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
The head 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 teeth meet 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 neck is short with its base set well into the shoulders to
allow the head to be carried high. The back is 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 forelegs are 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 stifles that are
moderately bent and clearly defined. The hocks are
perpendicular to the ground and the legs are straight and
parallel to each other. The feet are 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
Taken from: http://www.americanpomeranianclub.org/standard.htm |