THE SCHIPPERKE 79 



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 speci- 

 mens that have been docked. 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., 12 Ibs., 

 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 appear- 

 ance, 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. 



The Schipperke 's tail, or rather its absence, has been the 

 cause of much discussion, and at one time gave rise to con- 

 siderable acrimonious feeling amongst fanciers. On the 

 introduction of this dog into Great Britain it arrived from 

 abroad with the reputation of being a tailless breed, but 

 whether Belgian owners accidentally conveyed that im- 

 pression or did it purposely to give the breed an additional 

 distinction is difficult to say. Anyhow the Schipperke is no 

 more " tailless " than the old English Sheepdog. That is 

 to say a larger number of individuals are born without any 

 caudal appendage or only a stump of a tail than in any other 

 variety of dogs. 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 hind-quarters. 



