Schipperkes (“boatman”or “bargeman”) or Belgian barge dogs would rather be with their peeps than left on their own. Pronounced “sheep-er-ker” in Flemish, “skip-er-kee” in the US, the first mention of this lively, intelligent, people-focused little dog with the luxuriously thick black double coat dates back to 1400. At just 10-13 inches tall, it’s hard to believe that it descends from the now-extinct Leauvenaar, an ancestry it shares with the much larger Belgian sheepdog/Groenendael. Originally bred as a guard, a ratter, and even a herder(!), it should come as no surprise that the Schipperke does best when it has plenty to do.