Adopted at a General Meeting of the Belgian Schipperke Club,

June 19TH, 1888

Character And General Appearance

The Schipperke is an excellent and faithful little watchdog, who does not readily make friends with strangers. He is very active, always on the alert, and very courageous in defending objects left in his charge, but also gentle with children. A characteristic peculiarity of the breed is their exceeding inquisitiveness and lively interest in everything going on about them, their excitement being expressed by sharp barks and the bristling mane. They are game and good vermin dogs.

Colour

Self-coloured; black.

Head

Foxy.

Nose

Small.

Eye

Dark brown, small, oval rather than round, neither deep set nor prominent, lively and keen.

Ears

Quite erect, small, triangular, and set on high. Of sufficient substance that they cannot be folded otherwise than lengthways, and very mobile.

Teeth

Very white, strong, and quite level.

Neck

Strong, full, and carried upright.

Shoulders

Sloping, and with easy action.

Chest

Broad in front and well let down.

Back

Straight, but supple.

Loins

Broad and powerful.

Fore Legs

Quite straight, fine, and well under the body.

Feet

Small, round, and well knuckled up, nails straight, strong, and short.

Thighs

Powerful, very muscular, and hocks well let down.

Body

Short and thick set, the ribs well sprung, rather drawn up in loin.

Tail

Absent.

Coat

Dense and harsh, smooth on the ears, short on the head, the front of the fore legs, and the hocks, and also rather short on the body, but profuse round the neck, commencing from behind the ears, forming a mane and a frill on the chest. This longer coat looses itself between the fore legs. The back of the thighs are feathered, forming the "culotte" the fringe of which is turned inwards.

Weight

Maximum for the small size, I2lb. ; and for the large size, 2olb.

Faults

A light-coloured eye. Ears semi-erect, too long or rounded. Head narrow and elongated, or too short. Coat sparse, wavy, or silky. Absence of the mane and " culolte." Coat too long, and white spots. Undershot.

Supplementary Notes

A lethargic air is detrimental, as the restless temperament of the Schipperke contributes greatly to the breed's "character." When in full coat, the dog should be black entirely, but when it is changing, the coat will sometimes present a rusty apearance. This brown tinge, which, under the circumstances, is natural, must not be confounded with the brindled colour sometimes to be found on badly bred specimens. When the self-coloured black Schipperke is " off colour," there is a woolly look about the coat. The mane (criniere) and thigh-breeching (culotte) are of the greatest importance; the first-mentioned imparting a leonine aspect to the little Schipperkes. This mane is composed of long, harsh hairs growing through an undercoat so abundant and dense as to support them from the thick neck - this gives the mane a full appearance. As the Belgian standard states, the mane should "commence behind the ears," and it should finish a little below the shoulder points. On dogs that have a good mane, such as Champions Hubert and Frans, and Exter Menne, it is easy to see where the mane stops and the ordinary body-coat continues; the mane appearing to fall over the body-coat. The coat on the back and sides is often not so coarse in texture as the mane, but it generally becomes a little harsher just over the hips and on the "breeches." The literal description of the texture of the coat in the Belgian standard is resistant au toucher, which may be freely translated "harsh," but it does not mean wiry. The French expression precludes the hairs being woolly or fluffy, and if the Belgian breeders had desired to say that they required more than harshness they had the phrase handy, "poil dur" which is "hard coat." Therefore, the pin-wire hair, or cocoa-nut matting texture of coat which is sought after in some Terrier varieties would not be correct for a Schipperke, whose coat should be, not soft, but "resistant au toucher" The culotte, or thigh-breeching, is as characteristic and essential as the mane, and the Belgian standard includes among "faults" the absence of both or either. This question of coat is deserving of considerable attention, as it is necessary to avoid the long coat all over the body of the Pomeranian and the wiry coat of the Welsh Terrier. These are the Scylla and Charybdis through which the barge dogs have to steer their way, as it would be equally fatal to be cast on the hard rock of the wire-hair as to get lost in the Pomeranian whirlpool. If, with the delusive hope of obtaining the mane, a Pomeranian cross were resorted to, the experiment would be exposed by the resulting long coat all over the body, instead of the full mane falling over a short coat on the back. In the points it will be observed thirty have been allotted to "coat and colour," these being deemed of equal importance with "head and ears," and just as distinctive of the breed. Judging by points should never be adopted, as their only object is to explain to the novice the relative values. A white spot is included among the faults, but a few straggling white hairs are tolerable. The one word "foxy" serves to describe the head, and the skull must be wide and flat, like other varieties of prick-eared Canidce, such as the Collie, Pomeranian, Arctic dogs, etc. An undershot jaw is an intolerable blemish. The word "full" applied to the neck requires it to be thick and suggestive of virility. The neck of the female is seldom so full as the male's, nor do the bitches carry as much mane as the dogs. The back of the Schipperke is described as straight, but it should round off at the rump, which should be rotund and full, guinea-pig-like. The continued straight line of a Terrier's back is not desirable, but it will frequently be found in specimens that have been docked. The "tailless breed" theory is a myth; none of the Canidae were originally tailless, but the regular removal of the stern for generations will cause any breed that is so operated upon to give birth to tailless pups. This has been the case with Schipperkes. It is said that a docked dog can be told from one that has been born tailless in this way: when the docked animal is pleased, a slight movement at the end of the spine where the tail was cut off is discernible, but the naturally tailless dog sways the whole of its hindquarters. The Belgian standard requires the legs to be "fine," and not have much bone. The bone of a Terrier is only met with in coarse Schipperkes. As to size, it need only be noted that the maximum of the small size - viz. 12lb. - is that generally preferred in England, as well as in Belgium. Further, it is only necessary to remark that the Schipperke is a dog of quality, of distinct characteristics, cobby in appearance, not long in the back, nor high on the leg; the muzzle must not be weak and thin, nor short and blunt; and, finally, he is not a prick-eared, black, wire-haired Terrier.