Schipperke

Curious and alert, quick to notice change and bark.
A Schipperke
Photo: JezevecStendencíLouhovatČaj
Adult weight
3–9 kg
6.6–20 lb
Lifespan
13–15 yrs
Class · Companion
also Watchdog

What it's like

In temperament the Schipperke is confident, alert and curious, quick to notice change and ready to bark about it. It tends to be reserved with strangers and closely attached to its household, with an energy suited to its old job of patrolling cramped working spaces.

Day to day
Activity
A good daily walk and play
Intelligence
Needs daily brain work
Handler demand
Needs steady training
With people
Affection
Affectionate on its own terms
Loyalty
Sticks close to its people
Independence
Decides for itself
Around the home
Sensitivity
Average
Voice
Very vocal
Prey drive
Likely to chase small pets
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
Is a Schipperke right for you?
Take the breed matcher

Living with one

It has a double coat, an outer coat over an undercoat. Most of the shedding comes when the seasons change. Plan on a brush once a week, plus daily brushing through the seasonal moult. It needs plenty of exercise compared with other breeds.

Size and growth

A Schipperke is a small dog, about the weight of a grown Jack Russell. It is one of the lightest small breeds.

It is a small, compact dog with a fox-like head, sharp upright ears and a short body that appears to slope from the shoulders to the rump. That outline comes from the coat, which is harsh and dense, forming a thick ruff and cape around the neck and shoulders and long culottes on the thighs. Black is the classic colour and the only one the FCI accepts, though the Kennel Club permits other solid colours. Some puppies are born without a tail.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 3 months, a male Schipperke puppy is already as heavy as a grown Chihuahua. They grow fastest between 3 and 4 months old.
Fully grown
10 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight7
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
02.557.5102m4m6m9m12m18m
02.557.5102m3m4m6m9m12m18m
Age
Male
Female
2 months
1.0–2.9 kg 2.2–6.4 lb
1.1–3.2 kg 2.4–7.1 lb
3 months
1.2–3.7 kg 2.6–8.2 lb
1.3–3.9 kg 2.9–8.6 lb
4 months
1.6–4.8 kg 3.5–10.6 lb
1.7–5.0 kg 3.7–11.0 lb
5 months
1.9–5.7 kg 4.2–12.6 lb
1.9–5.7 kg 4.2–12.6 lb
6 months
2.1–6.4 kg 4.6–14.1 lb
2.1–6.3 kg 4.6–13.9 lb
7 months
2.3–6.9 kg 5.1–15.2 lb
2.3–6.8 kg 5.1–15.0 lb
8 months
2.4–7.3 kg 5.3–16.1 lb
2.4–7.1 kg 5.3–15.7 lb
9 months
2.5–7.6 kg 5.5–16.8 lb
2.5–7.4 kg 5.5–16.3 lb
10 months
2.6–7.8 kg 5.7–17.2 lb
2.6–7.7 kg 5.7–17.0 lb
11 months
2.7–8.0 kg 6.0–17.6 lb
2.6–7.9 kg 5.7–17.4 lb
12 months
2.7–8.2 kg 6.0–18.1 lb
2.7–8.0 kg 6.0–17.6 lb
15 months
2.9–8.6 kg 6.4–19.0 lb
2.8–8.4 kg 6.2–18.5 lb
18 months
3.0–8.9 kg 6.6–19.6 lb
2.9–8.8 kg 6.4–19.4 lb

Lifespan

No vet study has measured how long Schipperkes live yet. The 13–15 years shown is a general figure without a published source.

Where it comes from

The Schipperke was a working man's ratter and watchdog in Belgium, and by about 1690 Brussels cobblers were holding contests in which their dogs wore ornate brass collars. Its name is read two ways: the FCI gives the Flemish as 'little shepherd' and ties it to the Belgian Shepherds, while Britain's Kennel Club says 'little skipper', after its work on the barges. Queen Marie-Henriette made it fashionable in the 1880s4,8.

The Schipperke grew from a common workshop dog into a recognised show breed in the late nineteenth century, when Belgian fanciers formed a club and set down a written standard. The breed had reached Britain and North America before the century closed. Its working role was modest but demanding: catching rats and mice, and raising the alarm at anything unfamiliar in a yard or shop. Its popular image as a barge dog is disputed.

Breed standard

The Schipperke is judged against standard no. 83, in group 1, Sheepdogs and Cattledogs4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Schipperke figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a small breed is most likely at the early end.

Compare with related

Pomeranian
Spitz & primitive · Toy
Shetland Sheepdog
Sheepdogs & cattledogs · Small
Pyrenean Shepherd
Sheepdogs & cattledogs · Small
Pembroke Welsh Corgi
Sheepdogs & cattledogs · Small
Or compare the Schipperke with any breed you choose
Track your own Schipperke
Log a minute a day and watch them sit on these curves. Free.

Sources

Uncited on this page: Lifespan — no reviewed source yet, so it is a general reference figure rather than a published one.
Something wrong on this page?
Parts of this page were written by AI ·