We frequently receive enquiries from here or our Facebook group that go something like the following:-
"I got my dog as a Pom but it's way too big to be a Pom so it must be a German Spitz"
"I got my dog as a Pom but it doesn't look like other Poms so is it a German Spitz"
"My dog has a longer muzzle or flatter skull than Poms have so is it a German Spitz?"
"I wad told on a Pom group that my Pom is a German Spitz"
"My dog has no known background or history but is it a German Spitz"
Firstly, "spitz" is the name for a type of dog that generally has a pointed muzzle, erect pointed ears and a tail curled up over it's back. There are many spitz breeds of varying sizes and colours and most were created or evolved to do a particular job.
Akita, Keeshond, Siberian Husky, Alaskan Malamute, Samoyed, Japanese Shiba Inu, Japanese Spitz, Finnish Spitz and Finnish Lapphund are just some of the spitz breeds and so too are German Spitz and Pomeranians.
When breeds are created, they are often created from other existing breeds or from dogs that excel at performing a particular function and the breeder wants to create more of the same. Go back through Pomeranian history and you don't have to go too far back to find that they were pretty much what we now have as German Spitz before the breeders of the day decided to breed for smaller and smaller and they became the tiny little things that we now know as Poms (have a look through the Articles and Information sections on here).
That doesn't mean that they got rid of all those genetics for the bigger ones or those of German Spitz type, they just hid them from view as recessive genes or as those that aren't exhibited in the show ring but those genes still want to keep popping out and being seen so as well as well-bred Poms going over-size, you'll also still find some bigger bitches being used for breeding (easier whelpers or more puppies produced) or "pet" or profit breeders who don't care about the breed standard breeding from whatever they have available. It's also sadly very common for these big ones to be bred in Ireland then shipped over here for sale.
We then end up with the bigger or non typical Poms being produced that their owners are then convinced that they can't possibly be Poms because they're too big. What is really happening is that those hidden recessive genes have found a way to be seen and you have your over-size Pom or one that has the longer muzzle or less domed skull the same as the original dogs had.
These dogs are very often (though not exclusively) orange in colour which is a colour that is very common in Poms (especially popular with the profit breeders) but much less commonly seen in purebred German Spitz in the UK now.
It is also not uncommon for them to be bigger than our Mittels (so over 15 inches/38cm at the withers) so don't be fooled by size, unless it was bought from a reputable breeder as a pure bred German Spitz (Mittel or Klein) with paperwork stating this, it is highly unlikely that your dog is a German Spitz - and more so if you have paperwork stating that it's a Pom!
So do not be offended to be told your dog is still a Pom, he is simply an original or Victorian version of the breed rather than the little ones we're used to seeing today.
The only exception to the above would be for the FCI countries who swap sizes and re-register dogs to suit, but this thankfully does not happen here in the UK.
The dog in the photo above, used to help establish the German Spitz in the UK in the 1980's is still widely accepted as being of very good German Spitz type. He is however primarly of Pomeranian breeding with those Poms being of the old fashioned type, also referred to as Victorian Poms.
It should therefore come as no surprise that this type is still frequently seen in so many of today's Pomeranians, particularly those not breeding to the current KC breed standard or for the show ring. Those dogs would still be classed as Pomeranians though rather than German Spitz.
