An Expanded Interpretation of THE AKC SCHIPPERKE BREED STANDARD Provided by the Schipperke Club of America Judges Education Committee and as interpreted by June Moore, AKC Licensed Breeder-Judge A lert and curious, the Schipperke has the heart of a terrier in the body of a spitz and may be related to neither. Schipperke means “Lit- Coat & Body Th e Schipperke is an agile, active watch- dog and hunter of vermin. In appearance he is a small, thickset, cobby, black, tailless dog, with a fox-like face. Th e Schipperke is often referred to as a “big” dog in a small package —especially in his own mind. When judg- ing the breed, the dog should “feel heavy” and have plenty of body under the coat. Th e terms “thickset and cobby” refer to the body and overall appearance of the dog.
tle Captain” in Flemish—or possibly the name comes from the Flemish word for shepherd. History is not clear as to the ori- gin. In either case, the breed developed in Belgium in the 1600s as ratters and guards on canal barges. At times, they rode the backs or nipped at the heels of horses that pulled the barges along the canals. On land, the dog kept rats out of shops. Although the Schipperke’s impudent character, foxy face, upright ears and thick coat denote a spitz-type heritage, breed his- torians claim the dog descended from the Leuvenaar, a Belgian herding dog that also produced today’s Belgian Sheepdog. Th e Belgian herding dog of those days weighed about 40 pounds, smaller than today’s ver- sion, and could well have been the ancestor of both breeds. It has been said that only the wealthy in those days could own the larger dogs, so the Schipperke was used as a “poor man’s herding dog”. Whatever its origin, the Schipperke has an interesting history. Initially owned by shopkeepers and tradesmen, the little dog had its own specialty show in 1690. Th at show and subsequent competitions fea- tured elaborate copper collars designed for the dogs. Th e breed didn’t catch the atten- tion of the upper classes until the mid- 1800’s when Queen Marie Henriette, wife of Leopold II of Belgium, saw a Schipperke at a Brussels show and bought the winner. For most of the rest of the century, the Schipperke was virtually the only house dog in Belgium. Th e English discovered the Schipperke about the same time and imported many dogs from Belgium. Th e “Little Captain” came to the US by the end of the century. Th e breed was recognized by the AKC in 1904.
Th e dog is square in profile and possesses a distinctive coat, which includes a standout ru ff , cape and culottes. All of these create a unique silhouette, appearing to slope from shoulders to croup. Th is is a silhouette breed! If the Schipperke does not have the proper coat and silhouette, it is NOT an ideal Schipperke! Th e unique silhouette and coat pattern are what makes the Schipperke dif- ferent from any other breed! Males are decidedly masculine with- out coarseness, while bitches are decidedly feminine without over refinement. Th e Schipperke should NEVER appear over- done or over refined! Th e Schipperke may have a sloping or level topline. Both are equally correct. Th e stand-out ru ff adds to the slope, making the dog seem slightly higher at the shoul- ders than at the rump. Because of the heavy coat, one must put hands on the dog in order to know if the topline is level or has a slope to it. Occasionally, there are faulty dips in the topline (usually at the shoulder) which can be hidden by the coat and skillful grooming, but this will usually show itself when the dog is moving. Schipperkes are slow to mature, and the “thickset” appearance becomes more obvi- ous with age. It is not uncommon to find the top-ranked specials dogs in our breed that are veterans. Pattern & Color Correct pattern is an essential breed charac- teristic! Th e adult coat is highly characteristic and must include several distinct lengths
Photo by Rusty Wells
growing naturally in a specific pattern. Th e texture is slightly harsh to the touch. Th e coat is short on the face, ears, front of the forelegs and hocks. It is medium length on the body, and longer in the jabot, ru ff , cape, and culottes. Th e ru ff begins in back of the ears and extends completely around the neck. Th e cape forms an additional distinct layer extending beyond the ru ff . Th e first distinct line you see is the ru ff , the second line is the cape. Th e jabot extends across the chest and down between the front legs. Th e coat on the rear of the thighs forms culottes which should be as long as the ru ff . Th e hair down the mid- dle of the back, starting just behind the cape and continuing over the rump, lies flat. It is slightly shorter than the cape but longer than the hair on the sides of the body and legs. Lack of di ff erentiation in coat lengths should be heavily penalized, as it is an essential breed characteristic! Coat pattern is obvious in all Schipperkes, even those out of coat or young puppies. Undercoat is necessary in the Schip- perke, as it is what makes the ru ff stand out. Th e undercoat should be dense on the body, and very dense on the ru ff . While the overall dog must be black, the under-coat can be black, or an “o ff color,” usu- ally grey or a slight reddish brown. Occasional stray white hairs are permissible (schipperkes tend to grow white hairs where they have been injured and scarred in the past—this typically shows on faces if a dog has been involved in rough puppy play or fights. Graying, due to
210 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , F EBRUARY 2014
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