N.B.—­It is strongly recommended that only one-third of the body be clipped or shaved, and that the hair on the forehead be left on.

CHAPTER XII

THE SCHIPPERKE

The Schipperke may fitly be described as the Paul Pry of canine society.  His insatiate inquisitiveness induces him to poke his nose into everything; every strange object excites his curiosity, and he will, if possible, look behind it; the slightest noise arouses his attention, and he wants to investigate its cause.  There is no end to his liveliness, but he moves about with almost catlike agility without upsetting any objects in a room, and when he hops he has a curious way of catching up his hind legs.  The Schipperke’s disposition is most affectionate, tinged with a good deal of jealousy, and even when made one of the household he generally attaches himself more particularly to one person, whom he “owns,” and whose protection he deems his special duty.

These qualities endear the Schipperke as a canine companion, with a quaint and lovable character; and he is also a capital vermin dog.  When properly entered he cannot be surpassed as a “ratter.”

Schipperkes have always been kept as watch-dogs on the Flemish canal barges, and that, no doubt, is the origin of the name, which is the Flemish for “Little Skipper,” the syllable “ke” forming the diminutive of “schipper.”

The respectable antiquity of this dog is proved by the result of the researches Mr. Van der Snickt and Mr. Van Buggenhoudt made in the archives of Flemish towns, which contain records of the breed going back in pure type over a hundred years.

The first Schipperke which appeared at a show in this country was Mr. Berrie’s Flo.  This was, however, such a mediocre specimen that it did not appeal to the taste of the English dog-loving public.  In 1888 Dr. Seelig brought over Skip, Drieske, and Mia.  The first-named was purchased by Mr. E. B. Joachim, and the two others by Mr. G. R. Krehl.  Later on Mr. Joachim became the owner of Mr. Green’s Shtoots, and bought Fritz of Spa in Belgium, and these dogs formed the nucleus of the two kennels which laid the foundation of the breed in England.

It was probably the introduction of the Schipperke to England that induced Belgian owners to pay greater attention to careful breeding, and a club was started in 1888 in Brussels, whose members, after “long and earnest consideration,” settled a description and standard of points for the breed.

Not long afterwards the Schipperke Club (England) was inaugurated, and drew up the following standard of points, which was adopted in December, 1890, and differed only very slightly from the one acknowledged by the Belgian society and later by the St. Hubert Schipperke Club.

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