- Dog suitable for owners with some experience
- Extra training required
- Need to be aware of potential health issues
- Enjoys active walks
- Needs under an hour of walking a day
- Small dog
- Some drool
- Requires grooming every other day
- Chatty and vocal dog
- Barks and alerts to visitors/anything unusual
- Generally friendly with other dogs
- Gets along with other pets with training
- May need additional supervision to live with children
- Needs a small garden
- Can happily live in the city
- Can be left occasionally with training
Pomeranians can suffer from:
- Patellar luxation
- Tracheal collapse
- Chiari malformation syringomyelia which is a condition where fluid-filled areas develop around the spinal cord causing pain.
- Hydrocephalus which is a condition where fluid builds up around the brain and can cause damage.
- Alopecia X¹ which is a condition which causes symmetrical hair loss and skin pigmentation.
Priority Kennel Club health schemes and testing:
None but there are several recommended schemes that the Kennel Club recommends which can be found here.
Key Facts
| Lifespan: | 12–16 years |
| Weight: | 1.8–3kg |
| Height: | 18–30cm |
| Colours: | White, black, brown, blue, red, orange, beaver, cream, white, merle, parti-coloured, sable |
| Size: | Small |
| Kennel Club group: | Toy |
Ratings
| Family-friendly: | 2/5 |
| Exercise needs: | 2/5 |
| Easy to train: | 4/5 |
| Tolerates being alone: | 1/5 |
| Likes other pets: | 3/5 |
| Energy level: | 3/5 |
| Grooming needs: | 3/5 |
| Shedding: | 4/5 |
Personality
They are lively and energetic little dogs who are very loyal to their families, although generally bond to one person. Pomeranians enjoy being handled and spending time with their beloved owner but it’s important that they have the opportunity to be ‘real dogs’. They make excellent watch dogs, as they are quite vocal and will alert to anything unusual - or indeed to just about anything! Despite their gentle and affectionate natures and surprisingly enthusiastic attitude to life, care must be taken, as under all that hair they are tiny and quite fragile.
History and Origins
Country of Origin: Germany
Unlikely as it may seem, Pomeranians (or 'Poms') are almost certainly descended from the sledge-pulling dogs of the Arctic and are probably related to the Keeshond, Norwegian Elkhound and the Samoyed. This small pet dog was intentionally bred through progressive size reduction although when they arrived in the UK with German-born Queen Charlotte they were very different from the Poms we know today - being white and much larger (9-14kgs). They soon became popular, especially with royalty, so when Queen Victoria visited Florence and saw much smaller various of the breed there, she brought them home with her. The Queen went on to breed them and showed them at Crufts in 1891 where (not surprisingly!) she won best of breed. In the years that followed her death in 1901, selective breeding for a smaller size continued until the tiny dog we know today was developed and the larger sizes vanished entirely from the UK.
Did You Know?
- When Poms first came to the UK, they were very much the canine supermodels of the time. Artist Gainsborough was particularly taken with the breed and painted them several times. This was possibly what led to their popularity - especially among the aristocracy.
- Their connection to the arts doesn’t stop there either, Mozart had a Pomeranian named Pimperl, to which he dedicated an aria to and Michelangelo had a Pom by his side whilst he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
- Two Pomeranian’s survived the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.
- One of the most internet famous dogs ever, was a Pomeranian called Boo. He had 16 million Facebook fans when he passed away in January 2019.
- Pomeranian’s have one of the smallest litter sizes with the average being around 2 – 3 puppies per litter.
