This dog is a cream-colored schipperke. In the US and Canada, this breed comes in only black.
In other countries, creams are allowed.
They also come in gray and chocolate colorations.
I think one of the reasons why these dogs are always supposed to come in black is that schipperkes have also have a bogus story about their origins.
Check out that page on cream schipperkes. Look at the natural tail. It curls over the dog’s back, like a spitz.
In fact, that’s what these dogs are. They are in the spitz family.
However, there is a certain amount of denial about this, because it often posited that schipperke is a corruption of scheperke, which means little shepherd. The often told story is that the schipperke is a bantamized Groenendael.
But the tail tells you what they are, and the fact that the dogs do come in colors other than black also points to a spitz origin.
My guess is these dogs started out as a cross between some spitz and some sort of pinscher or terrier-type. In fact, I’ve seen a dog that was very similar to a schipperke that was half Norwegian elkhound and half rat terrier. It was a bit bigger than a schipperke, but it looked very much like one.
I think the more likely origin of the term schipperke is derived from the word “schipper”– which means a worker on a barge. It is a cognate with our term “skipper,” which means captain for those of you not familiar with the show Gilligan’s Island. Keeping spitz-type dogs on barges was one way to guard cargo and keep the rats down. Crossing a spitz with a pinscher would make an even better ratter.
I’ve never bought the story that the schipperke was a toy Groenendael. It seems fanciful, especially when the Dutch and Germans have very similar dogs that have very similar characteristics. The schipperke is docked, and that procedure does hide one feature. However, anyone who has seen an undocked schipperke knows fully well that this dog is a spitz, not a shepherd.
Of course, the spitz breeds can herd, and it is possible that the little shepherd part of their name refers to that use, not their actual ancestry.
The other problem I have with this breed is the pronunciation of its name in English. I don’t know how it is pronounced in Dutch, but if it is anything like how it would be pronounced it in German, it is not “skipperkey.” In German, it would be “shiperka.” My educated guess is that it is pronounced that way in Dutch.
Of course, the English pronunciation connotes an image of a jolly little dog skipping around, which may be why that pronunciation has held on so long.
However, it’s as bad as calling a dachshund a “dash-hound” or a Keeshond (“Kayz-hond”) a “keesh-hound.” (It is for that mispronunciation alone that I wish we called the Keeshond a “wolfspitz.” One can also easily make the case that “teckel” is easier to say than dachshund. )
But if those are bad, just imagine how we’d pronounce the Lapinporokoira.
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Just going on temperament and conformation alone, it actually wouldn’t surprise me if these guys were basically ancestral Belgian herding dog and the generic european small spitzes- not so much terrier or pinscher.
All that said, I think the German Spitz have MUCH nicer temperaments. :D
The Belgian shepherds, though, aren’t anything like a spitz, and these dogs look like spitz and act more like Pomeranians.
And I’m not talking about my ancestors who came from Stettin either!
i have never heard the mini-shepherd story before –
and would strongly doubt it.
the story that i * have * heard, is that Schipp is =the little Captain= from their barge-dwelling days, and that they will mind children on deck, and bark if anybody, adult or child, falls into the water –
but since they bark an alarm at any unusual sound, that would not surprise me, LOL.
the trait they are most-known for is their longevity – it is quite possible to have a Schipp for over 20-years, like a cat, and folks are warned that if they get one *for the kids* when the children are in elementary-school, they themselves may be close to retirement, and the kids in college, before the dog is gone.
good Schips are charming little dogs – not as yappy as a Pom, easy-care coat, bright, alert, sturdy for their size, active, smart, personable. typical Spitz, they blow coat heavily but seasonally – not year-round. they are not biddable, but are highly-trainable.
for anyone who loves GSDs and wants to move to a smaller dog with advancing age, i would recommend a Ship over a CORGI any day, LOL –
*biting Corgi* is thought to be a reflexive phrase among trainers, like *pair of twins* — it comes with the breed more often than not; while Schips are rarely snappy, and usually have good reason to bite.
just be *sure* to put the Schip in the will –
with a LIVING-will directive and a specific Power-of-Atty for the Schip-inheritor, so the dog does not have to go thru probate or be held for any time, but makes an immediate transfer of ownership to the designee.
putting the documents on the refrigerator in a packet for emergency responders is a good idea –
if U must be hospitalized, the dog needs a designated carer, which can be different from the inheritor, or the same person.
i like them – they are active without being manic, intelligent, eager to learn, play or work, and engaging.
— terry
terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
“But if those are bad, just imagine how we’d pronounce the Lapinporokoira.”
BTW, the breed has its registry still open.
– Once you master the correct pronunciation you could try “suomenlapinkoira” ;)
We have a name for that one in English–I think…
Finnish Lapphund?
There is also a Swedish Lapphund.
Yes, Finnish Lapphund is correct.
“Lapinporokoira” is Finnish Reindeer Herder.
And yes, you’re right – there also is Swedish Lapphund. They all belong to FCI group “Nordic Watchdogs and Herders” – as do the following breeds:
Västgötaspets (Swedish Vallhund), Islenskur Fjárhundur (Icelandic Sheepdog) and Norsk Buhund (Norwegian Buhund).
I would add to that list all the German spitz breeds, including the Keeshond or Wolfsspitz, and the Samoyed, Samoyedskaya, or Bjelkier of Russia. The latter is also a reindeer herder bred by the Nenets people.
Well, unfortunately FCI doesn’t agree with you. ;)
German Spitz breeds are under “European Spitz breeds; Deutscher Spitz (German Spitz)
Samoyeds are under “Nordic Sledge Dogs” as well as Grønlandshund (Greenland Dog), Alaskan Malamute and Siberian Husky.
Weren’t Bjelkiers – when imported to the UK – renamed by The KC and became officially known as Samoyeds.
Bjelkiers are called Samoyeds (Sammy-eds) in the English speaking countries.
The FCI also thinks that Skipperkeys are miniature Groenendaels, and it thinks poodles are from France (they are mostly of German extraction. Pudel is a German word.)
Well, the first breed standard for Poodles was written in France – so it is the country of the breed’s origin according to FCI rules.
AKC has its very own breed standards in many breeds. For instance Labrador’s breed standard in US differs from the one in UK (coutry of origin).
Samoyeds/Bjelkiers herd reindeer in Russia. They are a variant on the Finnish and Swedish “Lapphunds.” Linguistically the Nenets people are closely related to the Finns and the Sami– which means that their dogs are probably close relatives, too..
I personally do not use the term Lapp, because the people who are called Lapps are actually Sami.
The original people of Fennoscandian area prefer to be called Samis.
“Lapps” is considered to have a derogatory meaning and since the ethnic awareness/proudness has risen (globally) it is no wonder many ethnic groups prefer to be known by their “own name”.
The Nenets language is Uralic, like Finnish, Saami, and Estonian. (And Hungarian).
What do you think, a possibility? I was thinking American Eskimo mix.
He’s a sweetheart. His ex-dad adopted him from our shelter when he was about a year old, almost 12 years ago. He brought him back about three months ago, after he got married and “discovered” his new wife has allergies.
Funny story: He visited about two weeks ago to bring Whitey some treats. He asked to see Whitey. When I brought him into Whitey’s room, W gave him such a growl… I LOVED it.
He’s a very sweet dog, spry and incredibly active at 13. Not fond of other dogs, but he’ll find a home, I have no doubt.
Pibble – def an Eskie mix, and a very cute one. The breed is very long-lived too, on average (or at least, seems so from the smallish data sample I’m working with, which is survey based- I’m charting GS vs AED longevity and health). He looks VERY much like the purebred Eskie I’m babysitting this week, who is a poorly bred purebred who just doesn’t carry a ton of coat- she’s a total sweetheart though.
Pomeranians at one time were bigger and the schipperke is pretty much a short haired variation on the Pomeranian theme. On the OTHER hand, there was at one time three “sizes” for Belgians with a landrace roughly halfway between the existing Belgian shepherd and the Schipperke. And some Belgians can be very “undersized”. The schipperke’s origins pretty much are “convergent evolution” with the Sheltie, where some dogs were essentially small collies, but a large dose of Pomeranian and other small dogs were added, and the smaller dogs were developed into pets.
I am certain that “some” herding Belgians contributed to teh Schipperke. I’m equally certain that something along the line of a terrier/schnauzer was a contibuter as these dogs have a much more “terrier” temperment than herding dog. I am equally of the view of their base being “pomerainian”. On the other hand, I haven’t checked on any of the genome studies to see where the Schipperke ends up on the various relationship DNA studies.
As for the curly tail, I’ve seen that in a number of non show Shelties, and even in a few Belgians, collies and Australian Shepherds who are left with tails. It’s acqually a common “fault” in the herding dogs, so it showing up in a toy iteration isn’t definitive as to origin.
vr, Peggy Richter
A small group of Schipperke Fanciers has worked to gain the Schips of all solid colors acceptance into the UKC. Here is a link to our website.
http://www.usschipclub.com
A small group of Schipperke Fanciers in the US has worked to gain acceptance of Schips of any Solid color into the UKC, it’s very exciting and some of the Cream Colored Schips have been hitting the conformation shows.
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