135 



CHAPTER XIII. 

 THE SCHIPPERKE. 



BY E. B. JOACHIM. 



" / watch the door, I watch the gate : 

 I am watching early, watching late, 

 Your doggie still — I watch and wait." 



— Gerald Massey. 



THE Schipperke may fitly be described 

 as the Paul Pry of canine society. His 

 insatiate inquisitiveness induces him to 

 poke his nose into everything ; every strange 

 object excites his curiosity, and he will, if 

 possible, look behind it ; the slightest noise 

 arouses his attention, and he wants to 

 investigate its cause. There is no end 

 to his liveliness, but he moves about with 

 almost catlike agility without upsetting any 

 objects in a room, and when he hops he has 

 a curious way of catching up his hind legs. 

 The Schipperke's disposition is most affec- 

 tionate, tinged with a good deal of jealousy, 

 and even when made one of the household he 

 generally attaches himself more particularly 

 to one person, whom he " owns," and whose 

 protection he deems his special duty. 



These qualities endear the Schipperke as a 

 canine companion, with a quaint and lovable 

 character ; and he is also a capital vermin 

 dog. When properly entered he cannot 

 be surpassed as a " ratter." 



Schipperkes have always been kept as 

 watch-dogs on the Flemish canal barges, 

 and that, no doubt, is the origin of the 

 name, which is the Flemish for " Little 

 Skipper," the syllable " ke " forming the 

 diminutive of " schipper " ; the "sch" 

 is pronounced as in "school." 



The respectable antiquity of this dog is 

 proved by the result of the researches Mr. 

 Van der Snickt and Mr. Van Buggenhoudt 

 made in the archhes of Flemish towns, 

 which contain records of the breed going 

 back in pure type over a hundred years. 



The first Schipperke which appeared at 

 a show in this country was Mr. Berrie's 

 Flo. This was, however, such a mediocre 



specimen that it did not appeal to the taste 

 of the English dog-loving public. In 1888 

 Dr. Seelig brought over Skip, Drieske, and 

 Mia. The first-named was purchased by 



MRS. E. APPLEBEE'S FIRWOOD FROLIC 



BY CH. EL CAPITAN MAISIE. 



Photograph by Russell. 



Mr. E. B. Joachim, and the two others by 

 Mr. G. R. Krehl. Later on Mr. Joachim 

 became the owner of Mr. Green's Shtoots, 

 and bought Fritz of Spa in Belgium, and 

 these dogs formed the nucleus of the two 

 kennels which laid the foundation of the 

 breed in England. 



It was probably the introduction of the 

 Schipperke to England that induced Belgian 

 owners to pay greater attention to careful 

 breeding, and a club was started in 1888 

 in Brussels, whose members, after " long 

 and earnest consideration," settled a descrip- 

 tion and standard of points for the breed. 



