Family-friendly: | 4/5 |
Exercise needs: | 5/5 |
Easy to train: | 2/5 |
Tolerates being alone: | 3/5 |
Likes other pets: | 2/5 |
Energy level: | 5/5 |
Grooming needs: | 3/5 |
Shedding: | 3/5 |
- Dog suitable for non-experienced owners
- Basic training required
- Generally healthy breed
- Enjoys active walks
- Needs under an hour of walking a day
- Small dog
- Some drool
- Requires grooming every other day
- Chatty and vocal dog
- Barks and alerts to visitors/anything unusual
- Could have issues with unknown dogs but gets along with known dogs
- Gets along with other pets with training
- May need additional supervision to live with children
- Needs a small garden
- Can happily live in the city
- Can be left occasionally with training
The Schipperke breed is generally quite a hardy breed but can be prone to:
- Patellar luxation
- Legg- Perthes disease
- Mucopolysaccharidosis Type IIIB which is a storage disorder which can lead to interrupt cell function affecting the brain.
Priority Kennel Club health schemes and testing:
None but there are several recommended schemes that the Kennel Club recommends which can be found here.
Personality
Clever and lively, the Schipperke is said by both breeders and owners to be quick to learn, but also quick to get into trouble! Good-natured and generally amenable, they do like to bark to let their family know about anything they deem suspicious or unusual. As such, good dog socialisation and habituation should help ensure they don’t find too many things suspicious or unusual!
Did You Know?
The breed was made popular as a companion and pet by Queen Marie-Henriette (wife of King Leopold II and first cousin to the then future Queen Mary of England). In 1885 she bought a Schipperke she’d seen at a show in Brussels, named him ‘Black’ after his colouring and was often seen walking and driving with him. They became so desirable as a result that some unscrupulous sellers would try to pass off any suitably sized black dog as a Schipperke.
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