At the end of the last and beginning of this century, the Nederlandse Schapendoes occurred throughout the Netherlands where they were primarily sheep herding dogs. The Schapendoes belong to a wide-ranging group of longhaired herding breeds which have densely coated heads.
The breed was founded by P.M.C. Toepoel, during WWI. The breed club for Nederlandse Schapendoes was founded in 1947, and provisionally recognized by the Management Council in 1952. The breed standard was established and the Studbook started in 1954. Definite recognition followed in the year 1971. Since then only registered dogs have been used for breeding.
