GENERAL APPEARANCE
The POMERANIAN is a compact, short backed active little dog. He has a soft,
dense undercoat with a profuse, harsh textured outer coat. His heavily plumed tail is set high and lies flat on
his back. He is alert in character, exhibits intelligence in expression and demeanor. He is inquisitive
by nature. The POMERANIAN is cocky, commanding, and animated as he gaits. He is sound in composition
and action.
SIZE, PROPORTION, SUBSTANCE
The average weight of a POMERANIAN is from 3 to 7 pounds, with the ideal weight for
the show specimen being 4 to 6 pounds. Any dog over or under the limits is objectionable. However,
overall quality is to be favored over size. The distance from the point of shoulder to the point of buttocks is slightly
shorter than from the highest point of the withers to the ground. The distance from the brisket to the ground is half
the height at the withers. He is medium-boned, and the length of his legs is in proportion to a well balanced
frame. When examined, he feels sturdy.
HEAD
The head is in balance with the body. The muzzle is rather short, straight,
fine, free of lippiness and never snipey. His expression is alert and may be referred to as fox-like. The
skull is closed. The top of the skull is slightly rounded, but not domed. When viewed from the front and side,
one sees small ears which are mounted high and carried erect. To form a wedge, visualize a line from the tip of
the nose ascending through the center of the eyes and the tip of the ears. The eyes are dark, bright, medium
in size and almond shaped. They are set well into the skull on either side of a well pronounced stop. The pigmentation
is black on the nose and eye rims except it is self-colored in brown, beaver, and blue dogs. The teeth meet
in a scissors bite. One tooth out of alignment is acceptable.
Major Faults: Round, domed skull, undershot or overshot
mouth.
NECK, TOPLINE, BODY
The neck is short with its base set well into the shoulders to allow the head to be carried
high. The back is short with a level topline. The body is compaact and well ribbed with brisket reaching the elbows.
The plumed tail is one of the characteristics of the breed, and lies flat and straight on the back.
FOREQUARTERS
The POMERANIAN has sufficient lay back of shoulders to carry the neck and head proud
and high. The shoulders and legs are moderately muscled. The length of the shoulder blade and upper arm are equal.
The forelegs are straight and parallel to each other. Height from elbows to withers approximately equals the height
from ground to elbow. The pasterns are straight and strong. The feet are well arched, compact, and
turn neither in nor out. He stands well up on his toes. Dewclaws may be removed.
Major Faults: Down in the pasterns.
HINDQUARTERS
The angulation of the hindquarters balances that of the forequarters. The buttocks are
well behind the set of the tail. The thighs are moderately muscled with stifles that are moderately bent and clearly
defined. The hocks are perpendicular to the ground and the legs are straight and parallel to each other. The feet
are well arched, compact, and turn neither in nor out. He stands well up on his toes. Dewclaws,
if any, on the hind legs may be removed.
Major Faults: Cow- hocks or lack of soundness in hind legs or
stifles.
GAIT
The POMERANIAN'S gait is smooth, free, balanced and vigorous. He has good
reach in his forequarters and strong strive with his hindquarters. Each rear leg moves in line with the foreleg on the
same side. To achieve balance, his legs converge slightly inward toward a center line beneath his body.
The front and rear legs are thrown neither in nor out. The topline remains level, and his overall balance and
outline are maintained.
COAT
A POMERANIAN is noted for his double coat. The undercoat is soft and dense. The
outer coat is long, straight, glistening and harsh in texture. A thick undercoat will hold up and permit
the guard hair to stand off from the POMERANIAN'S body. The coat is abundant from the neck and fore part of the shoulders
and chest, forming a frill which extends over the shoulders and chest. The head and leg coat is tightly packed
and shorter in length than that of the body. The forequarters are well feathered to the hock. The tail is profusely
covered with long, harsh, spreading straight hair. Trimming for neatness and a clean outline is permissable.
Major Faults: Soft, flat or open coat.
COLOR
All colors, patterns, and variations there-of are allowed and must be judged on
an equal basis. Patterns: BLACK & TAN: tan or rust sharply defined, appearing above each eye and
on muzzle, throat, and forechest, on all legs and feet and below the tail. The richer the tan the
more desirable. BRINDLE: the base color is gold, red, or orange-brindled with strong black cross stripes.
PARTI-COLOR: white with any other color distributed in patches with a white blaze on the head. CLASSIFICATIONS:
Open classes at Specialty shows may be divided by color as follows: Open Red, Orange, Cream, and Sable;
Open Black, Brown, and Blue; Open Any Other Color, Pattern, or Variation.
TEMPERAMENT
The POMERANIAN is an extrovert, exhibiting great intelligence and a vivacious spirit,
making him a great companion dog as well as a competitive show dog. Even though a toy dog, the POMERANIAN
must be subject to the same requirements of soundness and structure prescribed for all breeds, and any deviation from
the ideal described in the standard should be penalized to the extent of the deviation.
NOTE: The straight, harsh textured coat is wonderfully abundant around the neck,
on the chest and on the forepart of the shoulders, with the frill extending over the shoulders, making a very
pretty picture. It is not difficult to see why so many are attracted by the breed, even though they may
not own a POM.
But there is very much more to a POMERANIAN than his coat. Beneath that coat should
be a tiny dog that is soundly constructed in every department. A POMERANIAN has to breathe, move and perform all
his bodily functions like any other dog, so it is absolutely essential that the structure is sound throughout.
The POMERANIAN has been bred down in size over the years, but, in doing so, soundness of overall construction
should not have been lost, for that would indeed have been to the detriment of the breed. The POMERANIAN
is a thoroughly attractive and active little dog, full of personality and vivacity. Thankfully, dedicated
breeders have allowed the breed to develop into the wonderful little dog he is today, and it behooves all breeders to
help him stay that way.
