Note: This is not the latest revision of the breed standard.
General Appearance
The Pomeranian is a compact, short-backed,
active toy 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, is buoyant in deportment, and 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 size of the 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
Thehead 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 self-colored in brown,
beaver, and blue dogs. The teethmeet in a scissors bite. One tooth out
of alignment is acceptable. Major
Faults: Round, domed skull; under-shot
mouth; overshot mouth.
Neck, Topline, Body
The neckis short with its
base set well into the shoulders to allow
the head to be carried high. The backis short with a level topline.
The body is compact and well-ribbed
with brisket reaching the elbow. The plumed tail
is one of the characteristics of the breed,
and lies flat and straight on the back.
Forequarters
The Pomeranian has sufficient layback 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 forelegsare straight and parallel to each other.
Height from elbows to withers approximately
equals 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 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 stiflesthat are moderately bent and clearly
defined. The hocks are
perpendicular to the ground and the legsare straight and parallel to each other.
The feetare 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: Cowhocks 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 drive 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 rear and front 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 its 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 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 and thighs and hind legs well
feathered to the hock. The tail is
profusely covered with long, harsh,
spreading straight hair. Trimming for
neatness and a clean outline is permissible.
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
and 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
– is white with any other color distributed
in patches with a white blaze preferred on
the head. Classifications: The 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.
Approved December 9, 1996
Effective January 31, 1997
