Pomeranian Breed Standard
The Kennel Club - Unauthorised Reproduction of Text and Images Prohibited.
A Breed Standard is the guideline which describes the ideal characteristics, temperament and appearance of a breed and ensures that the breed is fit for function. Absolute soundness is essential. Breeders and judges should at all times be careful to avoid obvious conditions or exaggerations which would be detrimental in any way to the health, welfare or soundness of this breed. From time to time certain conditions or exaggerations may be considered to have the potential to affect dogs in some breeds adversely, and judges and breeders are requested to refer to the Kennel Club website for details of any such current issues. If a feature or quality is desirable it should only be present in the right measure.
To view photos of this breed please visit the Kennel Club Picture Library
General Appearance
Compact, short-coupled dog, well knit in frame. Exhibiting great intelligence in expression; activity and buoyancy in deportment.
Characteristics
Sound, vivacious and dainty.
Temperament
Extrovert, lively and intelligent.
Head and Skull
Head and nose foxy in outline, skull slightly flat, large in proportion to muzzle which finishes finely and free from lippiness. Nose black in white, orange and shaded sable dogs; brown in chocolate-tipped sable dogs, but in other colours may be self-coloured, never parti-coloured or flesh.
Eyes
Medium size, slightly oval, not full, or set too wide apart; bright, dark and showing great intelligence. In white, orange, shaded sable and cream dogs, rims black.
Ears
Relatively small, not set too wide apart, nor too low down, but carried perfectly erect.
Mouth
Jaws strong, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.
Neck
Rather short and well set into shoulders.
Forequarters
Shoulders clean and well laid back. Fine-boned legs, perfectly straight, of medium length in due proportion to size of dog.
Body
Back short, body compact, well ribbed up, barrel well rounded. Chest fairly deep, not too wide but in proportion to size of dog.
Hindquarters
Fine-boned, legs neither cow-hocked nor wide behind; medium angulation.
Feet
Small, compact and cat-like.
Tail
Characteristic of breed, high set, turned over back and carried flat and straight, profusely covered with long, harsh, spreading hair.
Gait/Movement
Free moving, brisk and buoyant.
Coat
Two coats, an undercoat and an outer coat. Former soft, fluffy; the latter long, perfectly straight, harsh in texture and covering whole of body; very abundant round neck and fore part of shoulders and chest; forming frill, extending over shoulders. Forequarters well feathered, thighs and hindlegs well feathered to hocks.
Colour
All colours permissible, but free from black or white shadings. Whole colours are: white, black, brown, light or dark, blue as pale as possible. Orange which should be self-coloured and bright as possible. Beaver. Cream dogs have black noses and black eye rims. Whites must be quite free from lemon or any other colour. A few white hairs, in any of the self-coloured dogs permissible but undesirable. Dogs (other than white) with white or tan markings highly undesirable and not considered whole coloured specimens. In parti-coloured dogs, colours evenly distributed on body in patches; a dog with white or tan feet or chest not a parti-coloured dog. Shaded sables should be shaded throughout with three or more colours, the hair to be as uniformly shaded as possible, and with no patches of self-colour. In mixed classes, where whole coloured and parti-coloured Pomeranians compete together, the preference should, if in all other points they are equal, be given to the whole coloured specimens.
Size
Ideal weight: dogs: 1.8-2 kgs (4-41/2 lbs); bitches: 2-2.5 kgs (41/2-51/2 lbs).
Faults
Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.
Note
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
Last Updated - October 2009
Thu Feb 11, 2010 12:08 am
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