Fri, 04/21/2023 - 9:26pm

Tiny But Mighty

The Pomeranian retains the instincts and grit of its Arctic ancestors

A six-inch, five-pound “sled dog”?

Go ahead, laugh. That is a pretty humorous picture — the sled or even a cart would need to be very tiny and the “driver” even more miniscule. But the Pomeranian would come by the work naturally, as the breed is descended from a long line of Arctic working breeds. 

People in the northern latitudes have relied on those breeds for centuries to pull sleds, protect livestock and guard homes, with the smallest individuals frequently kept as companions and pets. And while modern-day Poms probably wouldn’t inspire a lot of fear in someone bent on mischief or mayhem, they actually are pretty good watchdogs, according to people who own them. They also haven’t forgotten that one of their responsibilities is to protect their families. 

“They may be small, but they do have a guardian mentality when they’re on their own turf,” warns Jan Smith, whose most special dogs have been Boomer (Ch. MACH16 Carleez Boom Boom Boom MXC5 MJS5), the first male Pom to earn both conformation and multiple master agility championships, and Paige (Ch. MACH10 PACH7 Carleez Front Page News RN MXB4 MJC3 MXP25 MXPSa3 MJP19 MJPG2 PAX8), the first female Pom to earn both a conformation championship and multiple master agility championships. “Not only do they want to guard their turf, but they make themselves heard. In other words, they bark a lot!”

So when Smith invites others into her home or RV, she either crates her 11 Pomeranians, or puts most of them outside.

“They’ll settle down as long as our guests are seated and still, but when someone gets up or moves, the Poms definitely sound the alarm!” she explains. “We’ve found that the easiest solution is to have an alternate location for the Poms to relax when guests come over. This makes for a peaceful experience for everyone.”

 

Boomer (Ch. MACH16 Carleez Boom Boom Boom MXC5 MJS5), one of Smith’s Pomeranians, was the first male Pom to earn both a conformation championship and multiple Master agility championships.

 

The Pomeranian is generally believed to be descended from the German Spitz. Indeed, the Pomeranian is still called “Zwergspitz” (dwarf spitz) in Germany. While the beginnings of the breed trace to Lapland and Iceland, the area of northern Poland and Germany along the Baltic Sea known as Pomerania is credited with developing the original Pomeranian type. 

Two members of British royalty are said to have had a major influence in breeding the Pomeranian to the type and size of the modern breed. Queen Charlotte, queen-consort to King George III, whose Stamp Act was so unpopular among the American colonists that they began a war in 1775 against the British monarch’s rule, brought two Pomeranians to England. Although considerably larger than today’s dogs at an estimated 30 to 50 pounds, the pair did have many of the modern breed’s traits, including a heavy coat and a tail that curled over the back. 

Charlotte’s granddaughter, Queen Victoria, had a smaller Pom that may have been called “Marco,” and weighed about 12 pounds. The presence of this smaller Pom in the royal court and the fact that the Queen exhibited him caused the smaller breed examples to become popular, and breeders began selecting only the smaller dogs for their breeding programs. During Victoria’s lifetime, the size of the Pomeranian breed was reported to have decreased by about 50 percent, and the result was the beginning of the modern-era Pom.

 

Kerfluffle (MACH Carleez Don't Give A Flying Fluff RE MXS MJB OF FCAT RATN CGCA CGCU TKI ATT), one of Dr. Tiffany Sikilas’ Pomeranians, exhibits some of the breed’s joie de vivre over an agility jump.

 

While not usually the first to come to mind when someone is looking for a performance dog, Poms are quite good at a number of sports because they love to train and they are motivated by food and toys. 

“Two of mine even thrive on verbal praise,” says Tiffany Sikilas VMD. “They love using their brains, figuring out what you want, and they love being right and getting praised. They differ from the other Spitz breeds in that they are very people focused and can easily work and play well off leash. In fact, that and their desire to snuggle with you are a couple of the reasons I was attracted to the breed.”

Dr. Sikilas — who currently owns four titled Poms, including Kerfluffle (MACH Carleez Don't Give A Flying Fluff RE MXS MJB OF FCAT RATN CGCA CGCU TKI ATT), Nugget (Carleez Panning For Gold RM3 RAE2 CAA FCAT8 SCN RATN CGC TKI), Roulette (GCh. Coventry's Always Bet On Black RN AXP AJP OFP CA FCAT SCN SBN RATN CGCA CGCU TKN ATT) and Swirl (Charm City's Chocolate Macchiato BCAT RATN SCN) — says her first Pom was so intelligent they did lots of training right from the beginning. 

“He knew a ton of tricks and always kept that engaged, fun-loving attitude,” she remembers. “Although he only weighted five pounds, he loved hiking, swimming and doing all the normal dog things.”

 

Bridget (GCh. MACH Toontown Royal Princess Bridget MXB MJG OF TDI), one of Alexis Vance’s Pomeranians, has been successful in multiple venues.

 

Although a Pom might not be the first choice for someone looking for an agility dog, many of them really love the sport.

Alex Vance — whose current Pom, Bridget (GCh. MACH Toontown Royal Princess Bridget MXB MJG OF TDI), has been successful in the show ring, in agility and as a therapy dog — ticks off the qualities that make Poms suited for agility.

“They are eager to please, and they strive for positive reinforcement and attention,” she says. “They are easy to work with using both visual and other non-verbal cues. This makes training for agility pretty easy. Their small body type makes them agile enough to go through the tunnels and weaves with ease. They have a sharp-witted personality and are able to focus with determination and follow directions.”

All these traits also help them succeed in sports other than agility, such as rally and obedience, Vance notes.

“I love the challenge of training a smaller breed that really wasn’t developed to run an agility course,” she says. “They have a spunky personality and exude intelligence along with a kind, loving heart. Poms have many qualities that anyone would find appealing.”

 

For a while Paige (Ch. MACH10 PACH7 Carleez Front Page News RN MXB4 MJC3 MXP25 MXOSa3 MJP19 MJPG2 PAX8), one of Jan Smith's Pomeranians, lost her “spark” in agility, but regained it when she was switched to the Preferred class.

 

Though many Poms have been successful in agility, it’s not what every Pom wants to do. 

“We start all our Poms in agility,” Smith says. “But if they don’t embrace it, we move on to something else for them. Sometimes they pick the sport they want to do. One of our current Poms is a fantastic swimmer, and he showed an interest in dock diving. Turns out he is very good at it.” 

It’s also possible for a dog that loves agility to lose interest in it, she adds. “Paige for a while just seemed to have lost her ‘spark’ for the sport. We discovered that while she still loved agility, the eight-inch jump had become too difficult for her. After some experimentation, we found she was happy doing the AKC’s Preferred class, where the jump was only four inches. She regained her spark, and we went on to earn seven more Master agility championships in the Preferred class.”

Lesson learned: Pay attention to the dog’s attitude in any sport, Smith reminds, and if something doesn’t seem right, try something different.

The possibilities are endless.

“A Pom with proper structure is incredibly athletic,” Smith continues. “In addition to conformation championships, our dogs have earned titles in agility, rally, dock diving, FastCAT and tricks. I love training and competing with them. I honestly believe that any individual Pom could participate in any number of dog sports. I think it is the human bond they seek and staying engaged with their person rather than any particular activity. While training roadblocks can be frustrating, it is very important to keep training fun and positive, try different solutions and persevere with your dog to overcome whatever obstacle has arisen in training for the two of you.”

Dr. Sikilas reminds that whatever sport you do with a Pom, much depends on that particular dog. 

“There are many that are fantastic at agility. But one of mine would never set a paw on an agility teeter. On the other hand, he loves the structure and predictability of obedience and rally. Along with one of my females, he also has a crazy prey drive and loves chasing the lure. Barn hunt is probably the universal favorite among all my Poms, and for three of the four, scent work is a close second.”

She also notes that whatever you choose to do with your dogs, odds are pretty good that some glitches will arise. 

“Environmental awareness/ concern and ring stress became a problem for my dogs, and I blame myself for this, not the dogs,” she admits. “I discovered dog sports at the beginning of the Covid epidemic, and we dove in hard. I didn’t know about training them with distractions and pressure to teach them to thrive in higher stress, distracting environments. I just trained them at home and in class, then threw them in the competition ring. Once I backtracked and worked with some great trainers, both in person and online, who taught me how to prepare my dogs mentally for the pressures of trialing, everything got much better, and we have been very successful.”

 

Roulette (GCh. Coventry's Always Bet On Black RN AXP AJP OFP CA FCAT SCN SBN RATN CGCA CGCU TKN ATT), another Sikilas Pom, has found FastCAT to his liking.

 

Vance says that while Bridget loved agility, an attempt to get her son into the sport was not successful. 

“Sparky unfortunately displayed no interest in competition and actually seemed discontent with it. So we pursued a different avenue with him. One of Bridget’s other passions is visiting hospitals and nursing homes as a therapy dog. Sparky shares that interest with his mother. We also tried him in the show ring, but he was more interested in the spectators watching than he was in performing. After hours of unsuccessful training, I was able to make some modifications in my training methods with a more individualized approach that helped him finally succeed in the show ring and finish his championship, but his real love is as a therapy dog.” 

While the breed is pretty healthy overall and there are definitely worse challenges in other breeds, Dr. Sikilas thinks patella luxation continues to pose a major challenge. “While it is fixable, it is frustrating because two dogs that have perfect patellas can produce a dog with horrible luxation. It’s not a flaw that is easy to breed out and, in fact, it may be impossible to breed out.” Dental health is another big issue, she adds: “They really require great regular dental care and routine dentistry to maintain those little teeth.”

For her part, Vance thinks one of the challenges the breed faces is the stereotype that Pomeranians are just a companion and status accessory. 

“People underestimate their capabilities as performance dogs based on their size,” she says. “This limits the potential for growth and success within the ‘dog world’ for the breed.”

 

 

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