If anyone has had experience with this newly revived (remade) Dutch breed, I’d be interested in hearing it, especially re their temperament.
I’m really wishing I could read Dutch right now, as it says the breed was formed from Friesian “Bykes”. My FIL was Friesan, but I have no idea what a “Byke” is. (OK, just found it. It is a small mole dog.)
“The Markiesje was a well known spaniel in the Netherlands in the 18th century and had the same ancestors as other toy spaniels, the King Charles Spaniel in England and the Epagneul Nain Continental (Papillon and Phalene), except that the Markiesje was somewhat larger and looked more like the larger spaniels.
The dogs that were too small to be used as hunting dogs became women’s lap dogs. These “non-useable” little dogs were often seen in the patrician households. They were black or black with small white markings and were called Dutch spaniels. The same type of dog in red and white was usually called an Italian spaniel. In bed the little dogs served as foot warmers and in the bedroom they kept out the rodents. According to the legend, the breed name, the “Markiesje”, referred to the Marquise de Pompadour, the famous mistress of Louis XIV.
But it could come from the French word “maquer”, which refers to a pointing breed, or from the habit of Spanish ladies to carry them around in baskets. Various French queens reported that these little dogs were their favorite companion dogs. They all had drop ears and only in the 19th century did some toy spaniels develop the semi-erect ears.”
link to more photos and history here: Welkom
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