Pomeranian Dog History
Pomeranian dog history is believed to be rooted in wolf-spitz type dogs, which migrated from the northern areas of Russia and Sibera to the region known as Pomerania (southern coast of the Baltic sea in present-day Poland and Germany).
They share ancestry with other spitz breeds such as the Samoyed and Keeshond, which were used as sled dogs in Iceland and Lapland.Early Pomeranians weighed about 30 pounds and were used as guard and herding dogs. Most were black, white or cream in color.
Queen Victoria's Poms
For interesting historic information on Queen Victoria and her animals (including a mention of "Marco"), check out this article.
Pomeranians became established as a breed in the eighteenth century when members of the English monarchy to a fancy to them. Queen Charlotte brought large white Pomeranians to England in 1761 when she married King George III.
They became a popular toy breed during the reign of Queen Victoria, who received a Pomeranian named "Marco" in 1888. The Queen is credited with advocating a trend toward smaller Pomeranians, resulting in the much smaller sizes of 3 to 7 pounds seen today.
Pomeranians were shown in the United States in the Miscellaneous Class as far back as 1892, but regular classification was not provided until 1900. In 1911, the American Pomeranian Club held its first specialty show.
Early American show winners tended to be more heavily boned than today's Pomeranians. Today, Pomeranians average 3 to 7 pounds. Most show Poms weigh between 4 and 6 pounds.
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