Pomeranian - 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 weight of the Pomeranian is from three to seven pounds, with the ideal weight for the
show specimen being four to six 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 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:

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.