Pomeranian

The Pomeranian is a toy spitz bred down from much larger sled and herding dogs, and it was Queen Victoria who shrank it.

History

It comes from the Pomerania region on the Baltic, where the ancestors were substantial white spitz dogs of around 14 kg. Victoria acquired a small red Pomeranian in Italy in 1888 and exhibited it; the fashion that followed cut the breed's size roughly in half within a generation. Two Pomeranians survived the sinking of the Titanic, carried into the lifeboats by their owners.

Temperament

The breed is known for being bold, extroverted and entirely convinced of its own importance, devoted to its people and quick to bark at anything.

Care and training

Exercise needs are small. The double coat needs regular brushing and sheds more than the size suggests. Barking needs shaping early, and training benefits from not indulging the size.

Health

Known tendencies include tracheal collapse, patellar luxation, dental disease and a coat-loss condition documented in the breed. These are patterns for the breed rather than a forecast for one dog; the measured facts are in the panel.