Hi,
Just a general enquiry. My mother bought a dog from an advert on the web, which stated that the dog was a Pomeranian, and the owner due to her having work commitments could no longer give the time the dog he needs. My mother is retired and was therefore an ideal situation for both the dog and my mother. We travelled for miles in order to adopt the dog, but when we got there we found that the dog did not look like a Pomeranian at all, what the owner neglected to say was that, quote in her words 'its the larger breed of the Pomeranians' (?!). My mother loves the dog regardless of what breed it is, which is obviously the most important thing, but I found it very annoying to think that we were lead all the way to the owner, and not being told that it wasn't (quite the standard breed of) Pomeranian, as my mother was initially wanting a small breed of dog. The dog is registered as a Pomeranian, but I believe this to be otherwise. On searching within Champdogs I have found the breed to be the German Spitz Klein, which feels better knowing what the dog is now!! My mother and her new addition to the family are enjoying their companionship together. The dog has a wonderful temperant, although still a bit hyperactive (being only 11 months old), but very obedient, at the end of the day thats the most important thing.
I just wanted to vent some sort of fustration to you all, as its a shame that people don't quite know what they have, or being sold as?!! Has anyone else been in this sort of situation? Or am I jumping to all sorts of conclusions, whether the Pomeranian as a breed do have larger versions, or am I right in thinking that they are what is now known as German Spitz Klein (resulting from the what was known the 'Victorian Pomeranian'?)
Any response would be gratefully appreciated.
Thanks
From a rather puzzled visitor to Champdogs!!

I have a pom and know a few breeders having exhibited our dog etc and I have to admit that some I've seen at open level I've thought were German Spitz so yes it is possible that the dog is truely a Pom, but an oversided dog which can and does happen. Mind having said that I've had a judge tell me that my German spitz was well put together just a shame about it's coat being too short------------------ wouldn't mind but I've got Schipperkes and their coats are excellent lol.

Well, there is a sort of tangled web of truth in what you were told!
The original Poms were much larger than those that are around now, there was a great variation in size & the smaller ones won in popularity. I understand that larger ones still appear tho'. A number of the Spitz breeds from Europe are pretty close in breeding. One of the largest is the Keeshond, then the Gross Spitz, then what we know as the German spitz (Mittel) & the German Spitz (Klein). A number of the German Spitz been shown in this country have Poms not very far back in their ancestry.
There is not much between heights, so you can't really go on that:
Mittels - 29-36cms
Kleins - 23 - 28cms
Pom - 22cms Max (interestingly, there is no height given in the KC standard)
It's always difficult breeding small dogs, to keep them small, breeders will often part with those which grow on ....and on ... and on .....
I should just tell people you've got a European Spitz - and everyone will want one!!

Hi Anwen,
Thanks for your reply in regards to the mystery of the Pomeranian and/or German Spitz (!) My mother's dog does look like the German Spitz (Klein) from the info/pictures on the breeds section, so I think we have unravelled that mystery.
I was just a bit perturbed that we weren't told initially that the dog was really more the spitz type when we enquired about the dog, so travelling a great distance to find something completely different than we thought we'd get was a bit surprising to say the least!

Hi Schip,
Thanks for your response - now that we've established that my mother's dog is a possible Pomeranian and/or relative of German Spitz (Klein) could you give us any relevant information in regards to how your German Spitz is, i.e. temperament, eating habits, anything Spitz related I should know about!!
Also is your Pom the standard size (i.e. smaller in stature) than your Spitz?

Was the dog registered with the Kennel Club as a Pomeranian?