Standards Of The Pomeranian Breed
Dogs come in all shapes and sizes, with different personalities, colors and coats. In mixed breed dogs, it can be hard to predict how a puppy will turn out. Sometimes it doesn't matter, but if you're living in a studio apartment and you get a Pomeranian puppy that grows up to be three feet tall and weigh forty pounds, it matters!
The American Kennel Club knows that it matters and that is the reason for the establishment specific standards for each of the breeds it recognizes. The American Kennel Club requires that certain characteristics of a breed be stable for many generations of dogs before it recognizes a breed. Thus, a puppy buyer can predict how big or small a grown dog will be and what kind of temperament it will have. According to the American Kennel Club, a Pomeranian puppy, for instance, will weigh no more than seven pounds and have a perky, energetic personality.
Setting standards for breeds encourages good breeding and helps weed out qualities that might be bad for the dog's health. Take, for instance, the size of the Pomeranian. The Pomeranian is fragile, and its weight should be restricted. Setting a standard for the Pomeranian's weight discourages breeders from breeding heavy dogs.
The standard of the Pomeranian breed is thorough and precise, covering every part of the dog from the nose, which must be dark, to the high, plumed tail, lying straight and flat against the back. The Pomeranian's face has small ears, dark eyes and short muzzles. Proportion is important when judging the standards of a Pomeranian. The height of the dog, from its elbows to its withers, should be roughly equal to the height dog from the ground to the elbows. The dog's shoulder blade and upper arm should also be roughly equal in length. The Pomeranian has a soft undercoat and a long, roughly textured outer coat, which settles in feathers on the backs of the legs and in a frill around the shoulders and chest. A dog can be disqualified from competition if it has a soft, flat, or open coat.
All colors, patterns and color combinations are to be judged the same, and any color of coat is permissible under the standards of the Pomeranian breed. The most frequently shown Pomeranians have coloration patterns that include black and tan, brindle and parti-color. The black and tan Pomeranian dog has light patches above the eyes, on the muzzle, throat, chest, legs, feet and under the tail. The brindle-coated dog has a gold or red base with black cross stripes. A parti-color dog is white with patches of other color and a white blaze on the forehead.
Pomeranians are sometimes divided into three different groups for judging, depending on the color patterns of their coats. Red, orange and sable dogs to in one group whereas black and brown dogs go in another, and other combinations are judged in a third group.
Standards of the breed also cover the dog's temperament. Pomeranians should be confident, inquisitive and intelligent. In full trot, a Pomeranian should command attention. Pomeranian breed standard information is available to any breeders or fans of the breed. The American Kennel Club makes Pomeranian information easy to get so breeders can familiarize themselves with the standards of the breed.
About the Author: Rosie Allan is a Pomeranian breeder who has a lifelong love of the breed.. The Pomeranian standard requires that length of the dog's upper legs, for instance, should be approximately equal to the length of the dog's lower legs. Pomeranian information that spells out the standards of the breed more precisely can be obtained from the AKC.
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