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Dogs and All about Them by Robert Leighton
page 96 of 429 (22%)

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 respectable antiquity of this dog is proved by the result of the
researches Mr. Van der Snickt and Mr. Van Buggenhoudt made in the
archives 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 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 description and standard of
points for the breed.

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