| Pomeranian | |||||||||||||
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| Other names | Pom Dwarf Spitz German Toy Spitz | ||||||||||||
| Common nicknames | Pom Dog, Pom-Pom, Pom, Zwers | ||||||||||||
| Origin | Pomerania:Germany andPoland | ||||||||||||
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| Dog (domestic dog) | |||||||||||||
ThePomeranian (also known as aPom,Pommy orPome) is abreed ofdog of theSpitz type that is named for thePomerania region in north-west Poland and north-east Germany in Central Europe. Classed as atoy dog breed because of its small size, the Pomeranian is descended from larger Spitz-type dogs, specifically theGerman Spitz.
The breed has been made popular by a number of royal owners since the 18th century.Queen Victoria owned a particularly small Pomeranian, and consequently, the smaller variety became universally popular. During Queen Victoria's lifetime alone, the size of the breed decreased by half. As of 2017, in terms of registration figures, since at least 1998, the breed has ranked among the top fifty most popular breeds in the United States, and the current fashion for small dogs has increased their popularity worldwide.
Pomeranians are small dogs weighing 1.36–3.17 kilograms (3.0–7.0 lb) and standing 8–14 inches (20–36 cm) high at thewithers.[1] They are compact but sturdy dogs with an abundant textured coat with a highly plumed tail set high and flat.[2] Thetop coat forms a ruff of fur on the neck, which Poms are well known for, and they also have a fringe of feathery hair on the hindquarters.[3]
The earliest examples of the breed were white or occasionally brown or black.Queen Victoria adopted a small red Pomeranian in 1888, which caused that color to become fashionable by the end of the 19th century.[4] In modern times, the Pomeranian comes in the widest variety of colors of any dog breed, including white, black, brown, red, orange, cream, blue, sable, black and tan, brown and tan, spotted, brindle, parti, and blue Merle, plus combinations of those colors.[5] The most common colors are orange, black, and cream/white.[2]
Pomeranians are alert and aware of changes in their environment, and barking at new stimuli can develop into a habit of barking excessively in any situation. They are somewhat defensive of their territory and thus may bark when they hear outside noises.[6]
A UK study found a life expectancy of 12.2 years for the Pomeranian.[7] A Japanese study of pet cemetery data found a life expectancy of 14 years, below the average of 15.3 years forcross-breed dogs below 10kgs.[8]
Pomeranians are one of the breeds with the smallest average litter size, with various sources giving numbers of between 1.9 and 2.7 puppies per litter.[9]
The Pomeranian is significantly predisposed toalopecia X with Pomeranians comprising 79.3% of the case load of a referral clinic in Japan and 26.5% of an endocrine alopecia case load in the US.[10]
A study in England found the prevalencepatellar luxation to be 6.5% in the Pomeranian, the highest prevalence out of all breeds in the study.[11] A USA study found an odds ratio of 18.6 compared to crossbreeds. Another study in the US found the Pomeranian to make up 9.3% of the caseload. In Thailand prevalence was found as high as 75% in one study and a 28.9% caseload in another.[10]
A study in the US found a prevalence of 0.29% forcongenital portosystemic shunt, an odds ratio of 5.6 compared to mixed-breed dogs.[12]
A Japanese study found the Pomeranian to be significantly predisposed togallbladder mucocoele with an odds ratio of 7.74 compared to the overall referral population.[13]
In case studies ofatlantoaxial subluxation the Pomeranian was found to comprise 10.6% of cases in Japan, 46.7% in the UK, and 10.5% and 6.5% in the US.[10]
Merle-colored dogs may have mild to severe deafness, blindness, increasedintraocular pressure,ametropia,microphthalmia, andcolobomas. Merle dogs born from parents who are also both merles may additionally have abnormalities of the skeletal, cardiac and reproductive systems.[14]
In case studies of referral clinics fortracheal collapse the Pomeranian made up 6%, 13.5%, and 16.7% of three referral caseloads in the US and 11.9% of a referral caseload in South Korea. In an Australian study on a referral population the Pomeranian had a 9.3% prevalence.[10]
Another common disorder in male Pomeranians iscryptorchidism.[15] This is when either one or both of the testicles do not descend into the scrotum.[15] It is treated through surgical removal of the retained testicle.[15]
In China, 54.6% of Pomeranians attending veterinary clinics were obese.[10]
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The Pomeranian is considered to be descended from theGerman Spitz.[16] The breed is thought to have acquired its name by association with the area known asPomerania which is located in northern Poland and Germany along the Baltic Sea. Although not the origin of the breed, this area is credited with the breeding that led to the original Pomeranian type of dog. Proper documentation was lacking until the breed's introduction into the United Kingdom.[16]
An early modern recorded reference to the Pomeranian breed is from 2 November 1764, in a diary entry inJames Boswell'sBoswell on the Grand Tour: Germany and Switzerland. "The Frenchman had a Pomeranian dog named Pomer whom he was mighty fond of."[17] The offspring of a Pomeranian and awolf bred by an animal merchant from London is discussed inThomas Pennant'sA Tour in Scotland from 1769.[18]
Two members of theBritish Royal Family influenced the evolution of the breed. In 1767,Queen Charlotte,Queen-consort of KingGeorge III of Great Britain, brought two Pomeranians to England.
Named Phoebe and Mercury, the dogs were depicted in paintings by Sir Thomas Gainsborough. These paintings depicted a dog larger than the modern breed, reportedly weighing as much as 30–50 lb (14–23 kg), but showing modern traits such as the heavy coat, ears and a tail curled over the back.[16]
Queen Victoria, Queen Charlotte's granddaughter, was also an enthusiast and established a large breeding kennel. One of her favoured dogs was a comparatively small red sable Pomeranian which she possibly named "Windsor's Marco" and was reported to weigh only 12 lb (5.4 kg). When she first exhibited Marco in 1891, it caused the smaller-type Pomeranian to become immediately popular, and breeders began selecting only the smaller specimens for breeding. During her lifetime, the size of the Pomeranian breed was reported to have decreased by 50%.[16] Queen Victoria worked to improve and promote the Pomeranian breed by importing smaller Pomeranians[citation needed] of different colours from various European countries to add to her breeding program.[citation needed] Royal owners during this period also includedJoséphine de Beauharnais, the wife ofNapoleon I of France, and KingGeorge IV of the United Kingdom.[citation needed]
The first breed club was set up in England in 1891, and the first breed standard was written shortly afterwards.[19] The first member of the breed was registered in the United States to theAmerican Kennel Club in 1898, and it was recognized in 1900.[16]
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In 1912, two Pomeranians were among only three dogs to survive the sinking ofRMSTitanic. A Pomeranian called "Lady", owned byMargaret Bechstein Hays, escaped with her owner in lifeboat number seven, while Elizabeth Barrett Rothschild took her pet to safety with her in lifeboat number six.[20]
Glen Rose Flashaway won theToy Group at theWestminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 1926, the first Pomeranian to win a group at Westminster.[16] It would take until 1988 for the first Pomeranian, "Great Elms Prince Charming II", to win theBest in Show prize from the Westminster Kennel Club.[21]
In the standard published in 1998, the Pomeranian is included in the German Spitz standard, along with theKeeshond, by theFédération Cynologique Internationale.[22]
The Pomeranian has been among the more popular dog breeds in the United States, featuring consistently in the top 20 of registered American Kennel Club dog breeds since at least 1998, when it was ranked #10; the breed was #17 in the 2011 rankings, dropping two spots from the previous year.[23] In 2012 and 2013 it remained in the top twenty and was ranked at #19.[24] In 2015, the breed fell to #21, falling further to #22 in both 2016 and 2017.[25]
It is not listed in the top 20 breeds in the UK in either 2007 or 2008.[26] In Australia their popularity has declined since 1986, with a peak of 1,128 Pomeranians registered with theAustralian National Kennel Council in 1987;[27] only 285 were registered in 2023.[28]
Pomeranian and Toy Poodle had the smallest mean litter size in our study [2.4], which is in line with the results of previous studies [7–9,15]. A mean litter size of 2.0 puppies in Pomeranian was reported in the Australian study (n 2) [15]. In studies including only registered puppies, Lyngset et al [7], Tedor [8] and Bergström et al [9] found a mean litter size of 2.04 (n 108), 2.71 (n 33,648) and 1.9 (n 954) puppies in Pomeranian, respectively.
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