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.

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.

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.

Click Here to view the American Pomeranian Breed Standard

(Not sure what a "standard" is . . . click here for more information)
Sketch in the Background from the AKC Breed Standard for Poms
               http://www.akc.org/breeds/recbreeds/pomer.cfm 

Size, Proportion, Substance: The average weight of the Pomeranian is from 3 to 7 pounds, with the ideal weight for the show specimen being 4 to 6 pounds. Any dog over or under the limits is objectionable. However, overall quality is to be favored over size. The distance from the point of shoulder to the point of buttocks is slightly shorter than from the highest point of the withers to the ground. the distance from the brisket to the ground is half the height at the withers. He is medium-boned, and the length of his legs is in proportion to a well-balanced frame. When examined, he feels sturdy.

Head: The head is in balance with the body. The muzzle is rather short, straight, fine, free of lippiness and never snipey. His expression is alert and may be referred to as fox-like. The skull is closed. The top of the skull is slightly rounded, but not domed. When viewed from the front and side, one sees small ears which are mounted high and carried erect. To form a wedge, visualize a line from the tip of the nose ascending through the center of the eyes and the tip of the ears. The eyes are dark, bright, medium in size and almond-shaped. They are set well into the skull on either side of a well-pronounced stop. The pigmentation is black on the nose and eye rims except self-colored in brown, beaver, and blue dogs. The teeth meet in a scissors bite. One tooth out of alignment is acceptable. Major Faults: Round, domed skull; under-shot mouth; overshot mouth.

Neck, Topline, Body: The neck is short with its base set well into the shoulders to allow the head to be carried high. The back is short with a level topline. The body is compact and well-ribbed with brisket reaching the elbow. The plumed tail is one of the characteristics of the breed, and lies flat and straight on the back.

Forequarters: The Pomeranian has sufficient layback of shoulders to carry the neck and head proud and high. The shoulders and legs are moderately muscled. The length of the shoulder blade and upper arm are equal. The forelegs are straight and parallel to each other. Height from elbows to withers approximately equals height from ground to elbow. The pasterns are straight and strong. The feet are well-arched, compact, and turn neither in nor out. He stands well up on his toes. Dewclaws may be removed. Major Faults: Down in pasterns.

Hindquarters: The angulation of the hindquarters balances that of the forequarters. The buttocks are well behind the set of the tail. The thighs are moderately muscled with stifles that are moderately bent and clearly defined. The hocks are perpendicular to the ground and the legs are straight and parallel to each other. The feet are well-arched, compact, and turn neither in nor out. He stands well up on his toes. Dewclaws, if any on the hind legs may be removed. Major Faults: Cowhocks or lack of soundness in hind legs or stifles.

Gait: The Pomeranian's gait is smooth, free, balanced and vigorous. He has good reach in his forequarters and strong drive with his hindquarters. Each rear leg moves in line with the foreleg on the same side. To achieve balance, his legs converge slightly inward toward a center line beneath his body. The rear and front legs are thrown neither in nor out. The topline remains level, and his overall balance and outline are maintained.

Coat: A Pomeranian is noted for its double coat. The undercoat is soft and dense. The outer-coat is long, straight, glistening and harsh in texture. A thick undercoat will hold up and permit the guard hair to stand off from the Pomeranian's body. The coat is abundant from the neck and fore part of shoulders and chest, forming a frill which extends over the shoulders and chest. The head and leg coat is tightly packed and shorter in length than that of the body. The forequarters are well-feathered to the hock. The tail is profusely covered with long, harsh, spreading straight hair. Trimming for neatness and a clean outline is permissible. Major Faults: Soft, flat or open coat.

Color: All colors, patterns, and variations there-of are allowed and must be judged on an equal basis. Patterns: Black and Tan - tan or rust sharply defined, appearing above each eye and on muzzle, throat, and forechest, on all legs and feet and below the tail. The richer the tan the more desirable; Brindle - the base color is gold, red, or orange-brindled with strong black cross stripes; Parti-color - is white with any other color distributed in patches with a white blaze preferred on the head. Classifications: The Open Classes at specialty shows may be divided by color as follows: Open Red, Orange, Cream, and Sable; Open Black, Brown, and Blue; Open Any Other Color, Pattern, or Variation.

Temperament: The Pomeranian is an extrovert, exhibiting great intelligence and a vivacious spirit, making him a great companion dog as well as a competitive show dog. 

EVEN THOUGH A TOY DOG, THE POMERANIAN MUST BE SUBJECT TO THE SAME REQUIREMENTS OF SOUNDNESS AND STRUCTURE PRESCRIBED FOR ALL BREEDS, AND ANY DEVIATION FROM THE IDEAL DESCRIBED IN THE STANDARD SHOULD BE PENALIZED TO THE EXTENT OF THE DEVIATION.

FCI Breed Standard

Deutscher Spitz

Wolfspitz/Keeshond, Grosspitz, Mittelspitz, Kleinspitz, Zwergspitz/Pomeranian

Translation: C. Seidler
Origin: Germany
Date of Publication of the Original Valid Standard: 5.3.1998

Utilization: Watch and Companion Dog

Classification FCI: Group 5 Spitz and Primitive Types. Section 4 European Spitz. Without Working Trial.

Brief historical summary: German Spitz are descendants of the stone age « Peat Dogs » (Torfhund) « Canis familiaris palustris Rüthimeyer » and the later Lake Dweller's (Pfahlbau) Spitz; they are the oldest breed of dog in Central Europe. Numerous other breeds have been produced from them. In non-German speaking countries Wolfspitz are known as Keeshonds and toy Spitz as Pomeranians. General appearance: Spitz breeds are captivating on account of their beautiful coats, made to stand off by plentiful undercoat. Particularly impressive is the strong, mane-like collar round the neck (ruff) and the bushy tail carried boldly over the back. The foxy head with alert eyes and the small pointed, closely set ears give the Spitz his unique characteristic, cheeky appearance.

Important proportions: The ratio of height at withers to body length is 1:1

Behaviour and character: The German Spitz is always attentive, lively and exceptionally devoted to his owner. He is very teachable and easy to train. His distrust to strangers and lack of hunting instinct make him the ideal watchdog for home and farm. He is neither timid nor aggressive. Indifference to weather, robustness and longevity are his most outstanding attributes

Head
Cranial region: The Spitz's medium size head, seen from above, appears broadest at the back and tapers in wedge shape to the tip of the nose.

Stop: Moderate to marked, never abrupt.

Facial region:
Nose: The nose is round, small and pure black, dark brown in brown Spitz. Muzzle: The muzzle is not overlong and stands in pleasing proportion to the skull. (in Wolfspitz/Keeshond, Giant Spitz and Medium-size Spitz the ratio length of the muzzle to length of the skull is approximately 2:3, in Miniature Spitz and Toy Spitz approximately 2:4.).

Lips: The lips are not exaggerated, close fitting to the jaws and do not form any folds to the corner of the mouth. They are completely black in all colours, brown in brown Spitz.

Jaws/teeth: The jaws are normally developed and show a complete scissor bite with 42 teeth, corresponding to the teeth formula of the dog, i.e. the upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws. Pincer-bite is permissible in all varieties of Spitz.

Cheeks: The cheeks are gently rounded, not protruding.
Eyes: The eyes are of medium size, longish shape, slightly slanting and dark. The eyelids are black in all shades of colour, dark brown in brown Spitz.

Ears: The small ears are set high and relatively close to each other, triangular and pointed; they are always carried upright, stiff at the tips.

Neck: The medium length neck is set broadly into the shoulders, slightly arched without throatiness and covered by a thick, profuse coat forming a large ruff.

Body:

Topline: The topline starts at the tips of the erectly carried prick-ears and merges in a gentle curve win the short, straight back. The bushy, sweeping tail, which partially covers the back, rounds off the silhouette.

Withers/back: The high withers drop imperceptibly into the shortest possible, straight, firm back.

Loin: Short-coupled, broad and strong.

Croup: The croup is broad and short, not falling away.

Chest: The deep chest is well sprung, the forechest well developed.

Lower line: The brisket reaches as far back as possible; the belly has only a slight tuck up.

Tail: The tail is set on high and of medium length. It reaches upwards and rolls forward over the back, straight from the root. It lies firmly over the back and is covered with very bushy hair. A double curl at tip of tail is tolerated.

Limbs
Forequarters:
General: Straight, rather broad front.

Shoulders: The shoulder-blade is long and well laid back. The upper arm, which is approximately the same length, forms an angle of 90 degrees to the shoulder-blade. The shoulder is well muscled and firmly connected to the brisket.

Elbow: The elbow joint is strong, close fitting to the brisket and turns neither in nor out.
Forearm The forearm is of medium length in relation to the body, sturdy and completely straight. The back of the forearm is well feathered.

Metacarpus (Pastern): The strong, medium length front pastern stands at an angle of 20 degrees from the vertical.

Front feet: The front feet are as small as possible, round and closed, so called cat feet, with well arched toes. Toe-nails and pads are black in all shades of colour, but dark brown in brown dogs.

Hindquarters:
General: The hindquarters are very muscular and abundantly feathered to the hocks. The hind legs stand straight and parallel.

Upper and lower thigh: Upper and lower thigh are of about equal length.

Stifle: The stifle joint is strong with only moderate angulation and is turned neither in nor out in movement.

Metatarsal (Hock): The hock is of medium length, very strong and vertical to the ground.

Hind feet: The hind feet are as small as possible, tightly closed with well arched toes, so called cat feet. The pads are coarse. The colour of nails and pads is as dark as possible.

Gait/movement: The German Spitz moves straight ahead with good drive, fluid and springy.

Skin: The skin covers the body tightly without any wrinkles.

Coat:
Hair: The German Spitz has a double coat: long, straight, stand off top coat and short, thick, cotton-wool-like undercoat. Head, ears, front side of front and hind legs and the feet are covered by short, thick (velvety) hair. The rest of the body has a long rich coat. Not wavy, curly or corded, not parted on the back. Neck and shoulders are covered by a thick mane. The backside of the front legs is well feathered, the hind legs have ample feathering from croup to hocks. The tail is bushy.

Colour:
A) Wolfspitz/Keeshound: grey shaded.
B) Giant-Spitz: black, brown, white.
C: Medium-size Spitz: black, brown, white, orange, grey-shaded, other colours.
D) Miniature Spitz: black, brown, white, orange, grey-shaded, other colours.
E) Toy Spitz/Pomeranian: black, brown, white, orange, grey-shaded, other colours.

Black Spitz: In the black Spitz, the undercoat and skin must also be black and the colour on top must be a shining black without any white or other markings.

Brown Spitz: The brown Spitz should he uniformly dark brown.

White Spitz: The coat should be pure white without any trace of yellow in particular, which often occurs, specially on the ears.

Orange Spitz: The orange Spitz should be evenly coloured in the medium colour range.

Grey-shaded Spitz Keeshond/Keeshond: Grey-shaded is a silver grey with black hair-tips. Muzzle and ears dark in colour; round the eyes well defined « spectacles » shown as a delicately pencilled black line slanting from outer corner of eye to lower corner of ear, coupled with distinct markings and shading forming expressive short eyebrow; mane and ring on shoulder lighter; fore- and hindlegs without any black marking under the elbows or stifles, except slight pencilling on the toes; black tip of tail; underside of tail and trousers pale grey.

Other coloured Spitz: The term « other colours » covers all shades of colour, such as: cream, cream-sable, orange-sable, black and tan and particolour (with white always as main colour). The black, brown, grey or orange patches must be distributed over the whole body.

Size and weight:

Height at the withers:
a) Wolfspitz/Keeshond 49 cm +/- 6 cm
b) Giant Spitz 46 cm +/-4 cm
c) Medium size Spitz 34 cm +/- 4 cm
d) Miniature Spitz 26 cm +/- 3 cm
e) Toy Spitz/Pomeranian 20 cm +/-2 cm
Dogs under 18 cm undesirable.

Weight: Each variety of German Spitz should have a weight corresponding to its size.

Faults: Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.

Serious faults:
- Faults in construction.
- Head too flat; distinct apple head.
- Flesh-coloured nose, eyelids and lips
- ln Wolfspitz/Keeshond, Giant Spitz and Medium size Spitz missing teeth.
- Faults in movement.
- In grey-shaded Spitz missing of distinct markings of the face. 

Eliminating faults:
- Gap in fontanel.
- Over-or undershot bite.
- Ectropion or entropion.
- Semi-pricked ears.
- Definite white patches in all not white Spitz.

N.B. Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.