The Pomeranian (also called a Pom) is a Spitz breed that is named for the Pomerania region in north-west Poland and north-east Germany in Central Europe. Because of it's small size it is ranked in the "toy" category. The Pomeranian is descended from the larger Spitz-type dogs. Originally coming from the German Spitz line as determined by the Federation Cynologigue Internationale to be part of the German Spitz breed. In many countries, they are known as the Dwarf-Spitz.
Queen Victoria owned a very small Pomeranian which inspired the desire for "toy" sized Pomeranians. Since the 18th century Pomeranians have grown in popularity because of the amount of Royals that owned them. During Queen Victoria's lifetime, the Pomeranian decreased in size by about half. Going from it's original size of 30lbs to it's small 4lb to 15lb size that it is today. Victoria actually became a breeder of Pomeranians and began showing them in dog shows. In 1891, Queen Victoria showed 6 of her own Pomeranians in the Crufts dog show. Windsor Marco (one of her favorite Poms), won first place in the breed. (A British historian wrote, “It would have been a brave judge to have placed her second.”)
It is a sturdy, healthy dog with a fun personality and a lot of loyalty for it's owner.
