The Schipperke is a diminutive of the Leuvenaar, a black-sheep dog which used to follow the wagons along the old highways in the provinces of Belgium, and is now probably extinct. It is also thought to have descended from the Spitz family of northern dogs. In Flanders the Schipperke was primarily used as a barge watchdog, and in fact the name schipperke means " little captain " in Flemish.