The Schapendoes () is a

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

herding dog A herding dog, also known as a stock dog or working dog, is a Dog type, type of dog that either has been trained in herding livestock or belongs to one of the dog breed, breeds that were developed for herding. A dog specifically trained to he ...

originating in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

History

The Schapendoes descends from a general type of farm and herding dog popular in the

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Jan ...

province of the Netherlands, and the

Veluwe The Veluwe () is a forest-rich ridge of hills (1100 km2; 420 sq. mi.) in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. The Veluwe features many different landscapes, including woodland, heath, some small lakes and Europe's largest sand ...

, an area of forests and swampland. ("does" is a local dialect meaning "swamp" see e.g. the town of

Doesburg Doesburg () is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Gelderland. Doesburg received city rights in 1237 and had a population of in . The city is situated on the right bank of the River IJssel at its confluence w ...

) The dogs there had many names, and were not a specific breed as we use the term today. They were the local working dog, adapted to the people, environment, and types of work needed. They were exhibited in early dog shows (in the 1870s) as ''Domestic herding dog''. The dogs became nearly extinct during World War II, and the modern day breed descends from the few survivors. The Dutch

Raad van Beheer Raad van Beheer op Kynologisch Gebied in Nederland (English: Dutch Kennel Club (DKC)) is the official kennel club of the Netherlands. Founded in 1902, it currently represents around 200 Breed club (dog), breed clubs with 150,000 members, and is a ...

(national kennel club) first recognised the breed in 1952, and the first standard was written in 1954. Related breeds are the

Bearded Collie The Bearded Collie or Beardie is a British breed of herding dog of collie type. It was formerly used primarily by Scottish shepherds, but now commonly kept as a family companion. Weights are usually in the range , while height at the withers ...

, the Puli, the

Polish Lowland Sheepdog The Polish Lowland Sheepdog (, also PON), is a medium-sized, shaggy-coated, sheep dog breed native to Poland. Description Appearance The PON is a muscular, thick-coated dog. The double coat can be of any color or pattern; white, gray, and bro ...

(Owczarek Nizinny), the Old English Sheepdog, the

Briard The Briard () or (; plural: ''Bergers de Brie'') is a French breed of large shepherd dog, traditionally used both for herding sheep and to defend them. It was first shown at the first Paris dog show, in 1863; the first Briard to be registered ...

, the

Bergamasco Shepherd The Bergamasco Shepherd, , is an Italian breed of sheepdog. It originated in the Alpi e Prealpi Bergamasche, where it was used as a herding dog for both sheep and cattle. History The origins of the Pastore Bergamasco are unknown. A genetic s ...

(Cane da pastore Bergamasco) and the Old German Sheepdog (Schafspudel), all of which are small versions of the "mountain type" herding and

livestock guardian dogs A livestock guardian dog (LGD) is a dog type bred for the purpose of protecting livestock from predators. Livestock guardian dogs stay with the group of animals they protect as a full-time member of the flock or herd. Their ability to guard th ...

. The breed was recognised by the

Fédération Cynologique Internationale The (; FCI; ) is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs and purebred registries. The FCI is based in Thuin, Belgium and has 98 members and contract partners (one from each country). History The FCI was founded in 1911 un ...

in 1971, as breed number 313 in Group 1, Section 1: Sheepdogs. Exported to the North America, the breed is recognised by the

Canadian Kennel Club The Canadian Kennel Club (or CKC; ), founded in 1888 and chartered under the Animal Purebred Act, is one of the national kennel clubs of Canada. It maintains breed registries services for those purebred dogs approved for its control by Agricultur ...

(as Dutch Sheepdog) and the

United Kennel Club The United Kennel Club (UKC) is a kennel club founded in 1898 in the United States. In contrast with the American Kennel Club, which is non-profit and which only clubs can join, the United Kennel Club is a profit-making corporation, open to indivi ...

(USA) in their respective

Herding Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group (herd), maintaining the group, and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. Herding can refer either to the process of animals forming herds in ...

groups. The

American Kennel Club The American Kennel Club (AKC) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit breed registry, registry of purebred dog pedigree (animal), pedigrees in the United States. In addition to maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions eve ...

has listed the Schapendoes as part of its Foundation Stock Service, the first step in breed recognition.Schapendoes, American Kennel Club
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Appearance

The Schapendoes is a medium-sized dog with long, thick fur on the body, legs, tail, and face. Small ears hang down, covered with long fur. The face has a moustache and beard. The

coat A coat is typically an outer garment for the upper body, worn by any gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front, and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners (AKA velcro), ...

is of any colour. Nederlandse-schapendoes-01

Height is up to 50 cm (19.7 in) at the

withers Withers are the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, this ridge is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, catt ...

and 12–20 kg (26–44 lb), up to 25 kg (55 lb) for males, in weight.

References

External links

Schapendoes club in the Netherlands

International Schapendoes Federation
a group working to coordinate breed development internationally {{Pastoral dogs FCI breeds Herding dogs Dog breeds originating in the Netherlands Rare dog breeds