Do you live in the Michigan area and have Schipperkes? We would love for you to become involved in the club! We are looking for members who would like to help us get into new areas, help with our present activities, or people who just want to join in. So what sorts of things are we doing now? Read on!
PETS: No matter what our club members do with their dogs, they are all pets first. We all love our dogs! If your dogs are neutered pets, we still have a place for you! We would like to begin holding "Schipnics" each year. These are where Schipperke people get together for a day of fun, food, and dogs! We sometimes have a "puppy match", so you can learn a little bit about what a show is like. We often have costume contests, bob for hot dogs (for the dogs), costume contests... the ideas are endless!
If you were interested in joining our club and helping with this event, there are several ways you could do this. We need a host/hostess with a place to hold it, people to organize the pot luck, various games, items to bring, etc. We need people who will both help create new ideas and implement them!
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Dog Shows: Several of our club members show and breed their Schipperkes. If you think you might like to show with Schipperkes, joining the club would be a great way to find one or more mentors, and also a great way to help find a good breeder and litter with the right show dog for you. Some people who starting showing Schipperkes only want to have fun with their dog, they never breed, and that's OK. If you have children, Schipperkes make a very good junior handler's dog, and that is a great hobby for you and your family. Showing can be a great way to make friends, a good excuse for traveling, and it can be fun and exciting. |
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Performance: Performance in a very generic word for a lot of things you can train your Schipperke to do with you. First, there is obedience, and usually this means attending a class, where both you and your Schip learn about how to compete and work as a team. Anyone with a Schipperke can compete at such events, whether or not the Schipperke is registered (you apply for a special number).
An alternative to obedience is Rally, which has less competition against other teams, but requires more focus since each course is different. There is also agility, where you run through a course with dog walks, tunnels, teeter totters, and the like. Schipperkes ROCK at agility, and it can be a great way not just to work with your dog, but help keep yourself a bit more active! There are also other performance events such as tracking or weight pulls, which are less common for Schips. |
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Barn Hunts: Barn Hunts are one of the newest sports to the purebred dog fancy, and one particularly suited to the Schipperke, with their history as a ratter. It isn't as simple as it sounds, because while many Schipperkes do indeed hunt and kill mice and rats, you need to train them to search for them on command, and learn when they have a "find". The club recently held a meeting as such a training event, and many members enjoyed it. Any owner and Schipperke can give barn hunts a try, it does not require official registration. |
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Were you hoping to see an event for you to do with your dog and you didn't see it here? Send us an email! You sound like the sort of person we are looking for... interested in something to do, and looking to give it a try! Let us know your interest, and maybe you will find a few other people willing to look into getting the club involved!
Last Updates 2/26/2016 BY DP
