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
A lert and curious, the Schip- perke has the heart of a terrier in the body of a spitz and may be related to neither. Schipperke means “Little Cap- tain” in Flemish—or possibly the name comes from the Flemish word for shep- herd. 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 impu- dent character, foxy face, upright ears and thick coat denote a spitz-type heri- tage, breed historians claim the dog descended from the Leuvenaar, a Bel- gian herding dog that also produced today’s Belgian Sheepdog. The Belgian herding dog of those days weighed about 40 pounds, smaller than today’s version, 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 Schipper- ke has an interesting history. Initially owned by shopkeepers and tradesmen, the little dog had its own specialty show in 1690. That show and subsequent competitions featured elaborate cop- per collars designed for the dogs. The breed didn’t catch the attention of the upper classes until the mid-1800s when Queen Marie Henriette, wife of Leop- old 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. The English discovered the Schipperke about the same time and imported many dogs from Belgium. The “Little Captain” came to the US by the
to find the top-ranked specials dogs in our breed that are veterans. PATTERN & COLOR Correct pattern is an essential breed characteristic! The adult coat is highly characteristic and must include several distinct lengths growing naturally in a specific pattern. The texture is slightly harsh to the touch. The 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, ruff, cape, and culottes. The ruff begins in back of the ears and extends completely around the neck. The cape forms an additional dis- tinct layer extending beyond the ruff. The first distinct line you see is the ruff, the second line is the cape. The jabot extends across the chest and down between the front legs. The coat on the rear of the thighs forms culottes which should be as long as the ruff. The hair down the middle 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 differentiation in coat lengths should be heavily penalized, as it is an essential breed characteristic! Coat pattern is obvious in all Schipper- kes, even those out of coat or young puppies. Undercoat is necessary in the Schipperke, as it is what makes the ruff stand out. The undercoat should be dense on the body, and very dense on the ruff. While the overall dog must be black, the under-coat can be black or an “off color,” usually 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 age in the Veteran dog is permissible, but should
end of the century. The breed was rec- ognized by the AKC in 1904. COAT & BODY The Schipperke is an agile, active watchdog and hunter of vermin. In appearance he is a small, thickset, cob- by, black, tailless dog with a fox-like face. The 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. The terms “thickset and cobby” refer to the body and overall appearance of the dog. The dog is square in profile and pos- sesses a distinctive coat, which includes a standout ruff, cape and culottes. All of these create a unique silhouette, appearing to slope from shoulders to croup. This is a silhouette breed! If the Schipperke does not have the proper coat and silhouette, it is not an ideal Schipperke! The unique silhouette and coat pattern are what makes the Schip- perke different from any other breed! Males are decidedly masculine with- out coarseness, while bitches are decid- edly feminine without over refinement. The Schipperke should never appear overdone or over refined! The Schipperke may have a slop- ing or level topline. Both are equally correct. The stand-out ruff adds to the slope, making the dog seem slightly higher at the shoulders 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 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 obvious with age. It is not uncommon
S how S ight M agazine , J anuary 2018 • 293
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