About Mardeck

Marnie Layng’s start in the world of purebred dogs began in 1964 participating in conformation and obedience events with Shelties and Rough Collies under the Kennel name “Woodfield”. Later together with her husband John, Marnie successfully bred and competed with Bearded Collies. In 1982 as a Christmas present for their then 10 year old daughter they acquired their first Schipperke and have been showing and breeding Schipperkes ever since. Mardeck is located in Canada near Brockville, Ontario close to the U.S. border, so most Mardeck show Schipperkes are champions in both countries.
The Mardeck breeding program is based on the concept that while we strive to produce dogs that meet the standards accepted by the AKC and CKC, Mardeck Schipperkes must first and foremost be physically and mentally sound and healthy. That is because our top goal is always to produce Schipperkes that are capable of becoming life long family members. Each dog should be highly intelligent since that is why Schipperkes are so inquisitive and intuitive. If they are also well structured both aesthetically and mechanically, we feel we have been successful as breeders. Having Schipperkes is our hobby not our livelihood, so we show our own dogs in conformation on a limited basis. It is a proud fact that Mardeck Schipperkes are doing very well with their owners in confirmation and performance rings in Canada, the U.S.A as well as several other countries.

A historical highlight was in 1990 when Am. Can. Ch. Mardeck's Rookie Diplomat won Best of Breed at the Schipperke Club of America's National Specialty show in Syracuse, NY. At the same show, Am. Can. Ch. Mardeck's Danae O'Dae won Best of Opposite Sex. That was the biggest thrill imaginable for a breeder / owner / handler. Danae afterward won Best of Breed at the Schipperke Club of Canada's National Specialty show in 1992. At that time other Mardeck Schipperkes and Bearded Collies were doing well in the ring. We still love Bearded Collies although we no longer breed or own any.

Starting in 1994 we began a rebuilding period in our Schipperke breeding program because devastatingly we discovered epilepsy in our line. We took this issue very seriously! Due to the strict approach we applied then to eliminate this debilitating disorder from our breeding program,, neutering some of our top winning dogs, and carefully breeding only dogs that we knew to be free of seizures, we can now declare that we have not produced a dog affected by epilepsy in over 15 years. Research into the mode of inheritance of this disorder is ongoing by the scientific community. In the meantime until scientists can create a conclusive test for identifying a gene linked to epilepsy, here at Mardeck we will continue to do everything we can to minimize reintroducing it into our bloodlines. All of our Schips have also tested normal for another neurological disorder found in Schipperkes "MPSIIIB", or they are normal by pedigree with random testing done on offspring to ensure this status is maintained with subsequent breedings.

We are equally proud of and grateful for the wonderful owners who live with and love our Mardeck Schipperkes. We strongly believe that mentoring new Schip owners helps them to become great owners, handlers, trainers and in some cases breeders of Schipperkes. Moreover, we always learn from them too. In fact, it makes us very happy that many buyers of our Schipperkes have become our very special friends and a part of our extended family. By keeping in touch with us, and each other, through our Yahoo group Mardeck Schipperke owners can access a wealth of information on a wide variety of training and socializing topics as well as just sharing stories about their Schipperkes antics and accomplishments.

DELORAN

For many years now a wonderful friendship and partnership has developed with Ursula and David Hutton of “Deloran” Schipperkes. Together we have a lot of fun planning the litters that enhance our joint breeding programs and celebrating our competitive successes. You will find pages dedicated to Deloran within this website.

Important to know

It is very important to understand and accept the responsibility that comes with owning a Schipperke. Owners must realize that purchasing a Schipperke is a life long commitment as they often live to be 14 years of age or more. However, it should also be known that being owned by a Schipperke will give you a lifetime of fun and a wide range of rewards.



 

We hope you enjoy your visit and look forward to hearing from you.


 

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