Pomeranian
The Pomeranian (also known as Pom, Zwergspitz) is a Spitz grouped small breed of dog. It gets its name from the region that it originally came from Pomerania. This region does not exist as an entity any more and is now part of Germany and Poland. It is a toy dog due to its diminutive size. It was bred from the German Spitz. The popularity of this breed grew due to Queen Victoria having own a Pomeranian, in 1888 she adopted a small red Pomeranian. Her dog was named Windsor's Marco. Queen Victoria actively promoted the breed by importing in Pomeranians into England, preferably the smaller the better.
Appearance
The Pomeranians are tiny. They are only 12 to 28 cm tall to the withers, and only 1.9 to 3.5 kilo. They are well built dogs that have a thick coat. It is one of their most distinctive features. This dog comes in many different colours, the most common ones would be black, white or orange. The coat of the Pomeranian is double layered
Temperament
These are strong willed dogs so they need strong consistent obedience training, otherwise they will end up doing what they feel like. They tend to bark quite readily so make a decent watch dog. This breed is very aware of their environment, for example if the furniture is moved about this breed will notice and get very excited about it. These dogs are very much family dogs that belong in the home not in a kennel outside, they do tend to get anxious if left alone so ideally they should only be considered as a pet if there is always someone around. These dogs do tend to be quite barky, so if they hear a noise outside they will bark, or if very excited. Due to the thick double layered coat they have they are always looking for a cool spot to lay down on.
Grooming and care
Ideally grooming should be done on a daily basis as these dogs tend to shed their very thick coat, but less frequently works also. These dogs tend to be quite active inside the house so only need moderate amounts of exercise.
Health
The Pomeranian tends to live an average of 14 years, which is quite long for a dog. Unusually for a dog breed this dog does not tend to suffer form hip dysplasia.. Health issues can occur if the pet is not kept well groomed. Interestingly certain colours of this breed can have specific problems. For example the Merle coloured dogs can get deaf which can either be partial or total. They may also suffer from colobomas and ametropia, so it is important to look at the parenting of a Merle dog so as to know the full facts. This most common issues this dog has due to its health are Tracheal collapse and Luxating patella (this means that the kneecap can jump out of its groove). This problem is quite common for certain small dogs.
Pomeranians may also suffer from a skin condition which is called black skin disease, it also comes under various other names including coat funk and sever hair loss syndrome. It is where the dog may lose hair and get darker skin. A common problem in this dog which is specific to the males of the species is that they can get cryptochidism which is where the testicles fail to descend. Thankfully this can be fixed with surgery.