We often talk about “type,” – those visual qualities that make a Doberman Pinscher look nothing like a Rottweiler, even though both are working group breeds. An outline or profile is the first look most of us get of a dog, and that silhouette often imparts as much information about type as any other facet of the dog. Picture the silhouette of a Dachshund. Now picture one of a Saluki. And finally, visualize the outline of an Otterhound. All hounds, all distinctly different from each other.

Sometime, a dog’s coat is what suggests type (and a good groomer or handler knows just how to groom a coat to emphasize a good quality, distract from the lack of it, or suggest something that isn’t there at all). In the case of the Schipperke, aspects of its coat form a uniquely distinct silhouette unlike any other breed, and we thought you might like to know about them.

An adult Schipperke groomed for the show ring has a jabot, ruff, cape, and culottes. Separately, each part features varying lengths of coat. Together, they form a silhouette with an exaggerated incline from pricked ears to croup.

The Little Black Devil’s double coat is short on her face, ears, and the front of her legs. On her body, the coat is of medium length. Behind her ears, however, longer hair forms a ruff completely around her neck (typical of several shepherd and spitz breeds). These other breeds, however, don’t all have an additional layer of coat extending beyond the ruff, called the cape.  Nor do they have a jabot – an apron of hair extending across her chest and between her front legs.  And finally,  the backs of her thighs have thick culottes that are as long as the hair at her ruff. It’s these varying lengths of hair that give our little lady’s body a sloping effect running from her shoulders to her back end. Take any one element away, and it alters the look of the dog.  These coat characteristics are so important that in a show ring, their absence is to be “heavily penalized.”

Schipperke by DJ Rogers – k9artgallery
http://dogprintsgallery.com
www.etsy.com/shop/k9artgallery