CHAPTER LVII 



THE SCHIPPERKE 



A HANDY little dog, good as a guard, and of 

 friendly disposition, the Schipperke (pronounced 

 '* Skipperkie ") has been a favourite in England for 

 thirty years or more, but for some reason or other 

 prices do not rule very high. Mr. E. B. Joachim 

 sold four dogs in the eighties for 40, including the 

 embryo champion, " Shtoots." " Fritz " of Spa 

 realised only 25, and "St. Hubert" was bought 

 from a Belgian breeder for 20. The Schipperke has 

 long been a familiar figure on the canal barges of 

 Belgium, his owners using him as a guard and for 

 keeping down the rats. Our earliest importers made 

 the mistake of regarding him as of the terrier family, 

 when, as a matter of fact, he should be grouped with 

 the Spitz. Herr Beckmann says the Belgians call 

 him the Belgian Spitz. This gentleman would have 

 it that the Schipperke belongs to the primitive dogs, 

 and that he is a member of the first domesticated 

 dog family. Until 1894 English breeders had 

 neglected what is now regarded as a distinguishing 

 feature of the breed that is, the mane, which should 

 be abundant. The thigh -breeching, or culotte, had 

 also been ignored until the late Mr. G. R. Krehl 



