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Although now well known as one of the smallest of the Toy breeds, the Pomeranian was formerly considerably larger. Those unfamiliar with the breed will probably paintings of Pomeranians, for the dogs show look large by today’s standards, sitting alongside their element mistresses. |
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The breed’s name |
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The breed’s name derives from its homeland of Pomeranian, a former duchy on the Baltic, between eastern Germany and western Poland. The Pomeranian was a descendant of European working dogs. Such dogs were also held esteem in Greece and Rome, where they were prized as ladies’ pets. In classical Grecian times, the Pomeranian was called the “Maltese Dog,” which has on occasion led to some confusion. The earliest record of the name “Pomeranian” is found in “Voyage of Discovery around the World “written by George Vancouver. He reported that on May 24, 1792, he had visited an Indian village where he had found a number of dogs “resembling those of Pomeranian, though somewhere larger.” They were, he said shaven close to the skin and the people had clothing and blankets made from their coats. |
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History of the Pomeranian
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Dogs of this kind were originally used mainly to control sheep and cattle, as well as to round up reindeer. They were known generally as Wolfspitz dogs and lie behind the Pomeranian, Schiooerkes, German Spitzen, Samoyeds, Norwegian Elkhounds and Keeshonden we know today.
The Pomeranian not only was known in Western Europe but also was used in the cold wastelands of Russia and Siberian to pull sledges. Russian’s Laika, a dog known by many for its employ in space travel, also has similar ancestry to that of the Pomeranian. Indeed it is generally accepted that the Pomeranian derives from one of the northern Arctic spitz breed |
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Queen Charlotte, who was the German wife of King George III, brought a pair of Pomeranians to Britain in 1767. Their names were Phoebe / also spelt Phebe / and Mercury. They lived in Kew in west London, as did the artist Sir Thomas Gainsborough, thus many paintings of these royal dogs are to be found.
In 1870, the English Kennel Club officially recognized the Pomeranian as the “Spitzdog”. The breed was brought to the attention of Britain’s public when Queen Victoria became interested in the Pomerania. Despite being Queen Charlotte’s granddaughter, she appears to have first discovered the breed in Italy where she traveled there in 1888. She obtained several such dogs in Florence, including Marco, with whom she achieved notable success at Crufts and elsewhere. Incidentally, Marco weighted 12 lb.
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Queen Charlotte |
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Gainsborough's " Pomeranian and Puppy " |
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A great lover of many different kinds of dogs, Queen Victoria owned a kennel of Pomeranian, bred under the prefix Windsor. So much did Queen Victoria love the breed that while she dying, her Pomeranian, Turi, was always on her bed. Aided in part by Queen Victoria’s prominence, Britain ’s interest in the breed grew. |
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Sir Thomas Gainsborough's portrait of the well-known actress, Mrs. Robinsone, whit her Pomeranian |
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Mr.Gladstone was another prominent person who was much taken by the breed and is said to have owner a black Pomeranian. As the 20th century turned, there was a saying “There’s money in Poms” for they were selling for up to 250 pound. Ounce for pound, Pomeranian were probably the most expensive breed of dog one could purchase. This said, supply soon overtook demand and the breed dropped rapidly in value. Pomeranians were bred from at a rapid rate, such as would certainly not be permitted by the English Kennel Club today
A newspaper report gave an example of one bitch that whelped for the third time in May of 1903, when she still under two years old. In her three litters, she had produced 24 puppies, all within the space of 54 weeks.
A great deal of inbreeding was going on at that time, and some signs of degeneration were evident, such as a tendency toward apple heads in smaller sized specimens. These smaller Poms possessed heads quite out of keeping whit the fox-headed requirement of the breed. A 1904 account states, ” There is not species of ladies, pet – dog that has achieved such universal popularity in so short a time as the Pomeranian. “ |
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The Pmeranian club drew up the first English breed standard in 1891, the year in which the club was founded. However, the larger specimens of the breed rather quickly fell out of fashion and, by the early years of the 20th century, breeders were already producing very slam Pomeranians, more akin to the breed we recognize today.In the beginning the breed was shown in two sizes, over and under 8 lb, but the larger sizw really failed to achieve a great deal of popularity.
In 1911, The Kennel Club attempted to stop trimming in all breeds, reasoning that dogs should be show in a natural condition. Thankfully, the situation did not last long, for in April 1913, The Kennel Club wrote to the Pomeranian Club asking if it wished the Pomeranian to be scheduled among breeds in which trimming was allowed.
World War I caused great disruption among the world of dogs, and presumable because of the breed’s German connections, the Pomeraniana fell out of favor. The breed had previously been the top Toy breed, but this position was taken over by the Pekingese and later, in 1962, by the Yorkshire Terrier.
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