The Little Black Dog Without A Tail!

Schipperke, pronounced SKIP – ER – KEE, is a dog which originated in Belgium. It is also called the barge dog or little skipper, because it once guarded the barges (coal) on the Rhine and hurried the horses that pulled them. This breed of dog has a fox like head with small, pointed ears. It has a heavy black or cream coat, (the cream coloured Schipperke is very rare,) with a longer ruff (frill of hair) on its neck. Some are born without a tail. In some others, the tail was docked, (however it is now illegal to Dock the tails in Australia.) While some have a full tail. The average male weight is about 7 kg while the female is just under that at about 6.5 kg. The Schipperke belongs to the Spitz Group of Dogs. Spitz is the name of a family of dogs of far northern descent. Breeds in the Spitz family include the Akita, Alaskan Malamute, Chow-chow, Finnish Spitz, Norwegian Elkhound, Pomeranian, Samoyed and of course, the Schipperke. All these dogs have sturdy bodies, pointed ears and thick, harsh coats. Some have curled tails that fall over their hindquarters. The Schipperke was originally a tailless dog but it is thought that indiscriminate breeding with non-pur dogs introduced the tail ‘gene’ into the breed. Schipperkes in Australia must now have proof of tailless gene if they are born tailless. Tanzapaw Schipperkes carry the ‘gene’ for the no tail. (THE BOB TAIL GENE.)