herd and others are carried curved over the
back. It is believed likely that there has been
occasional crossbreeding to some Spitz breed,
particularly the Pomeranian, but the possible
Spitz-like characteristics resulting from such
crossbreeding is not considered evidence of
the original derivation of the Schipperke.
The name Schipperke was apparently
introduced and used by boat captains who
piloted their vessels between Brussels and
Antwerp. According to these Antwerp boat
men, the word Schipperke came from the
Flemish word for boat, “schip,” and meant
“
little boat man,” or, as more commonly
known in America, “little captain.” It was
partly because of possible confusion with
the German Spitz breeds that the breed
was officially renamed Schipperke. Despite
the official recognition of the name, the
breed is still commonly called Spitz by the
layman in Belgium.
It has been suggested that the boat cap-
tains were responsible for the elimination
of the Schipperke tail, as a dog minus this
appendage was less likely to upset goods
upon the narrow boat decks. However, there
is no proof that the captains created the
breed nor even possessed the largest num-
ber of them. This allegation was partially
substantiated in the early twentieth century
by Joseph Verbanck, a brother to Florim-
ond Verbanck, an avid Schipperke fancier.
Prior to 1930, Joseph Verbanck operated a
barge line on the Ruhr between Rotterdam
and Paris and procured several Schipperkes
as watchdogs for his boats. He later wrote,
“
Let me say that these purebred Schipperkes
created surprise and envy among the other
shippers, but, when they heard about the
prices paid for them, their interest abated
immediately and they returned to their
crossbreeds at giveaway prices. This will
confirm that Schipperkes have never been
used regularly as watchdogs on barges.”
The little black dogs were found more
widely distributed throughout various
towns of central Belgium in the homes of
middle class business people and among the
members of the trade guilds. These people
thought of the Schipperke as a diminutive
shepherd and believed that the word Schip-
perke was derived through a corruption of
the word for shepherd, “scheper,” and thus
meant “little shepherd.” Impressed with the
resemblance in appearance and characteris-
tics between the Schipperke and the native
sheepdog of Belgium (not to be confused
with the Belgian Sheepdog known in the
show ring today), these fanciers concluded
that the Schipperke is the diminutive of the
latter. Many arguments support this theory.
For one, there existed an intermediate
type of dog, now extinct, which possessed
many of the characteristics and the same
general appearance of these two breeds. This
dog, called the Leuvenaar, was frequently
seen in the region of Louvain, accompany-
ing wagoners and messengers traveling the
route between Brussels and Louvain. Also
tailless, this dog is described by early authori-
ties as an all-black, small-sized dog with a
lively and active nature, weighing between
10
to 12 kilograms (22 and 26½ pounds).
This indigenous sheepdog was very common
in the County of Flanders and the Duchy
of Brabant during the sixteenth and seven-
teenth centuries. Some were still in existence
at the turn of the present century, but they
now appear to be extinct. It is believed that
the workmen and business people living in
the cities of those regions chose the small-
est specimens for use as watchdogs and rat-
ters, characteristics which are an integral part
of our Schipperkes today. One of the early
presidents of the Schipperkes Club, who was
also a judge, particularly favored these dogs
and insisted that this variety should never
become lost. He was well known for pre-
ferring the largest exhibits when judging,
even to the point of awarding first place to
dogs whose weight exceeded the maximum
limit of the Standard.
A further argument for the relation-
ship between the Schipperke and these
sheepdogs is in the natural herding ability
exhibited by some of the larger Schipper-
kes when given the proper opportunity to
exercise it. Thus, the Leuvenaar was con-
sidered as the missing link, uniting the
Schipperke to the sheepdog.
After due consideration, the Belgium
Schipperkes Club founders accepted, as the
most logical explanation, the belief that the
Schipperke is a diminutive shepherd and
that it was derived from the small native
black Belgian sheepdog. Belgian canine
authorities consistently supported this ori-
gin down through the years. Before learn-
ing of the Belgian theory, Dr. Leon Whit-
ney, renowned veterinarian and author,
placed the Schipperke as a sheepdog. Felix
Lese, past vice-president of the Eskimo Sled
Dog Club of America, wrote F. Isabel Orm-
iston the following statement: “Your claim
that the Schipperke is a diminutive Belgian
Sheepdog is to me an additional reason to
believe that the Schipperke is a member of
the Samoyed group, for there again many
authorities place both the Alsatian (Ger-
man Shepherd) and the Belgian Sheepdog
in that classification also.”
A further complication to tracing the
breed’s origin is the fact that many old
dog books and magazine articles errone-
ously designate the Schipperke as a Dutch
breed originating in Holland. This may be
because the Flemish language is a form of
Dutch. Hence, the word Flanders has been
interpreted to mean Holland instead of the
Flemish provinces of Belgium.
In addition, Belgium and Holland were
united against their common oppressor
Spain for a time. They were again one for a
few years after the Battle of Waterloo, but
by 1815, long separation had aroused cer-
tain antagonisms. The countries separated
for the final time in 1830. The elder Louis
Vander Snickt, a founder of the Schipper-
kes Club and a noted discoverer of Belgian
breeds, put the theory that the Schipperke
was a Dutch breed to rest when he wrote
in 1886, “the Schipperke is, perhaps, the
only indisputable Belgian dog that we pos-
sess.” It is the hope of fanciers today that
the Schipperke breed may always thrive in
Belgium, its native home.
Photo by Rusty Wells
246 •
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how
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ight
M
agazine
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ovember
2012