire it out.
The face is the breed
Beard, moustache and shaggy eyebrows that may fall over the eyes as long as they do not block the sight. The standard calls the garnishing very characteristic, and it is the first thing a judge looks at and the first thing a careless groomer removes.
Care
| Exercise | About an hour a day, spread out, with sniffing and searching rather than distance. It has more stamina than its size suggests but no need to run: long walks, a long line in rough ground and a hunt for hidden food cover it. |
| Grooming | Hand-strip twice a year. The dead outer coat is plucked out by hand while the undercoat stays, and a full session takes a few hours. In between, leave it alone apart from checking the longer hair for mats. Clippers cut the harsh hair instead of removing it, which softens the texture and washes out the colour, and it does not recover on its own. |
| Training | Rewards, short sessions, no pressure. It picks things up quickly and wants to be near you, so most of the work is easy. Recall near rodents is the exception and stays unreliable, so keep a long line where there is wildlife. |
| Health | A screening review by Utrecht University found nothing hereditary needing a compulsory test panel, so the Dutch club mandates none. The live issue is the narrow founder base: ask the Stichting Terugfokprogramma about the inbreeding coefficient of a planned litter, because that is the number this breed actually manages. |
Common questions
Can you get one outside the Netherlands?
Rarely, and not quickly. Almost the whole breed lives in the Netherlands, and puppies go through one waiting list run by the Stichting Terugfokprogramma Hollandse Smoushond rather than through independent kennels. The club's own published wait is around three years for a male and four for a female, for people already in the country. Litters abroad happen occasionally, in single figures. If you are outside the Netherlands, treat this as a breed you join a list for and wait years on, or pick something else honestly.
Does the coat need hand-stripping?
Yes, twice a year, and it is not optional if you want the coat the standard describes. The hair is coarse, wiry and 4 to 7 cm long over a soft undercoat; stripping pulls out the dead outer hairs so new harsh ones grow in. Clipping cuts them instead, and the regrowth comes back softer, paler and inclined to mat. You can learn to do it yourself over a couple of sessions, or pay a groomer who strips terrier coats. Between strips the dog needs almost nothing, and baths are rarely worth it.
Is today's Smoushond the same dog as the old one?
Not by descent. The original line ended with the 1949 litter, and the FCI standard says plainly that the 1973 reconstruction started with crossbreeds that looked like the Dutch Smousdog: animals answering newspaper appeals, chosen on appearance and type rather than pedigree. What exists now is a breed rebuilt to a written description of a dog that had gone. It is a real, registered, FCI-recognised breed with a stud book of its own, and it is also a recreation. Both things are true, and the Dutch club has never pretended otherwise.