The origin of the Dutch shepherd Chapendua, the standard of the exterior, character, health, advice on care, training, interesting facts. Price when buying a chapendua puppy. Chapendois is a cute and very nimble creature, with all its extraordinary appearance resembling a shaggy, but not at all scary "forest monster". A dog of exceptional kindness and affection. How not to fall in love with this funny face with mischievous eye buttons barely peeking through the thicket of tousled bangs? How not to appreciate the extraordinary intelligence of this extraordinary dog, her business quickness and amazing performance? However, what are we talking about? All these qualities of the shaggy chapendua shepherd have long been known to Dutch farmers, who have lived side by side with them for many decades and simply adore these disheveled helpers.
The history of the origin of the Chapendua breed
A variety of the Dutch shepherd dog Schapendoes, which is often called Chapendus or Schapendus due to the nuances of translation from the Dutch language, traces its history from the province of Drenthe, located in the northeast of the modern Netherlands.
Already in the old documents of the Dutch Landschap Drenthe, dating from the end of the 17th century, clever shaggy-looking shepherd dogs are mentioned, and the paintings of those years depict shaggy creatures, very reminiscent of modern Dutch shepherd dogs. The Dutch at all times called them chapendus, which literally translated from Old Dutch means “shaggy wool” (however, evil languages translate this name differently - “dirty wool”). Well, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, these shaggy, agile shepherd dogs were well known and widespread throughout Holland. But no one really did purebred breeding of these shepherd dogs until the middle of the 20th century.
Modern dog handlers who have studied the question of the origin of the chapendois suggest that these dogs are closely related to many European canine species, with the same shaggy exterior. Among the main candidates for "relatives" are called: the Polish Lowland Shepherd, French Briard, Hungarian Bullet, Scottish Bearded Collie, English Bobtail and Italian Bergamsk Shepherd. How true these assumptions are, probably only a DNA test will tell.
In any of the variants, the Dutch Shepherd Dog has its own worthy and ancient history, undoubtedly in need of study and refinement. The modern history of the development of the breed begins immediately after the end of the Second World War. And it is associated with the name of the Dutch judge, publicist and amateur cynologist Pieter Marie Christoffel Toepoel. It was he who, back in 1938, compiling an encyclopedia of dogs, was surprised to discover that the famous shepherd shepherd dogs, once numerous in Holland, remained very few. Later, during the war years (from 1940 to 1945), he began to actively revive the almost completely extinct old canine variety of the Netherlands. Throughout the war and post-war years, he collected the surviving representatives of the breed, nursed, treated and fattened, at times, denying himself the bare essentials.
By 1947, the efforts of the enthusiastic dog breeder were crowned with the first success - for the first time a national chapendua dog club of the Netherlands was created. In 1952, the breed was tentatively adopted by the Dutch Cynological Coordination Council, and in 1954 the first standard for evaluating animals was developed. However, the very standard of animals of this species was subsequently supplemented and revised several times, and only in 1971 was it finally approved. At the same time, in 1971, the breed was included (preliminary and with reservations) in the Studbook of the International Cynological Federation (FCI), for the first time in the history of its existence received international recognition.
The final approval at the FCI took place in 1989. The current Dutch Shepherd breed standard was approved in 1999. And although there are now clubs for fans of the Dutch Shaggy Shepherd in the United States and Canada, this breed is still one of the rarest canine species on the planet.
Purpose and use of chapendua dogs
An old and traditional profession of chapendua dogs is a shepherd dog helping a farmer with herding sheep. Now this profession, as unnecessary, is almost completely forgotten (modern methods of animal husbandry used in the Netherlands do not need shepherds). Therefore, the main purpose of this rare breed is to be a good friend and cheerful companion of its owner, to please him and his family members with their funny shaggy appearance. Well, and participate in exhibitions, how can we go without it.
External Standard of the Dutch Shapendois Sheepdog
The representative of this breed is a harmoniously built medium-sized shepherd dog, with a unique memorable shaggy exterior, friendly and combative character. The size of the dog is quite modest (as for a shepherd dog). The maximum parameters of an adult animal reach the following values: the growth of a dog is up to 50 centimeters at the withers, the growth of a bitch is up to 47 centimeters. Body weight can be 12–20 kg in females and 12–25 kg in males.
- Head not too coarse, but the abundance of wool makes it visually large. The skull is flat, with pronounced superciliary arches. The frontal part looks pronounced due to the overhanging bangs. The occipital protuberance is developed. The stop (transition from the forehead to the muzzle) is weak. The muzzle is shorter than the length of the skull, pointed and slightly blunt at the end of the shape. The bridge of the nose is straight, moderately broad. The nose is large, black or brown (depending on the color of the coat). The jaws are strong. The teeth are white, rather large, with strong canines. Scissor bite.
- Eyes rounded, rather large, located in the anterior plane of the skull. Due to the shaggy bangs, the eyes are poorly visible. The color of the eyes is dark brown or black. The eyes are very expressive, attentive and intelligent, sometimes mischievous.
- Ears in chapendus dogs, they are small and set high, hanging freely, covered with long hair (which significantly increases the visual size of the ears).
- Neck strong and muscular, dry, without dewlap.
- Torso Dutch Shepherd Chapendua stretched type (length from withers to base of tail is greater than height at the withers), with a light bone and not inclined to corpulence. The chest is deep, developed. The back is straight. The back line is straight. The croup is small, slightly sloping. The belly is not too tucked up.
- Tail - Medium set, rather long, saber-shaped, covered with thick long fur.
- Limbs straight, moderately long, light boned and well muscled. Feet are oval and large, completely covered with hair. Paw pads are dense, elastic. The nails are asphalt gray or black.
- Wool very dense, with a dense dense undercoat, long, wavy and somewhat rough to the touch (should not be soft or silky). The long coat on the back can be so long that it can easily reach the ground. There are pronounced feathering on the back of the limbs, reaching a length of 7-8 centimeters. The head and muzzle of the dog are also covered with long hair hanging over the eyebrows, covering the eyes with bangs and forming a pronounced lush "mustache" and "beard".
- Color. Any color of the animal's coat is allowed. When judging during the championship, bicolor dogs with a bluish-gray and black color have an advantage.
The character of the chapendua dog
The Chapendus (Schapendus) is an unusually cheerful, playful and friendly dog. She is absolutely not prone to aggression or inappropriate behavior. But, despite the fact that she gets along remarkably well with others, allows herself to be stroked and harassed by everyone, all the same, only the owner remains the main authority for her. These shepherd dogs are always endlessly devoted and grateful to the people who raised and educated them.
In their profession of a shepherd, chapenduases are unique in their own way. They are friendly to the grazed sheep, do not seek to bite or injure them. But at the same time, they persistently and clearly manage the herd. It is difficult for a shy sheep to stay in place and disobey the dog, which, in the form of a large woolen ball, rushes at full speed to the violator of the order, accompanying its movement with a sonorous bark. Despite the fact that the dog's eyes are covered with a "curtain" of wool, he vigilantly sees and closely monitors the actions of the shepherd and his gestures-commands. If two or three shepherd dogs are engaged in a herd (and this is most often the case), then you can be calm - all the livestock of animals is under reliable protection and moves in the right direction.
Chapendois are surprisingly energetic and agile dogs that require constant movement and proper attention to their shaggy person. And also, they are quite noisy and loud-voiced, as befits a real shepherd-shepherd. Unfortunately, their noisy behavior during apartment maintenance sometimes creates conflicts with neighbors. Therefore, the best conditions for the existence of these restless "disheveled dogs" was and remains a rural or suburban area, allowing plenty of running and barking plenty.
In the urban setting of small Dutch towns, the Chapendois also feel great and quickly learn to behave in a disciplined manner. And this is not unimportant - in the Netherlands, the owner is allowed to go with the dog everywhere, be it a shop or a restaurant. It is only important that the animal is on a leash and behaves with dignity.
The Shaggy Shepherd Dog is a very playful creature that loves attention and affection. Yes, and how can you treat otherwise this cute shaggy dog with curious eyes and an ubiquitous nose. Chapendua dogs are surprisingly sociable, they get along remarkably well with other canids, and are peaceful with other pets. Chapenois is a wonderful family dog, especially suitable for large families. These nimble shepherd dogs do not like loneliness, and need constant communication with someone. Being alone in the house, they are able to quickly "put things in order", but not at all in order to harm, but in order to attract attention to themselves.
The chapendua dog is unique in its quick-wittedness and excellent learning ability. Mastering the necessary commands or a few funny tricks is not difficult for him. But the most important thing for this dog is the ability to move quite a lot. She is especially pleased with long walks in the forest or meadow. True, literally after half an hour of such a walk through the forest, the dog changes beyond recognition. The show version of your pet changes to the opposite - before you appears a dirty, wet, all in burdock and thorns "shaggy", more like an ordinary mongrel, and not like a sheepdog of the rarest breed. But on the other hand, how much joy and fun there is in his behavior, how glad and happy he is that he has such a wonderful, permissive and all-forgiving master.
Dutch Shepherd Health
The Chapendua Sheepdog is an exceptionally healthy breed of dogs, the selection of which was made by Mother Nature herself. These funny animals rarely get sick, and they do not have any stable breed diseases. With good care and maintenance, the chapendua does not have health problems.
The shaggy "Dutch" perfectly tolerates both low and high temperatures due to the versatile long fur with a dense warm undercoat. Also, a thick and long wool cover protects the animal well from scratches and serious injuries from thorny bushes and plants. The representatives of the breed have strong immunity, which makes it easy to cope with infections (which does not exclude routine vaccinations of the animal).
The lifespan of these docile and always disheveled dogs is within 12-15 years.
Care Tips for Chapendois
Of course, to keep such a shaggy dog, you need to work hard, especially if he does not live on the street, but in a house or apartment. Regular, almost daily brushing (but at least once a week) is a hard and fast rule to follow if you don't want to flood your house with dog hair.
But about bathing a shaggy shepherd dog, the Dutch dog breeders are quite categorical - you need to bathe this animal only in the most exceptional case, with very strong pollution of the dog's coat. Otherwise, frequent bathing can lead to a deterioration in the quality of the coat, cracking of your pet's skin and the appearance of skin diseases.
For this breed, long walks are very important, with the opportunity to run freely and communicate with their own kind. But there are no problems with the nutrition of the chapendua. The dog belongs to the old working breeds, and therefore is absolutely not pretentious in food. In the Netherlands, they prefer to feed a chapendau dog with industrial-grade food of a high level: holistic and super-premium, which allows the owner to compose a complete diet for the dog with the least effort.
She also easily endures all the vicissitudes of the climate. Long hair with a dense undercoat perfectly protects the animal from the cold, as well as from damage by thorny plants. It is undesirable to cut the dog - all the unique coloring of the exterior is lost. It is possible to trim the extra long guard hair only occasionally. It is categorically impossible to trim the "bangs" of the dog - it protects the eyes of the animal from excessive light (the dog has increased photosensitivity of the eyes) and the ingress of specks during vigorous movement through the forest.
Training and education, price when buying a chapendua puppy
The Shaggy Shepherd Dog from the Netherlands is an amazingly docile and obedient animal. There were no difficulties with her upbringing and training by dog handlers.
Sheepdogs-chapendua are generally well known to dog owners only in the Netherlands and the countries closest to it - Belgium and Germany. In Russia, the breed has only recently become popular. Often, instead of a Dutch shepherd puppy, unscrupulous sellers try to "sniff" a puppy of a different species, or even a shaggy mongrel. Therefore, when buying a puppy in Russia, you need to be careful.
The cost of a purebred puppy in the Netherlands is about 300-500 euros. The purchase will cost approximately the same in Russia (in ruble terms).
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