schipperke

Etymology
From Belgian, but unclear at the word level.
 * Conventionally taken to be, allegedly alluding to a role as watchdog and/or rodent catcher on canal boats.
 * Alternatively, a mutation of, a diminutive of , referring to the breed's purported descent from an extinct larger breed of sheepdogs.

Related to the etymological debate is a longstanding informal one about whether the dog itself should be regarded as a spitz or a miniature sheepdog.

For more, see

Noun

 * 1)  A small breed of dog developed in Belgium, sometimes used as a watchdog on boats.