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History of the Schipperke

Adapted from articles by Wally Hormans, a Schipperke historian from Belgium.

Copyright 2003. Anita & Grant Fredricks, Blumoon Schipperkes. This article may not be reproduced without written permission of the authors. All rights reserved.

Forefathers of the Schipperke lived in the 14^th century as farmers’ dogs existing in small-, medium- and normal sizes. They have retained the character of their big brothers, the Belgian sheep dogs.  In those times, dogs were selected for particular purposes and their capabilities. Purebred breeding programs, as we understand them today simply did not exist. 

Schipperke registries began in 1883.  Before then, purebred registries did not exist.  This was further complicated by the fact that Italians, Germans, Austrians, French, Dutch and Spanish occupied this part of Europe through the centuries. 

14^th Century – French Influence

There are some historical facts, however.  A 1356-dated document and a woodcarving kept in Leuven show a shepherd dog with a remarkable resemblance of a Schipperke or a Leuvenaar.  In the 14^th century it was forbidden for “common” people to have large dogs.  That privilege was reserved for the ruling French aristocrats.  The “golden spurs battle” of 1302, where the French army was beaten by the Flemish weavers and butchers guilds, might help explain why. 

To respond to the French regulations and still protect the flocks, farmers started to breed smaller dogs, especially in regions were the French army could operate.  The Schipperke and Leuvenaar resulted. The Leuvenaar was the same dog as a Schipperke, only taller. 

The Schipperke got his name in the Flemish villages in Brabant.  Schipperke means little shepherd in Flemish. The Leuvenaar got his name from the town Leuven, about 25 miles from Brussels. 

15^th Century – The French Influence Wanes 

In the 15^th century, the Spanish occupied Flanders and all the French regulations were abolished so there was no legal reason to keep the smaller Schipperke.  In more crowded areas, Schipperkes became the house-alarm system, rat and mice catcher, and driver for geese and goat flocks. 

Later in the 15^th century the monk Wenceslas chronicled the small tailless black Flemish Schipperke as the impersonation of the Devil – an image that playfully persists to this day. 

In 1609, the chronicle of the Saint Crispijn guild tells of shoemakers parading with their black docked tail dogs on the big market of Brussels.  It was about this time that these guilds began to organize Sunday beauty contests for dogs and their beautifully decorated copper collars.  The collar, as Mr. Hormans writes, “with the most elaborate lock, designed not to damage the Schipperkes’ elegant mane, got first prize.”  

19^th Century – Schipperkes As We Know Them Today Begin to Emerge 

The Belgian cynologist Charles Huge, an authority on shepherd dogs around the end of the 19^th century, wrote articles about black, wolf-like shepherd dogs of different heights that were widespread in the province of Brabant.  (The Brabant is the old Belgian Province that covered much of Belgium and Holland and had a, as its capital, the city of Brussels.)  The biggest were sheepdogs and the smallest were mouse and rat catchers or poultry guards. Mr. Huge described them as ancestors to today’s Groenendaels and Schipperkes.  (Groenendael is about 16 miles from Leuven.)

The Schipperke was invited to the Great Dog Show of the Independence Celebration of 1880, but only aristocratic hunting dogs came.  The newly formed Foundation of the Royal Belgian Cynological Club Saint Hubert enacted the Schipperke pedigree as “the smallest shepherd in the world, black with docked tail” in 1883.  From that point to today, the Schipperke is defined as a Belgian shepherd breed.  (The Leuvenaar was not adopted and appears to be extinct as a unique breed.) 

In the following years, the Schipperke was presented in dog shows and became more popular, in part because of the interest of Queen Marie-Henriette and the Royal Family.  Soon thereafter Queen Victoria and the British Royal Family owned Schipperkes imported from Belgium.  

1890 – The Belgian Schipperke Club is Formed 

The Belgian Schipperke Club, the first club for Belgian breeds, was formed in 1888 to protect the breed.   In about 1890 a breed club was formed and the Schipperke was recognized in England, and in 1892 it has been reported that 30 Schipperkes were shown at the Westminster Aquarium Show.