View source for Schipperke

{{More citations needed|date=June 2007}}
{{Infobox dog breed
| name          =Schipperke
| image         = Schipperke0001.jpg
| image_alt     =
| image_caption = Schipperke ready for action.
| altname       =
| nickname      = Spitzke (until 1888)<br />Spits (until 1888)<br />Spitske (until 1888)<br />Little Black Devil (Belgium)<br />Little Captain (Flemish)
| country       = [[Belgium]]
| weight        = {{convert|3|-|9|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
| maleweight    =
| femaleweight  =
| height        =
| maleheight    = 33.6 cm (13.2 in) average
| femaleheight  = 31.2 cm (12.3 in) average
| coat          = Double, low shed
| colour        = Black (common) or Cream (rare) or Red/Liver (very rare)
| litter_size   = 3–7{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}
<!-----Kennel club standards----->
| kc_name       = [[Société Royale Saint-Hubert]], [[American Kennel Club]] 
| kc_std        = 
| kcisd         = 
| fcistd        = http://www.fci.be/Nomenclature/Standards/083g01-fr.pdf
| notrecognized = 
| extinct       = <!-----Notes----->
| note          = Breed Family: [[Spitz]] The Institute of Canine Biology DNA study on the Schipperke found the dog to be in the Spitz line --<ref name="caninebiology"/><br><br>[https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/schipperke/ American Kennel Club, Schipperke breed info], [https://images.akc.org/pdf/breeds/standards/Schipperke.pdf Official AKC Standard of the Schipperke General Appearance]<br><br>Cutting off tails ("docking") is illegal in most of Europe.<br><br>Cream and liver-colored Schipperkes may not currently participate in most shows.
}}

A '''Schipperke''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|k|ɪ|p|ər|k|iː}}; {{IPA|nl|ˈsxɪpərkə|lang}}) is a small [[dog breed|breed]] of dog that is believed to have originated in the 1600s in [[Flanders]].<ref name="auto1">Alexandra Anastasio (January 31, 2017) American Kennel Club official website [https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/schipperke/   "What Was the Schipperke Bred To Do"]</ref><ref name="akc.org">{{cite web |title=Schipperke History: The "Little Captain" of Belgian Dockyards |url=https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeds/schipperke-history-little-captain-docks/ |website=American Kennel Club |access-date=2023-11-15}}</ref> There has been a long informal debate over whether this type of dog is a [[spitz]] or miniature [[Herding dog|sheepdog]]. In their home country of [[Belgium]] they are considered a small shepherd.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://www.schipperke.be/main/index.php/en/articles/breed-name |title=The Schipperke … what's in a name? |last1=Dr. Robert Pollet |website=schipperke.be |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009021156/http://www.schipperke.be/main/index.php/en/articles/breed-name |archive-date=October 9, 2014 |access-date=2019-03-22}}</ref> DNA research has shown that Schipperkes have a close relationship to the Spitz family of dog breeds.<ref name="caninebiology"/>

== Description ==

[[Image:Schipperke gismo 12.jpg|thumb|left|A Schipperke showing the ruff around the neck area]]

===Physical===

The Schipperke is a small, sturdy, usually black dog in the [[Spitz]] family.<ref name="caninebiology"/> Their pointed ears are erect atop the head. Schipperkes are [[double coat]]ed with a soft, fluffy [[Down hair|undercoat]] that is covered by a somewhat harsher-feeling and longer [[Guard hair|outer coat]]. One of the breed's characteristics is a long ruff that surrounds the neck and then a strip trails down towards the rear of the dog. They also have longer fur on their hind legs, called culottes.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://nationalpurebreddogday.com/capes-and-culottes/ |title=Capes and Culottes |date=2016-01-09 |website=National Purebred Dog Day}}</ref> The breed is usually black, but sometimes blonde or cream-colored (some blondes have a silkier coat); very rarely they can have a liver-red coloration. The coat is shiny. Dogs of this breed usually weigh {{cvt|3|-|9|kg}}.

== Health ==
[[Image:Schipperke Puppy Daisy 12-weeks 2015-07-27.jpg|thumb|180px|alt=Schipperke puppy sitting on a wood floor with a plush toy in its front paws.|A 12-week-old female Schipperke puppy]]
The Schipperke has no particular health problems. The [[The Kennel Club|UK Kennel Club]] survey puts the median lifespan of the breed at 13 years old, with about 20% living to 15 years or more. Of the 36 deceased dogs in the survey, the oldest dog was {{frac|17|1|2}} years old.<ref>{{cite web |title=Individual Breed Results for Purebred Dog Health Survey |url=http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/570 |access-date=2012-06-27 |archive-date=2013-08-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130813043548/http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/570 |url-status=dead}}</ref> There is a known case where a Schipperke lived to be 18 to 19 years old. Nonetheless, inactivity, lack of exercise, and over-feeding are very harmful, and can lead to joint and skeletal problems and tooth, heart, lung, or digestive conditions. Schipperkes' primary orthopedic problem tends to be [[luxating patella]] and [[Legg-Perthes]] syndrome (knee and hip disorders, respectively). Some Schipperkes have demonstrated tendencies to epilepsy, although there are no tests: these seem to be related to genetic transmission.<ref>Skipperke Club, p. 2</ref>

The one caveat to the Schipperke's good health is [[Sanfilippo syndrome|MPS IIIB]], a genetic mutation that occurs in at most 15% of the total breed population. It only occurs in Schipperkes. The [[University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine]] has developed a test for the disease<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.vet.upenn.edu/research/academic-departments/clinical-sciences-advanced-medicine/research-labs-centers/penngen/penngen-tests/genetic-tests/Detail/23/ |title=Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) IIIB |publisher=UPenn School of Veterinary Medicine}}</ref> and began accepting samples in April 2003. Clinical signs appear between two and four years of age, and there are no known cures or treatments. The disease affects balance, negotiation of obstacles (such as stairs), and is similar to such lysosomal storage diseases in humans as [[Tay–Sachs disease]] and [[Gaucher's disease]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=New DNA-based Test for Inherited Diseases in Schipperkes |date=2003-04-24 |magazine=The Bellwether |url=https://www.vet.upenn.edu/Portals/0/media/bellw56.pdf |issue=56 |pages=7, 9 |publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618170956/https://www.vet.upenn.edu/Portals/0/media/bellw56.pdf |archive-date=2010-06-18}}</ref>
The Schipperke is also prone to some other physical problems as reported by the [[Orthopedic Foundation for Animals]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.offa.org/SurveySummary.php?b=ACD&q=ALL&s=36 |title=Schipperke health survey |website=offa.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130130802/http://www.offa.org/SurveySummary.php?b=ACD&q=ALL&s=36 |archive-date=2009-11-30 |publisher=[[Orthopedic Foundation for Animals]]}}</ref>

DNA research has shown that Schipperkes have a rising rate of inbreeding in their population.<ref name="caninebiology">{{Cite web |url=https://www.instituteofcaninebiology.org/schipperke.html/ |title=Schipperke |website=www.instituteofcaninebiology.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428002432/http://www.instituteofcaninebiology.org/schipperke.html |archive-date=2017-04-28 |url-status=live |publisher=The Institute of Canine Biology |quote=Schipperke is closer to Pomeranian than Belgian Sheepdog and close to Spitz; inbreeding is rising}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Schipperkes circa 1897.jpg|thumb|Schipperkes circa 1897]]

The earlier common references to Schipperkes suggest that they may have originated in the 1600's in [[Flanders]].<ref name="auto1" /><ref name="akc.org"/>
Schipperkes were first recognized as a formal breed in the 1880s, their standard being written in 1889. Much of what is known of their origins and early history comes from ''Chasse et Pêche'' ([[French language|French]] for "Hunting and Fishing") magazine, articles from which were translated into [[English language|English]] and published by the English magazine ''The Stockkeeper''.

The [[Dog breed|breed]] name "Schipperke" means "little boatman" or "little captain" in the [[Flemish language]].<ref name="auto1" /> However while they were occasionally seen on barges it was not their original or primary function, and in the areas of Leuven and Brussels "scheper" (which sounds similar to "schipper"; a [[German Shepherd]] dog is known in [[Dutch language|Dutch]] as a "Duitse scheper") was the word for shepherd, making the name translate as "little shepherd".<ref name=":0" />

Before the name "Schipperke" was officially taken, the breed was also known colloquially as "Spits" or "Spitzke", a name commonly used to describe a small dog with pointed ears. They were also occasionally called "Moorke", meaning "little black animal". Schipperkes are widely referred to in the United States, albeit erroneously, as "Belgian canal barge dogs" or "Belgian ship dogs."  Apparently, however, their history dates to a seventeenth-century black shepherd dog commonly called the Leuvenaar, a 40-pound dog often found in the [[Flemish Brabant|Louvain]] region of Belgium and employed to guard flocks and transport.  These dogs are apparently the foundational breed for both the modern, and smaller, Schipperke and the modern, and larger, ''Black'' Belgian Shepherd Dog, also known as the [[Groenendael]].<ref>American Kennel Club, [http://www.akc.org/breeds/schipperke/history.cfm History of the Skipperke], AKC, 2013.</ref>

In [[World War II]], the Belgian Resistance used the dogs to run messages between various resistance hideouts and cells, to which occupying Nazi forces were none the wiser.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ckcusa.com/breeds/schipperke/|title=meet the...Schipperke|website=Continental Kennel Club|access-date=2019-03-22}}</ref>

== Genetic genealogy/DNA research ==

[[Genealogical DNA test|DNA]] laboratory studies have shown that the Schipperke is more closely related to the [[Pomeranian dog]] than the [[Belgian sheepdog]] and is very closely tied to [[Spitz]] type breeds. DNA studies also show a steady increase of inbreeding in Schipperkes.<ref name="caninebiology"/>

== References ==
{{commons category}}
{{reflist}}

{{Belgian dogs}}
{{Pastoral dogs}}
{{Spitz}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Spitz breeds]]
[[Category:Herding dogs]]
[[Category:FCI breeds]]
[[Category:Dog breeds originating in Belgium]]