Pomeranian

Long before the Pomeranian dog was common in Great Britain, this breed was to be met with in many parts of Europe, especially in Germany; and he was known under different names, according to his size and the locality in which he flourished. The title of Pomeranian is not admitted by the Germans at all, who claim this as one of their national breeds, and give it the general name of the German Spitz.

Origin: It appears to have been developed in the German province of Pomerania, and attracted the attention of Queen Victoria. The original Pomeranians were fairly ordinary dogs, mostly white in color and were much larger than they are today, weighing at about 16 kg, but now members of this breed are lighter than 3.6 kg. They offered little that was new, either as pets or working dogs, and it wasn’t until breeders selected for a smaller type that the breed became common outside Germany. A greater variety of coat colors was encouraged at the same time, including a warm, gingery orange, which is now the most popular color. This selective breeding occurred towards the end of the last century. Since then, decreasing stature has brought increasing popularity, and Pomeranian are now common in both Britain and America.

Temperament: Adores lots of attention, this lively and robust small dog is also good with children. Pomeranian is a very alert dog and will indicate the presence of strangers by yapping loudly. Although this can be advantageous under certain circumstances, you may need to dissuade a Pomeranian from barking unnecessarily at the slightest sound.

Grooming: Grooming a Pomeranian is more time consuming than with some breed as it has a dense undercoat and a long, straight out coat. Trimming will also be necessary on occasion to ensure that the coat remains immaculate.

Exercise: Needs regular activities, and will live quite contentedly in a home where there is a small garden, with a park in the neighborhood for more prolonged periods of exercise.

Training: Pomeranians have retained the typical temperament of a Spitz dog, hence it’s easy to train even for first time dog owner.

Physical appearance of Pomeranian

Pomeranian should be a compact, short coupled dog, well knit in frame. He should exhibit great intelligence in his expression, and activity and buoyancy in his deportment.

Head: Should be foxy in outline or wedge-shaped, the skull being slightly flat, large in proportion to the muzzle, which should finish rather fine and free from limpness. The teeth should be level, and should on no account be undershot. The hair on the head and face should be smooth and short coated.

Nose: Should be black in white, orange and sable dogs; but in other colors may be self, but never parti-colored or white.

Ears: Should be small, not set too far apart, nor too low down, but carried perfectly erect like those of a fox, and, like the head, should be covered with short, soft hair.

Eyes: Should be medium in size, not full, nor set too wide apart, bright and dark in color, showing great intelligence; in white, shaded sable, or orange dogs the rims round the eyes should be black.

Neck: Should be rather short, well set in.

Body: The back must be short and the body compact, being well ribbed up and the barrel well rounded. The chest must be fairly deep and not too wide, but in proportion to the size of the dog.

Legs: The forelegs must be well feathered, perfectly straight, of medium length, and not such as would be termed “leggy” or “low” on leg, but in due proportion in length and strength to a well-balanced frame. Must be fine in bone and free in action. The hind legs and thighs must be well feathered, neither contracted nor wide behind; the feet small and compact in shape. Shoulders should be clean, and well laid back.

Tail: The tail is one of the characteristics of the breed, and should be turned over the back and carried flat and straight, being profusely covered with long, harsh, spreading hair.

Coat: There should be two coats, an undercoat and an overcoat; the one a soft fluffy undercoat, the other a long, perfectly straight coat, harsh in texture, covering the whole of the body, being very abundant round the neck and fore part of the shoulders and chest where it should form a frill of profuse standing off straight hair, extending over the shoulders. The hindquarters should be clad with longhair or feathering, from the top of the rump to the hock. It takes three years to reach full maturity.

Color: All whole colors are admissible, but they should be free from white or shadings, and the whites must be quite free from lemon or any other color. A few white hairs in any of the self colors shall not necessarily disqualify in a show dog specimen.

At present the whole colored dogs are:White, black, brown (light or dark), blue (as pale as possible), orange (which should be as deep and even in color as possible), beaver, or cream. Dogs, other than white, with white foot or feet, leg or legs, are decidedly objectionable and should be discouraged, and cannot compete as whole colored specimens.

In parti-colored dogs the colors should be evenly distributed on the body in patches; a dog with white or tan feet or chest would not be a parti-colored. Shaded sables should be shaded throughout with three or more colors, the hairs to be as “uniformly shaded” as possible, with no patches of self color.

In mixed classes where whole colored and parti-colored Pomeranians compete together, the preference should, if in other points they are equal, be given to the whole colored specimens.

Height: 28 cm / 11 in

Weight: 2 to 3 kg / 4 to 5 lb

In conclusion: Among toy dogs this particular breed has enjoyed an unprecedented popularity; the growth in the public favor among all classes has been gradual and permanent during the last fifteen years, and there are no signs that it is losing its hold on the love and affection of a large section of the English people. His handsome appearance, his activity, and hardihood, his devotedness to his owner, his usefulness as a housedog, and his many other admirable qualities will always make the Pomeranian a favorite both in the cottage and in the palace.