What's in a Name?
Apparently there is some controversy as to the orgin of the breed name. THE NEW ILLUSTRATED DOG ENCYCLOPEDIA, as translated here by Dirk Vandelannoote (Belgium) states "The schipperke, with its intelligent fox-like head, its smart twinkling eyes and pointed ears is a Belgian race. The origins of this small, black and always active and watchful dog are rather obscure. Even its name has given rise to many misunderstandings. People used to think it referred to the word schipper and that the dog was mainly known as a companion to Dutch and Belgian canal boat captains. It was believed to have had a well defined job aboard these ships, mainly as a guard dog and to eradicate vermin. Nowadays, this theory is regarded as myth. The story seems to have originated in the rich fantsy of British breeders. During the 19th century they were so charmed by this race that they invented a nice history about it. Thus the smallest of Belgian shepherds, becuse that's what it really is, became known as a Dutch "schipper"-dog...
"The name is acutally derived from the word 'scheper' (pronounced 'shaper'/cfr. 'sheep' in english-d.v.) which is Flemish for shepherd. Thus, schipperke simply means small shepherd dog. They were also lovingly called 'spitzke' because of their pointed noses, or 'moorke' (cfr. 'moorish': black-d.v) because of their colour."
