Schipperke
GENERAL APPEARANCE : The Schipperke is an agile, active guard dog and a worm hunter. In appearance, he is a small, thick, black dog with a fox-like face. The dog is square in profile and has a dense coat,
Personality: Alert, curious, confident; intense, a little reckless.
Energy Level : Very active, energetic, enjoy walking, playing and exploring.
Good with children: Better with supervision.
Good with other dogs: With supervision.
Grooming: Occasionally.
Life Expectancy : 12-14 years old.
Bark level: Likes to bark.
HISTORICAL SUMMARY
The name Schipperke means "Little Shepherd", and some studies suggest that the breed originated in Belgium in the 16th century. Currently, the breed is often used for companionship or guarding. The Schipperke is known for its excellent surveillance skills.
Country of Origin: Belgium.
BEHAVIOR AND TEMPERAMENT: Schipperke is curious, interested in everything around him. and is an excellent and faithful guard dog. He is reserved with strangers and ready to protect his family and property if necessary. He displays a confident, independent personality, reflecting the breed's original purpose as a guard dog and hunter.
HEAD:
CRANIAL REGION
Skull: The skull is of medium width, narrowing towards the muzzle. Viewed in profile with relaxed ears, the skull is slightly rounded, the head forms a wedge decreasing smoothly from the back of the skull to the tip of the nose.
Stop : Set.
FACIAL REGION
Snout: Muzzle length is slightly less than skull length.
Nose: Small and black.
Jaws and Teeth: The bite should be scissor or level. Any deviation is severely penalized.
Lips: Tight and black.
Expression: The expression is questioning, malicious and alert.
Eye: ideal are eyes small, oval in instead of round, dark brown and placed forward on the head.
Ears : The ears are small, triangular, set on the head and, when attentive, very erect.
NECK : The neck is of moderate length, slightly arched and in balance with the rest of the dog to give the correct silhouette.
TRUNK
Topline: Straight and firm.
Back: Well developed, short, strong and straight.
TAIL: Anchored, some dogs can be born without a tail (anura) or with it incomplete, it should not be penalized.
MEMBERS
PREVIOUS
Arms: Long and oblique.
Elbows: Neither in nor out. strong.
Feet: The feet are small, round and well fitted. The nails are short, strong and black.
HINDQUARTERS
Hocks: Perpendicular hock.
Legs: The legs are long, straight and parallel, when viewed from all sides, fitted well below the body to allow for a long stride.
Paws : The feet are quite small, oval in shape with the toes well arched and cushioned in thick firm pads. The feet are neither inside nor outside.
GAIT/MOVEMENT: Smooth, well-coordinated and graceful trot (basically double tracking at moderate speed), with a tendency to gradually converge towards the centre. Front and rear should be in perfect balance with good reach in the front and drive in the rear. The topline remains level or slightly sloping down from the shoulders to the rump. Viewed from the front, the elbows remain close to the body. The legs form a straight line from the shoulders through the elbows to the toes, with the feet pointed straight ahead. From the rear, the legs form a straight line from the hips through the boar to the pads, with the feet pointing forward.
COAT
Hair : The hair on adult is highly characteristic and should include several distinct lengths growing naturally in a specific pattern. It is short on the face, ears, front of the forelegs and on the hocks. It is abundant, straight and slightly rough to the touch. the undercoat is softer, denser it's short in the body and is very dense around the neck.
COLOR: Black.
SIZE: 27 cm to 33 cm for males and 25 cm to 30 cm for females.
FAULTS
Any deviation from this standard should be considered a fault and penalized in exact proportion to its severity and its effects on the health and well being of the dog.
DISQUALIFYING FAULTS
• Aggressiveness or excessive shyness.
• Any dog that shows any sign of physical or behavioral anomaly must be disqualified.
• Atypical dogs.
• Lack of pigmentation on the nose, lips and eyelids.
• Dropped or semi-erect ears.
• Long, soft or silky coat, a long-haired type of coat; fringes of long hair on the ears, behind the limbs, etc.; total absence of undercoat.
• Any color other than black or with small white spots even on the fingers.
• Tail carried fully curled.
• A specimen whose coat is not unicolor.
• Totally depigmented nose.