My Gianni is 19 months old. Breed in Italy and bilingual with verbal commands! He is a joy. The best breed ever, but very hard headed. As we say in Italy “testa dura”.. when I tell people he is testa dura they say “ ah Calabrese!”
Yes, very shocked by that. Have had Schipperkes all my adult life; this puppy seems so unusually meek, hard not to wonder if he's depressed - which such treatment could definitely lead to..🤨
Yes Schipperkes are adorable. They are also whip smart. Smarter than most humans. I was able to teach my boyfriend's Schipperke to climb a cargo net, go through a pipe tunnel, and go down the big kids' slide in less than 10 minutes. They are extremely photogenic as well. They also are a good house guard dog (a small dog 20 lbs with s ferocious set of teeth). Also their real tail curls up over their backs like a Spitz. Enough of the good stuff. The bad stuff: 1. They are runners. You better have a well-fenced yard and, even then, they're not above climbing a fence or digging their way out. My boyfriend's Schip has GPS tracker tag on his collar so he can find the little bugger when he gets out. The Schip is 12 yrs old now and still goes on the run regularly. 2. They're rotten little thieves and they steal literally everything. Do not ever leave food unattended on a counter. Glasses, pencils, pens, porterhouse steaks, day old Chinese food, yarn, cotton balls, cat poop, etc. 3. They don't have a particularly good track record with small children as they have a tendency to be nippy. 4. Get food issues out of the way early on in their puppy training as in taking away etc. as they tend. to have food aggression problems. 5. They have a thing against mailmen. No reason. Go figure. 6. They have a very thick undercoat which they lose in the summer. Daily grooming is recommended. 7. They have an extremely piercing bark. You may need to get an anti-bark collar. 8. Most are reserved with strangers--as in don't extend a hand to them unless you know them. 9. They are an extremely active, energetic breed of dog who need a minimum of a couple long walks daily, more if you have the time. The upside is they're a great dog to take hiking. The above reasons are why they aren't ever on the popular breeds list--ever. If all that appeals to you and you like making regular donations to the ASPCA to get your dog out of the clink, then that's the breed for you. And you can't say now that you weren't warned...
We’re about to lose our schipperke to cancer. We’re guessing she’s got only a week left. She was almost 14 years old, but luckily Stephanie is planning ahead. She’s getting a puppy for spring, and she’s stuck to the schipperke breed. Super caring and sweet dogs!
Schipperke in Flemish means “little captain of the boat.” They were bred and used on the canal barges in Belgium to guard the boats and kill rats. Like Terriers, they have expert prey drive & do enjoy killing rodents.
He says, “I’ll protect you, Mom! Hey! Whatever you are down there, in that drain thing, you stay away from my mom, alright!?! You stay away, or I’ll get you! Mom, I’ll make sure nothing gets you, I’m your protector dog!” So CUTE!
