The Pomeranian is a breed of dog in the spitz family, named for the Pomerania region of Poland and East Germany, and classed as a toy dog breed because of its small size.
It weighs an average of 3 to 7 lb (1.4 to 3.2 kg). The head of the Pomeranian is wedge-shaped, making it somewhat foxy in appearance. The ears are small and pointed. Its tail is characteristic of the breed and should be turned over the back and carried flat, set high.
This breed’s coat is its glory, two coats, an undercoat and a topcoat; the first is soft, thick, and fluffy; the latter is a long, perfectly straight and glistening coat covering the whole body. The undercoat is shed during warm weather conditions.
There are 12 coat colours or colour combinations black, brown, chocolate, beaver, red, orange, cream, orange-sable, wolf-sable, blue, white, and parti-coloured
The Pom is an active dog who is intelligent, courageous, and a loyal companion. The Pomeranian may not interact well with small children, and due to its small size can suffer abuse from children. They easily adapt to life in the city, and is an excellent dog for country living with its strong hunting instincts from its wild ancestors.
The Pomeranian originated from the sled dogs of Iceland and Lapland, which were eventually brought into Europe. The Germans improved the coat and bred the dogs down for city living, but they were still 20 pounds or more when they reached England.
The Pomeranian became internationally popular when Queen Victoria returned from vacation in Florence, Italy with a Pomeranian named Marco. The closest relatives of the Pomeranian are the Norwegian elkhound, the Samoyed, the Schipperke, and the whole Spitz group. They are generally a healthy, hardy, and long-lived breed sometimes living for 15 or 16 years.