- Permissible: All colours
- Preference is given to blue-grey to black
About the Dutch Schapendoes
Origin: The NetherlandsDutch Schapendoes
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Sheepdogs and Cattledogs (except Swiss Cattledogs)
- Origin
- The Netherlands
- Also called
- Schapendoes Neerlandes
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- The Nederlandse Schapendoes is a herding dog which was used for herding flocks of sheep and which is still used in the same capacity today. As pasture for sheep is situated mainly in quiet, lonely areas of the country, it is necessary for the Schapendoes to be equipped with great endurance, mobility and speed. A great facility for jumping is essential, as well as intelligence and the ability to act on his own. He has to be a true herding dog in character, body and soul
- Behaviour and temperament
“The Schapendoes is a normally and harmonically constructed herding dog with an attentive and courageous character. He is intelligent, watchful, jolly, lively, friendly and high spirited. Towards people familiar to him, he develops great affection and loyalty”
Quoted from FCI standard n°313. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Characteristics
- Size
- —
- Exercise needsRead from what the breed was bred to do, in the registry’s own words: “The Nederlandse Schapendoes is a herding dog which was used for herding flocks of sheep and which is still used in the same capacity today. As pasture for sheep is situated mainly in quiet, lonely areas of the country, it is necessary for the Schapendoes to be equipped with great endurance, mobility and speed. A great facility for jumping is essential, as well as intelligence and the ability to act on his own. He has to be a true herding dog in character, body and soul” That is a working purpose, not a measured exercise requirement — an individual dog’s needs depend on its age, health and household.
- 4 of 5
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- 3 of 5
- Grooming needs
- 4 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Dutch Schapendoes
What you get with the Dutch Schapendoes
- Purpose stated in the standard: “The Nederlandse Schapendoes is a herding dog which was used for herding flocks of sheep and which is still used in the same capacity today”
- The standard describes the breed as: “The Schapendoes is a normally and harmonically constructed herding dog with an attentive and courageous character”
What you are taking on
- High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “Definitely curly, frizzy hair is not permitted.”
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Dutch Schapendoes
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged permissible.
Coat
The Schapendoes has a thick coat with sufficient undercoat.
The coat is long, a good 7 cm or more in the region of the hindquarters.
It is not smooth, but lightly waved.
Definitely curly, frizzy hair is not permitted.
The hairs grow very densely together
they are fine and dry, but above all, never silky.
The coat, where it is long, is inclined to stand off in tufts, giving the Schapendoes a large girth, especially at the rear.
The Schapendoes has a tremendous top knot, moustache and beard
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°313 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Dutch Schapendoes in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Dutch Schapendoes
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Dutch Schapendoes on this platform yet. That is a gap in our records, not a clean bill of health — ask the breeder which hereditary conditions their lines are tested for, and ask to see the results for both parents, dated and from a named laboratory.
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Dutch Schapendoes owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Puppies
No puppies listed right now
No Dutch Schapendoes breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.