Schipperke

[Catsi]

Hi,

Does anyone here own this breed or have any experiences with this breed?

Just wondering about their temperament, their activity levels, health and suitability for agility, based on your experience.

Cheers!

[sammgirl]

These dogs are really, really rare. I've never seen one at a dog show, so I don't know what the "show" circuit is for them, but its no where close to me.

I know they're very healthy. I know that they tend towards sharper personalities.

They are built like they'd be good little agility dogs, which makes me wonder why they're not more popular.

I don't know any breeders or anything, but I bet if you started emailing the breed club you'll likely find a Schipperke list serve and maybe a breeder or two who could answer your questions.

[colliewog]

They're not that rare around here ... maybe it's regional? There were 12 at the show I was at today, and the entries in all breeds were way down.

They're neat little dogs, seem to be fairly bold but high energy. I don't picture them as 'lap dogs', but I could be wrong. I would say that physically they'd be awesome agility dogs, but I don't know about their working desire and how well they stay with their people. They were bred as watchdogs and to keep vermin off of barges in Belgium if I'm not mistaken. That would lead me to believe they have a 'terrier-like' temperament, as in gung ho but maybe not the best recall?? I'd start looking for breeders in your area through the breed club and go from there ... Schipperke Club of America

[Izzy's Valkyrie]

I was thinking the same thing. My roommate and I talk about Schip's often because he'd like one as a hearing dog. They're not that rare if I can find them easily with google lol.

[Bodi's Mom]

The first dog I ever got bit by was a Schipperke. I was shoveling my elderly neighbor's walk one snowy day, many years ago when I was around 13. She had a male Schipperke named Captain (she always dressed him in a sailor sweater) that was very protective of her. When I was done shoveling, she opened the door to give me $5 (that was a lot of money back then) and out came Captain, teeth bearing and clamped down on my knee. It wasn't too bad, but I can remember it vividly to this day. I'm sure not all Schipps are like this, but it's the only first hand information I have.

[Criosphynx]

I have only met one...

she is calm, tolerant, a little aloof, but som'thing I would definetly describe as stable. She seemed to have average energy level.

[Laurelin]

My friend has one. She likens them to a smaller version of the belgians.

Anyways a lot of dog in a small package. Definitely not a lapdog and definitely a sharper temperament. They seem much less biddable than my crew but they have a lot of drive usually. One thing that is interesting to me is Summer and her schipp are the same height pretty much but the schipp is over twice Summer's weight. They're pretty compact and powerful little dogs. I like them but I think they may be too terrier like for me. Her schipp is calmer than my crew and definitely more aloof with people.

I wish I've met more.

[JennSLK]

My main client right now is a Skip. Great little dogs. Lots of energy and feisty. The blow coat tho.

[crazy_paws]

The only Schipperke that I ever met was at a friend's barn. He was a snappy little bugger. Hardly a large enough sample size to represent anything though.

[maybe532]

My experience is about the same as everyone else's. I've met three, all owned by the same family. Aloof and sharp are good descriptive words. Friendly though, except one that was a rescue that wasn't as friendly.