Back in the day (the 17th century day), barges that traveled along the seaways of Belgium were pulled by horses. As much as the Schipperke has been referred to a ratter that rid these barges of vermin, these dogs also rode the backs of barge-pulling horses, or nipped at their heels to keep them “inspired” to keep going.

Although their present breed standard describes a small, thickset and cobby dog that tops out at 11 to 13 inches for a male,  a Schipperke should feel heavy, and have plenty of body under that coat. It’s not for nothing that Schippies are often referred to as “big” dogs in a small package.

Image by Crimson Rose from Public Domain Pictures (publicdomainpictures.net), CC0.