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Canadian
Kennel Club Pomeranian Breed Standard
Please
see our Breed Education page for
"An Illustrated Guide" to this Standard by Christine
Heartz
 General
Appearance: The
Pomeranian in build and appearance should be a compact,
short-coupled dog, well knit in frame. He should exhibit great
intelligence in his expression, docility in his disposition, and
activity and buoyancy in his deportment, and be sound in action.
Size:
The weight of a
Pomeranian for exhibition is 3-7 lb. (1-3 kg). The ideal size for
show specimens is from 4-5 lb. (1.8-2.7 kg).
Coat
and Colour: There
should be two coats, an under and an outer coat; the first, a soft
fluffy undercoat, and the other a long, perfectly straight and
glistening coat covering the whole body, being very abundant
around the neck and forepart of the shoulders and chest where it
should form a frill of profuse, standing-off, straight hair
extending over the shoulders. The hindquarters should be clad with
long hair of feathering from top of the rump to the hocks. The
texture of the guard hairs must be harsh to the touch.
Thirteen
colours, or colour combinations, are permissible and recognized,
namely: black, brown, chocolate, beaver, red, orange, cream,
orange-sable, wolf-sable, blue white, parti-colour and black and
tan. The beaver colour is a dark beige. A parti-colour dog is
white with orange or black, colour distributed in even patches on
the body, with white blaze on head desirable. Black and tan is
black with tan or rust sharply defined appearing above each eye,
in the ears, on the muzzle, throat, forechest, on all legs and
below the tail. Where whole-coloured and parti-coloured
Pomeranians compete together, the preference should, other points
being equal, be given to the whole-coloured specimen. Sable-coloured
dogs must be shaded throughout as uniformly as possible, with no
self-coloured patches. In orange sable, the undercoat must be a
light tan colour with deeper orange guard hairs ending in black
tippings. In wolf-sable the undercoat is light grey with a deeper
shade of steel grey guard hairs ending in black tippings. A shaded
muzzle on the sables is permissible, but a black mask on sables is
a minor fault. Orange Pomeranians must be self-coloured throughout
with light shadings of the same tone (not white) on breechings
permitted. A black mask on an orange Pomeranian is a major fault.
White chest, white foot, or white leg on whole-coloured dogs are
major faults. White hairs on black, brown, blue, or sable
Pomeranians are objectionable. Tinges of lemon, or any other
colour, on white dogs are objectionable. The above colours, as
described, are the only allowable colours or combination colours
for Pomeranians.
The
classes for Pomeranians may be divided by colour in Open Classes
as follows: black and brown; red, orange or cream; sables; any
other allowable colour.
Head:
The head
should be wedge-shaped, somewhat foxy in outline, the skull
being slightly flat, large in proportion to the muzzle. In its
profile it has a little stop which must not be too pronounced, and
the hair on the head and face must be smooth and short-coated. The
muzzle should finish rather fine. The nose should be
self-coloured in blues and browns. In all other colours should be
black. The teeth should meet in a scissors grip, in which part of
the inner surface of the upper teeth meets and engages part of the
outer surface of the lower teeth. This type of bite gives a firmer
grip than one in which the edges of the teeth meet directly, and
is subject to less wear. The mouth is considered overshot
when the lower teeth fail to engage the lower inner surfaces of
the upper teeth. The mouth is undershot when the lower teeth
protrude beyond the upper teeth. One tooth out of line does not
mean an undershot or overshot mouth. The eyes should be
medium in size, rather oblique in shape, not set too wide apart,
or too close together, bright and dark in colour. The eye rims of
the blues and browns are self coloured. In all other colours the
eye rims must be black. The ears should be small, not set
too far apart or too low down, and carried perfectly erect, and
should be covered with soft short hair. Trimming unruly hairs on
edges of ears permissible.
Neck:
The neck
rather short, well set in, and lion-like, covered with a profuse
mane and frill of long, straight hair sweeping from the underjaw
and covering the whole of the front part of the shoulders and
chest as well as the top part of the shoulders.
Forequarters:
The
shoulders must be clean and laid well back. The forelegs must be
feathered and perfectly straight, of medium length and strength in
due proportion to a well-balanced frame. The feet small, compact
in shape, standing well up on toes.
Body:
The back
must be short and level, and the body compact, being well ribbed
up and rounded. The chest must be fairly deep.
Hindquarters:
The hind
legs and thighs must be well feathered down to the hocks, and must
be fine in bone and free in action. Trimming around the edges of
the toes and up the back of the legs to the first joint is
permissible.
Tail:
The tail is
characteristic of the breed, and should be turned over the back
and carried flat, set high. It is profusely covered with long,
spreading hair.
Faults:
Disqualifying
- Cryptorchid
(bilateral or unilateral)
Major
-
Round,
domey skull. Too large ears. Undershot. Pink eye rims. Light or
Dudley nose. Out at elbows or shoulders. Flat-sided dogs. Down in
pasterns. Cow-hocks. Soft, flat, open coat. Whole-coloured dogs
with white chest, or white foot or leg. Black mask on an orange.
Objectionable
- Overshot.
Large, round or light eyes. High or low on legs. Trimming too
close to show-date. Tail-set too low on rump. Black, brown, blue
and sable should be free from white hairs. Whites should be free
from lemon or any other colour. Underweight or overweight.
Minor
- Must be free
from lippiness, wide chest. Tail should not curl back. Black mask
on sable. White shadings on orange.
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