Pomeranian

A small, fluffy, golden dog with fox-like features and a large bushy tail sits on a large hay bale, smiling in the sun.

Pomeranian

Pomeranians or “poms”, often mistaken for small balls of fluff, are a fantastically fun breed of dog to be around. Whether you’re thinking of borrowing one, getting your own or just love reading about cute little dogs, we’ve pulled together lots of fun and interesting facts you should know about the breed.

What is a Pom?

The Pomeranian is the quintessential small fluffy dog breed: they stand at between 13 - 28cm, should weigh between 2 - 3.5kg and have a soft thick coat which forms a distinctive ruff of fur around the neck. These pups’ coats come in a variety of colours - red, orange, black, blue, white, or brown. Their life expectancy is 12 to 16 years.

As you might expect, Poms give birth to pretty small puppies - but they also have one of the smallest average litter sizes, producing an average of 2 to 3 puppies per litter.

Don’t let their small size fool you - poms are descendents of large sled dog breeds. This might be why they sometimes think they’re bigger than they really are! Poms are one of the spitz breeds, which also include the Alaskan Malamute, Akita, Corgi and Husky (among others).

Perhaps due to this historical connection, a Husky cross Pomeranian (or “Pomsky”) - a type of “designer dog breed” - has been developed in recent years. The breed is not yet recognised by official organisations such as the UK or American Kennel Clubs. Similarly, Corgi Pomeranian mixes are not an official breed and so do not have a standardised appearance or temperament which means these features are somewhat unpredictable. Buying such breeds can be risky as there is no official governance around their breeding. On a more fun note - the breed has regal roots much like the Corgi: Queen Victoria adopted a small Pom back in 1888 which increased the popularity of these small dogs in the UK.

How much exercise?

This is an energetic breed but, as they are small dogs, they only need around 30 minutes of exercise a day according to The Kennel Club. They’re a great dog to have if your flat is dog-friendly but you don’t have your own garden as they don’t need as much exercise as a bigger breed. As such, Poms are one of the best dogs for small homes. They didn’t make our top 5 breeds for city living - but they must be in for a very close 6th place!

Archie is a small, golden dog, sitting atop a hay bale on a hot summer's day — Doggy member Archie

“She's only very small so she doesn't need much exercise, but she can keep up with the best of us when she needs to!” - Susie, Owner of Sailor

What is the temperament of a Pomeranian?

Poms are protective pups and are known to bark when they’re keeping watch. They’re very affectionate dogs and absowoofly love a good cuddle. The Kennel Club says “the Pomeranian is light-hearted, active, sweet-tempered and affectionate.”

Max is a pale colour and has a mane of hair. He's looking up excitedly at the camera in this close up. — Doggy member Max

“Toffee is a sitting on your lap type of dog more than anything and is very affectionate. However, he is protective so he yaps when he hears the post or if there is someone outside the door.” - Fiona, Owner of Toffee

Are they easy to train?

If Pomeranians are socialised early with other dogs and animals, they’ll get along just fine with them. As for tricks, Poms are happy to learn as long as you have treats handy and they know you’re top dog. Poms can be a bit yappy but with patience they can be trained to stop on command.

Nayla is very obedient and clever and, when at home, loves nothing more than sitting on your lap.

That being said, here are a few funny quirks that some of our members’ pooches have:

Owner Elizabeth on her Pomeranians, Vinny & Vader:

“Vinnie is quite lazy and normally doesn’t get up before 2pm (he also likes to take himself to bed at 10.30 pm on the dot). Vader is the baby of our family and is spoiled by all of us including her brother. She is small and sassy and incredibly funny.”

Owner Adriana on doggy member, Amber:

“Watch out because she loves stealing underwear and when she has stolen something, it's quite hard to catch her. Although she is extremely funny when she does that.”