Japanese Spitz

The Japanese Spitz is a small pure-white companion spitz created in Japan between the wars from imported white spitz dogs.

History

Japanese breeders assembled it from the 1920s and 1930s out of white German Spitz and other white spitz breeds arriving through Siberia and China, standardising it in 1948. It is a young breed with a documented origin, and it is close enough to the American Eskimo Dog and the white German Spitz that some registries have debated whether they are one breed.

Temperament

The breed is known for being bright, affectionate and courageous for its size, devoted to its family, alert to arrivals and quick to bark about them.

Care and training

Exercise needs are moderate. The white double coat is unusually easy for its length — dirt tends not to stick — and needs brushing rather than washing. It trains readily; the barking needs shaping.

Health

Generally healthy and long-lived, with patellar luxation and, in some lines, runny eyes among the known tendencies. These are patterns for the breed rather than a forecast for one dog; the measured facts are in the panel.