50 Fun Facts About Pomeranian

The Pomeranian is named for Pomerania, a Baltic region now split between which two countries?

The area is credited with the breeding that led to the original type, though it is not the breed's origin.

The Pomeranian belongs to which type of dog, characterised by thick fur, a curled tail and pointed ears?

Under the FCI, the Pom is simply the smallest of five varieties of one German breed, known as the 'dwarf spitz'.

What is the German name for the Pomeranian variety of German Spitz?

It translates as 'dwarf spitz'; the Kleinspitz is the next size up.

How many varieties of German Spitz are there, from Wolfsspitz down to Pomeranian?

They are separated only by size and colour, and the earliest German mentions date from 1450.

German Spitz dogs were originally kept on farms for which roles?

Some lines were bred smaller over the centuries until they became pure companion dogs.

How much does a Pomeranian typically weigh?

They stand 8 to 14 inches at the withers, compact but sturdy under all that coat.

The Pomeranian's top coat forms what famous feature around the neck?

There is also a fringe of feathery hair on the hindquarters and a highly plumed tail carried flat over the back.

What colours were the earliest Pomeranians?

Queen Victoria's small red dog of 1888 made red fashionable, and today the breed comes in more colours than any other.

The Pomeranian is said to come in the widest variety of what of any breed?

The list runs from white and black through orange, cream, blue, sable, brindle, parti and blue merle.

What are the three most common Pomeranian coat colours?

Orange, black and cream/white lead the breed's long colour list; the orange Pom is the picture-book image of the breed.

By how much did the Pomeranian breed shrink in size during Queen Victoria's lifetime?

Her preference for a tiny dog sent breeders selecting only the smallest specimens.

Which British royal consort brought two Pomeranians named Phoebe and Mercury to England in 1767?

Her granddaughter Queen Victoria later ran a large Pom breeding kennel.

The Pomeranians Phoebe and Mercury, brought to England in 1767, were painted by which artist?

His paintings show dogs far larger than the modern breed, but with the heavy coat and curled tail already in place.

How heavy were the 18th-century Pomeranians in Gainsborough's paintings reported to be?

That is the weight of a modern Wolfsspitz, the largest German Spitz variety.

What was Queen Victoria's small red sable Pomeranian, exhibited in 1891, called?

'Windsor's Marco' weighed just 12 lb; Dash was her childhood spaniel and Sharp her collie.

How much did Queen Victoria's Pomeranian Marco reportedly weigh?

Small for its day, though heavier than the modern 3-to-7 lb standard.

As she lay dying at Osborne House in 1901, Queen Victoria asked for which Pomeranian to be laid on her bed?

She died on 22 January 1901 with her son Albert Edward and grandson Wilhelm II present.

Which wife of Napoleon I was among the royal Pomeranian owners of the period?

King George IV of the United Kingdom was another royal owner.

James Boswell's 1764 diary of his Grand Tour records a Frenchman's Pomeranian with what name?

It is one of the earliest modern references to the breed by name.

Thomas Pennant's 1769 A Tour in Scotland discusses the offspring of a Pomeranian and which animal, bred by a Londoner?

The Pom was a much bigger dog in the 18th century, so the pairing was less absurd than it sounds.

In which year was the first Pomeranian breed club set up in England?

The American Kennel Club registered its first Pom in 1898 and recognised the breed in 1900.

How many dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic in 1912?

Two were Pomeranians and the third a Pekingese; the Poms left in lifeboats seven and six with their owners.

When Elizabeth Rothschild's lifeboat reached the Carpathia, what did the crew first do about her dog?

She refused to leave lifeboat six without it, so they hoisted her up with the dog in her arms.

The Titanic Pomeranian owned by Margaret Hays is often called 'Lady', but what was his real name?

She kept him, probably surreptitiously, in her cabin, and he got away in lifeboat 7.

Glen Rose Flashaway made history at Westminster in 1926 by becoming the first Pomeranian to do what?

It took until 1988 for a Pom to go all the way to Best in Show.

Which Pomeranian became the first of the breed to win Best in Show at Westminster, in 1988?

It was 62 years after the breed's first group win at the same show.

The FCI's 1998 standard folded the Pomeranian into the German Spitz standard alongside which breed?

In the Netherlands 'keeshond' is the word for every German Spitz size, from dwarf to Wolfspitz.

The Wolfsspitz's English name comes from an 18th-century Dutch rebel leader with what nickname?

Cornelis 'Kees' de Gyselaer led the Patriot rebellion against the House of Orange, and the dog became the rebels' symbol.

The white German Spitz shown at the British Kennel Club in the late 1800s went by what unflattering name?

The Kennel Club stopped recognising it in 1915.

The name Pomerania comes from Slavic roots meaning what?

The Lechitic prefix 'po-' means along, as in Polesie, 'along the forest'.

What are the two largest cities of the Pomerania region?

The region also contains Rügen, Germany's largest island, and Wolin, Poland's largest.

A UK study found what life expectancy for the Pomeranian?

A Japanese cemetery study put it at 14, still below the 15.3 average for small crossbreeds.

The Pomeranian has one of the smallest average litter sizes of any breed. Roughly how many puppies?

Sources give figures between 1.9 and 2.7 pups per litter.

The Pomeranian is strongly predisposed to which hair-loss condition?

The cause is unknown; it hits dense-coated breeds such as the Chow Chow and Husky too.

Collapsed trachea, common in Pomeranians, produces what distinctive symptom?

It is often called a 'goose honk cough' and gets worse when the dog is excited.

An English study found the Pomeranian had the highest prevalence of which orthopaedic problem?

The dislocating kneecap affected 6.5 per cent of Poms; a Thai study found as many as 75 per cent.

In China, what proportion of Pomeranians attending veterinary clinics were found to be obese?

Tiny dogs put on weight fast when treats are scaled for humans.

Which Pomeranian had 16 million Facebook likes and was marketed as 'the world's cutest dog'?

His page began with 'My name is Boo. I am a dog. Life is good.' and took off after a Kesha tweet in 2010.

Which pop star's October 2010 tweet about a 'new boyfriend' made Boo the Pomeranian famous?

Boo's owner, a Facebook employee, published four photo-books about him.

In 2012, Boo the Pomeranian was named the Official Pet Liaison of which airline?

The same year he survived a death hoax when #RIPBOO trended.

Boo's owner published his first photo-book under what pen name?

Boo: The Life of the World's Cutest Dog came out in 2011 and was translated into ten languages.

The Pomeranian sat at what rank in AKC registrations from 2016 through 2024?

It had been as high as 10th in 1998.

The Spitz family, including the Pomeranian, typically has small upright ears for what practical reason?

Spitz breeds evolved for harsh northern climates, with dense undercoats and fur on the paws.

How does the Pomeranian article characterise the breed's barking?

Poms are alert to any change in their surroundings and somewhat defensive of territory.

The Pomeranian is classed in which group because of its size?

Its ancestors were farm dogs; the Pom is the spitz bred down for the court and the lap.

How tall does a Pomeranian stand at the withers?

That is 20 to 36 cm.

In which year did the American Kennel Club formally recognise the Pomeranian?

The first Pomeranian had been registered with the AKC two years earlier, in 1898.

Margaret Hays's Pomeranian escaped the sinking Titanic in which numbered lifeboat?

Elizabeth Barrett Rothschild's Pomeranian got away in lifeboat number six; only three dogs survived the disaster.

Besides Queen Victoria and Joséphine, which British king was a Pomeranian owner of the era?

Victoria imported smaller Poms of different colours from across Europe to build her breeding programme.

Pomeranian registrations in Australia peaked in 1987 at roughly what number?

Their popularity there has declined since 1986; only 285 were registered with the national kennel council in 2023.