Anybody have any experience with Schipperkes?
- Thread starter casey82
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I've met a grand total of one. So I'm probably not much help. I met her at a busy pet expo so there were lots of people, kids and dogs around. She was very alert and curious. She was calm though and seemed very confident.
I had to stop and chat to the owner because they are a breed I'm interested in and I have no experience with. She said that her girl was awesome, clever but with training you have to make it worth her while. She said that she wasn't nuisance barker but would alert bark.
She was friendly enough toward me, but she wasn't really interested. I think that fairly standard with the breed. They are very attached to their people. I'd love to hear more about them as well.
I had to stop and chat to the owner because they are a breed I'm interested in and I have no experience with. She said that her girl was awesome, clever but with training you have to make it worth her while. She said that she wasn't nuisance barker but would alert bark.
She was friendly enough toward me, but she wasn't really interested. I think that fairly standard with the breed. They are very attached to their people. I'd love to hear more about them as well.
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Hello 
I pm'd the OP but thought this might be valuable to anyone else who had questions about the schip. I'm by no means an expert but was lucky enough to share 11 years with one and a friend had 2 I interacted with, so I feel I know them quite well.
I was owned by a beautiful little schip-beast named Boo for 11 years before she passed away from a suspected stroke. She was a fantastic little dog and my whole family remembers her with great affection.
Schipperkes have a somewhat similar appearance to pomeranians, but make no mistake, these "little black devils" are no lapdog! Boo (and my friend's two schips) hated to be picked up and snuggled. They can quite independant little dogs on the whole.
The schips I encountered including my own had high energy needs. They aren't necessarily bouncing off the walls, but we went on 2 hour hikes everyday, rain or shine. We lived in Canada, and though we didn't walk quite as far in sub zero temperatures, skipping a walk simply because it was cold was NOT an option.
They are highly intelligent little dogs, and Boo and I competed in agility and she was easy to teach tricks to. But she was also sometimes unbearably stubborn - she was not a dog that would do as you asked simply to please you. Even though she was highly motivated by treats, she also got bored rather easily. My current dog, a Jack Russell cross, will accept food until he explodes and offer behaviors! Boo would get bored after awhile and start sniffing. So one hour training classes were sometimes tedious to her I think. That's not to say don't do them! I'm just sharing my experience with this particular schip.
They are highly loyal and protective, and do tend to attach themselves to one person, as the poster who responded to you said as well. Boo was tolerant of people not regularly in her circle but not really interested in making friends, if that makes sense. Boo was also fiercely protective of me as a teenaged female when we passed male walkers. Not a nuisance barker but would bark quite a bit when the doorbell rang. High prey drive. Liked flirt poles but wasn't into fetch. She LOVED chasing soccer balls and that was a hilarious sight to see her chase one down and push it with her nose at high speeds for 5 minutes (usually until she pushed the ball into the tree or the fence).
Not mean to other dogs but also not super friendly, though my friend's schips were so that was probably an individual thing. Boo would not back down from larger dogs and had no concept of her size...sounds cliche but its true.
They do blow their coats twice a year but year round shedding? We didn't notice it as being terrible. Others might disagree. We brushed her everyday with a shedding blade so I'm sure that helped. But other than that coats are wash and go. Certainly no tangles or clipping.
Amiable, sharp, independant but sweet. We loved her and would highly recommend you meet a few before committing. If you decide this is the dog for you, you will be repaid with years of loyalty. Don't expect fawning, but you'll know you're loved and you'll have a little friend who will be happy to go places with you and be by your side.
She did begin to have seizures at the age of 6, and her first was 20 minutes after her first lepto vaccine. we were unable to well control her seizures and they got worse with age. The vet felt the seizures were brought on by the vaccine, but that's another story for another day. The reason I bring it up is the breed can fall victim to seizures and epilepsy, so just thought I'd throw that in there. Other than that and her suspected stroke she was a very healthy dog.
I pm'd the OP but thought this might be valuable to anyone else who had questions about the schip. I'm by no means an expert but was lucky enough to share 11 years with one and a friend had 2 I interacted with, so I feel I know them quite well.
I was owned by a beautiful little schip-beast named Boo for 11 years before she passed away from a suspected stroke. She was a fantastic little dog and my whole family remembers her with great affection.
Schipperkes have a somewhat similar appearance to pomeranians, but make no mistake, these "little black devils" are no lapdog! Boo (and my friend's two schips) hated to be picked up and snuggled. They can quite independant little dogs on the whole.
The schips I encountered including my own had high energy needs. They aren't necessarily bouncing off the walls, but we went on 2 hour hikes everyday, rain or shine. We lived in Canada, and though we didn't walk quite as far in sub zero temperatures, skipping a walk simply because it was cold was NOT an option.
They are highly intelligent little dogs, and Boo and I competed in agility and she was easy to teach tricks to. But she was also sometimes unbearably stubborn - she was not a dog that would do as you asked simply to please you. Even though she was highly motivated by treats, she also got bored rather easily. My current dog, a Jack Russell cross, will accept food until he explodes and offer behaviors! Boo would get bored after awhile and start sniffing. So one hour training classes were sometimes tedious to her I think. That's not to say don't do them! I'm just sharing my experience with this particular schip.
They are highly loyal and protective, and do tend to attach themselves to one person, as the poster who responded to you said as well. Boo was tolerant of people not regularly in her circle but not really interested in making friends, if that makes sense. Boo was also fiercely protective of me as a teenaged female when we passed male walkers. Not a nuisance barker but would bark quite a bit when the doorbell rang. High prey drive. Liked flirt poles but wasn't into fetch. She LOVED chasing soccer balls and that was a hilarious sight to see her chase one down and push it with her nose at high speeds for 5 minutes (usually until she pushed the ball into the tree or the fence).
Not mean to other dogs but also not super friendly, though my friend's schips were so that was probably an individual thing. Boo would not back down from larger dogs and had no concept of her size...sounds cliche but its true.
They do blow their coats twice a year but year round shedding? We didn't notice it as being terrible. Others might disagree. We brushed her everyday with a shedding blade so I'm sure that helped. But other than that coats are wash and go. Certainly no tangles or clipping.
Amiable, sharp, independant but sweet. We loved her and would highly recommend you meet a few before committing. If you decide this is the dog for you, you will be repaid with years of loyalty. Don't expect fawning, but you'll know you're loved
and you'll have a little friend who will be happy to go places with you and be by your side.She did begin to have seizures at the age of 6, and her first was 20 minutes after her first lepto vaccine. we were unable to well control her seizures and they got worse with age. The vet felt the seizures were brought on by the vaccine, but that's another story for another day. The reason I bring it up is the breed can fall victim to seizures and epilepsy, so just thought I'd throw that in there. Other than that and her suspected stroke she was a very healthy dog.
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Oh! And though this sadly wasn't my experience, they are supposed to be a long lived breed! That's what I hear through research anyway, and i do have some anecdotal evidence too: One of our friend's schips was 18 when she passed, and one of the schipperkes that was euthanized when I worked at the vet was 18 as well when he was pts. Hardy is a good way to describe them on the whole