Pomeranian Dog Breed Information

Pomeranian is bright-eyed tiny canine that greets the world with his endless curiosity and a sense that he is the cutest thing around. With only seven pounds weight, this is one of the tiniest breeds but it has the courage of much bigger dogs. These small dogs do not realize they are small and will confront even comparatively larger dogs. They are easily recognized owing to their lavish fluffy double coat and their foxy face with attentive, prick ears.

General Information

 Star Rating:

Characteristics	Stars (based on 5)	Characteristic	Stars (based on 5)
Affection Level	5	Intelligence level	3
Adaptability	5	Health Issues	3
Apartment Friendly	5	Playfulness	3
Tendency to bark	4	Shedding Level	2
Cat Friendly	5	Social Needs	5
Child Friendly	1	Stranger Friendly	3
Dog Friendly	3	Territorial	4
Exercise Needs	2	Trainability	3
Grooming	3	Watchdog Ability	4

 Do you know?

• The original Pomeranians were weighed about 20 to 30 pounds, which is much larger than the Pom that we know today
• In the year 1912, when the Titanic ship sank, one lucky Pom survived with his owner (a woman named Margaret Hays) on the lifeboat
• Poms are one of the most popular dog breeds in the US, featured consistently in the Top 15 of registered AKC dog breeds over the last 10 years
• Every Pom has a unique look and no two poms will ever look alike.
• Although Pomeranians do not get very large (at the max 7 pounds), they are the member of the German Spitz dog family
• Poms change their colours as they age. It is rare for a Pomeranian puppy to have the same exact colour as an adult dog
• It is one of the costliest dog breeds in the world

Is Pomeranian dog breed suitable for me?

 More information about Pomeranian:

• History

The name Pomeranian comes from the region of Pomerania, which is now the area of Poland and Germany. This breed was developed from the ancient Spitz breed of dogs. It is quite interested to note that the original Poms were much larger, weighing approximately 30 pounds, and worked as sheep herders.

Popular names like Emile Zola, Marie Antoinette, Mozart and Queen Victoria all owned Poms. In the year 1870, the Kennel Club in England first recognized Poms as a dog breed. In the year 1888, Queen Victoria began breeding and showing this dog breed. It was Queen Victoria, who started breeding these dog breeds down in size, thus, making this breed quite popular in the England. The Pom was first recognized by the AKC in the year 1888. Some of the talents of Pom include: agility, watchdog and performing tricks. They make superior circus performers.

• Description

Poms are toy-sized, small dogs. Their head is wedge-shaped and in proportion with their body and their short muzzle is fine and straight. The nose colour of this breed varies with its coat colour. Their teeth meet in the scissors bite. The almond-shaped eyes of Poms are dark in colour and medium in size.

Poms have small, erect ears that are set high. Their feathered tails lie straight and flat over their back. The dewclaws of Poms are removed sometimes. They have thick, double coat and their outer coat is straight, long and harsh in texture, while their undercoat is thick, soft and short. The coat of Poms is longer around their neck and chest area.

Poms come in a wide variety of coat colours and patterns including orange, red, cream, white, blue, brown, black, black, and tan, orange sable, wolf sable, brindle and parti-color, which is white with coloured markings.

• Personality

The Poms have glamorous and proud appearance with a perfect personality. They are extrovert who is lively and clever. It is really hard to appear in the public with a Pom and not attract attention of people. These alert adorable tiny dogs with the almond-shaped eyes are tiny but intrepid. These dogs have a take-charge personality and tend not to be fearful of the strangers or other pet around them. The Pomeranians have had a well-deserved reputation for being great watchdogs for more than a century. They may weigh only 7-10 pounds, but they view themselves as absolute guardian of their family and home.

The perfect little Poms are easy and calm to live with. They enjoy sitting in the lap of their owners and giving kisses to them. Poms are busy but do not bounce off the walls. They do like to bark, therefore, you should start early and be consistent if you plan to teach them the “Quiet” or “No bark” command.

Pomeranians may look like toys, but they are not good pets for the young kids. These delicate pooches should not be handled roughly, and they love the company of adults. Housetraining does not always come easy to the Poms and they can be stubborn about going outside to potty, especially if it is cold or rainy outside. In this case, you can consider paper-training a Pom so that you both have options in the bad weather.

• Training

Every dog should learn good manners and obedience training to become a good companion. You should start providing training at an early age to your Pom.

Potty training

You should train your Pomeranian puppy as soon as possible in order to ensure they start out on the right track. Between 6 and 8 weeks, it is beneficial to begin putting the training pads on the floor of the room, where puppies will mainly be confined. In addition to this, you can cover large portion of the floor in the beginning and then scale back gradually as your puppy will be accustomed to doing their business on the papers.

Leash Training

Everybody wants to take his cute puppy for walks, and while some puppies take to this activity automatically, others resist the feeling of collar and leash around their neck. You can also start the leash training by having your pup wear soft collars for short time period. Once you puppy no longer scratch and try to tug at their collars, he is ready for the next step. You can attach a leash to the collar and let your puppy lead you for a while.

Crate Training

You should start crate training of your Pom from the time you wean him from his mother. Poms have been used to sleeping in the confines of whelping box, so progressing to crate is the natural next step. You should choose a crate which big enough for the whole litter to sleep in together, since the company will help them adjust to being away from mom. Gradually, the pup will teach to a crate of its own as it moves to its new permanent home.

Obedience Training

Between 4 and 6 months of age, many puppies have the mental capacity to begin learning some basic obedience commands, such as “down”, “sit”, and “stay”. In your home, you can work on one command at a time. Many owners find attending dog obedience classes is a good way to get help training their puppies, and it is also a lot of fun.

• Health problems with Poms

Poms are prone to slipped stifle, dislocated patella (kneecap), heart problems, skin irritations, eye infections, and tooth decay and early loss. It is recommended by vets to fed Poms with dry dog food or crunchy Milk Bones on daily basis in order to help keep their gums and teeth in the good condition. Newborn Poms are very fragile and tiny; therefore, they should be handled with great care. Newborn puppies are too tiny that three newborns can be held in the palm of one’s hand. When Poms become old, they may become molted with the bald spots. You should keep in mind that before moving on to new homes Pom puppies should receive some basic health care from their breeders which includes:

• Initial “well puppy” check-up to assess the overall health of your puppy
• Vaccinations, beginning at 6 weeks and continued on a schedule recommended by your vet doctor
• To remove any internal parasites de-worming is essential

• What to feed

You should feed your Pom 1/4 to 1/2 cup of high-quality dry food every day, which should be divided into two meals. Just keep in mind that the amount your dog eats depends on his age, size, build, metabolism, and activity level. Some good commercial foods for your Pom are as follows:

• Royal canin labrador retriever junior
• Drools ultium performance adult dog food
• Cibau medium and maxi breed sensitive lamb adult dog food
• Royal canin maxi junior

• Grooming

Due to small size, Poms are easy to groom, even with that entire medium size coat. You should brush the coat of Poms a few times a week in order to prevent tangles and mats. You can use a medium to harsh slicker brush that will get down to the skin without hurting you Pom.

Poms are not heavy shedders, and their shedding is small enough that the amount of hair they lose is negligible. If you can manage to brush your dog regularly, then shedding should not be a big issue. You can bath your Pom every couple of months or more often as needed. In case of gentle dog shampoo, you can even bathe your Pom as often as once or twice a week.

Try to trim the toenails every week or two. The nails of Poms should never get long enough to clack on the floor. You should brush the teeth of Poms frequently with vet-approved toothpaste for fresh breath and overall good dental health. Below mentioned are some good grooming kit for your Pom:

• Double sided grooming brush
• Petcare notix propoxur shampoo for dogs
• Forbis short coat aloe dog shampoo
• Wahl color code metal guide combs for super groom dog clippers