The importance of exercise for the maintenance of the general well being and happiness of the dog has been highly overrated. The complexity of modern civilization has imposed such severe restrictions on the exercising of dogs that it is often quite impractical or totally impossible to give the dog the amount of exercise that, according to its natural attributes, it would seem to require. In spite of this, the adjustment of these animals has been so remarkable that they seem not to have suffered any substantial loss of vitality, nor has their longevity been materially effected.

From the standpoint of the dog’s natural inheritance and physical attributes, its exercise requirements would seem to be prodigious. When sporting or working dogs are on the job, they may run as many as fifty to a hundred miles a day almost effortlessly, and they would seem to require fifteen to twenty miles of daily exercise solely to keep their muscles in a proper state of vigor.

Even the terriers and nonsporting varieties seem to need four to five miles of exercise just to warm up. Only the toy breeds present no exercise problem; these little animals usually can get all they need under ordinary conditions.

If a dog is exercised according to its natural dictates, it will achieve a razor sharpness of exuberant well being very similar to that of a highly trained human athlete. But it is only the relatively rare dog such as the farm or range animal, the hunter, or the animal on a large estate that is living under conditions ideally suited to its natural attributes.

Most dog owners live either in small homes or apartments. While the small home owner can allow his animal to romp in the back yard for many hours at a time, it is still rather unlikely that any but the smaller varieties of dogs can get sufficient exercise in this manner.

The apartment house dweller in most cities is forced by law to restrain his animal on a leash when taking it out for a walk. How any dog, outside of the toys or small terriers, can get sufficient exercise in this manner is hard to imagine!

But when all is said and done, what has been the over-all debilitating effect of this lack of exercise on dogs? Amazingly enough, not very much. In spite of the physical disadvantage we have imposed on most of our dogs in not keeping them tuned up to athletic razor-sharpness, they still seem to be clean, sleek, vigorous, happy, and healthy, and they generally live to a ripe old age.

Only occasionally will difficulties arise that are directly attributable to lack of exercise. When animals such as Great Danes are raised in one or two room city apartments, they will sometimes have physical breakdowns after several years of such preposterous confinement. But even such occurrences are not as common as is generally believed.

Sentimentalists may claim that it is the love of dog for man that somehow has made up for this deficiency. Scientists will be more modest and will probably suggest that it is simply a manifestation of an admirable adjustment; that furthermore it may be a practical demonstration of possible proof that we have tended to overestimate the importance of exercise to dog health, and that some of our old ideas regarding exercise needs for dogs may have to be revised.

The Schipperke may fitly be described as the Paul Pry of canine society. His insatiate inquisitiveness induces him to poke his nose into everything; every strange object excites his curiosity, and he will, if possible, look behind it; the slightest noise arouses his attention, and he wants to investigate its cause. There is no end to his liveliness, but he moves about with almost catlike agility without upsetting any objects in a room, and when he hops he has a curious way of catching up his hind legs. The Schipperke’s disposition is most affectionate, tinged with a good deal of jealousy, and even when made one of the household he generally attaches himself more particularly to one person, whom he “owns,” and whose protection he deems his special duty.

These qualities endear the Schipperke as a canine companion, with a quaint and lovable character; and he is also a capital vermin dog.  When properly entered he cannot be surpassed as a “ratter.”

Schipperkes have always been kept as watch-dogs on the Flemish canal barges, and that, no doubt, is the origin of the name, which is the Flemish for “Little Skipper,” the syllable “ke” forming the diminutive of “schipper.”

The respectable antiquity of this dog is proved by the result of the researches Mr. Van der Snickt and Mr. Van Buggenhoudt made in the archives of Flemish towns, which contain records of the breed going back in pure type over a hundred years.

The first Schipperke which appeared at a show in this country was Mr. Berrie’s Flo. This was, however, such a mediocre specimen that it did not appeal to the taste of the English dog-loving public. In 1888 Dr. Seelig brought over Skip, Drieske, and Mia. The first-named was purchased by Mr. E. B. Joachim, and the two others by Mr. G. R.  Krehl. Later on Mr. Joachim became the owner of Mr. Green’s Shtoots, and bought Fritz of Spa in Belgium, and these dogs formed the nucleus of the two kennels which laid the foundation of the breed in England.

It was probably the introduction of the Schipperke to England that induced Belgian owners to pay greater attention to careful breeding, and a club was started in 1888 in Brussels, whose members, after “long and earnest consideration,” settled a description and standard of points for the breed.

Not long afterwards the Schipperke Club (England) was inaugurated, and drew up the following standard of points, which was adopted in December, 1890, and differed only very slightly from the one acknowledged by the Belgian society and later by the St. Hubert Schipperke Club.

STANDARD OF POINTS OF THE SCHIPPERKE CLUB, ENGLAND:
HEAD — Foxy in type; skull should not be round, but broad, and with little stop. The muzzle should be moderate in length, fine but not weak, should be well filled out under the eyes.
NOSE — Black and small. 
EYES — Dark brown, small, more oval than round, and not full; bright, and full of expression.
EARS — Shape: Of moderate length, not too broad at the base, tapering to a point.

Carriage: Stiffly erect, and when in that position the inside edge to form as near as possible a right angle with the skull and strong enough not to be bent otherwise than lengthways.
TEETH — Strong and level.
NECK — Strong and full, rather short, set broad on the shoulders and slightly arched. 
SHOULDERS — Muscular and sloping.
CHEST — Broad and deep in brisket. 
BACK — Short, straight, and strong.
LOINS — Powerful, well drawn up from the brisket.
FORE-LEGS — Perfectly straight, well under the body, with bone in proportion to the body.
HIND-LEGS — Strong, muscular, hocks well let down.
FEET — Small, catlike, and standing well on the toes.
NAILS — Black.
HIND-QUARTERS — Fine compared to the fore-parts, muscular and well-developed thighs, tailless, rump well rounded.
COAT — Black, abundant, dense, and harsh, smooth on the head, ears and legs, lying close on the back and sides, but erect and thick round the neck, forming a mane and frill, and well feathered on back of thighs.
WEIGHT — About twelve pounds.
GENERAL APPEARANCE — A small cobby animal with sharp expression, intensely lively, presenting the appearance of being always on the alert.
DISQUALIFYING POINTS — Drop, or semi-erect ears.
FAULTS — White hairs are objected to, but are not disqualifying.

The back of the Schipperke is described as straight, but it should round off at the rump, which should be rotund and full, guinea-pig-like. The continued straight line of a terrier’s back is not desirable, but it will frequently be found in specimens that have been docked. The Belgian standard requires the legs to be “fine,” and not have much bone. The bone of a terrier is only met with in coarse Schipperkes. As to size, it need only be noted that the maximum of the small size, viz., 12 lbs., is that generally preferred in England, as well as in Belgium. Further, it is only necessary to remark that the Schipperke is a dog of quality, of distinct characteristics, cobby in appearance, not long in the back, nor high on the leg; the muzzle must not be weak and thin, nor short and blunt; and, finally, he is not a prick-eared, black wire-haired terrier.

The Schipperke’s tail, or rather its absence, has been the cause of much discussion, and at one time gave rise to considerable acrimonious feeling amongst fanciers. On the introduction of this dog into Great Britain it arrived from abroad with the reputation of being a tailless breed, but whether Belgian owners accidentally conveyed that impression or did it purposely to give the breed an additional distinction is difficult to say. Anyhow the Schipperke is no more “tailless” than the old English Sheepdog. That is to say a larger number of individuals are born without any caudal appendage or only a stump of a tail than in any other variety of dogs. It is said that a docked dog can be told from one that has been born tailless in this way; when the docked animal is pleased, a slight movement at the end of the spine where the tail was cut off is discernible, but the naturally tailless dog sways the whole of its hind-quarters.

Most newly acquired puppies are not housebroken. When the animal is first brought into the home it should therefore be taken to a room such as the kitchen where it can do the least amount of damage. Several thicknesses of newspaper should be spread on the floor, and the animal should be left to its own resources for a while.

The pup will make a thorough inspection of its new surroundings. At this time the animal is quite scared and uncertain of its new situation. Therefore it is better not to feed it anything for a couple of hours, because eating at this stage might lead to an upset stomach. Speak to the animal in a soothing voice and pet it occasionally to reassure it. Do not permit any excessive fondling at this time, especially by children, and do not try to put a collar, harness, or leash on the animal. Nor should any efforts at grooming or bathing be made at this early stage.

If, at the end of the two-hour waiting period, it is plain that the animal has acquired a certain amount of ease in its new surroundings, a small dish of milk or dog food may be offered. A short time after this feeding, the animal will probably get drowsy and want to sleep. The animal may be bedded down in a carton box of comfortable size, into which some newspaper has been shredded.

Often an animal may whine or cry for a couple of nights, but this will stop after it gets over its lonesomeness. A good device, especially in the cooler seasons of the year, is to place a hot-water bag wrapped in a towel into the box with the pet. A heating pad will serve the same purpose.

The warmth from either one of these implements will be comforting to the animal, and seems to be reminiscent of its mother’s body. The heat will also tend to make the animal drowsy. This procedure will often discourage the dog’s whining even on the very first night. If it is repeated on successive nights, the animal will associate comfort with the box and will go into it as a matter of routine when bedtime comes. This is very helpful in the early stages of training a puppy. In warm climates or warm seasons, the heating pad or hot-water bag will be of only questionable benefit because it may make the animal uncomfortable. In such cases it would probably be better to feed the animal a tidbit every time it is placed in the bed. In this way the animal will quickly learn to associate pleasantness with its bed.