Toy breeds are cute and the winner of the category might as well be the fluffy, glamorous and sexy Pomeranian. It is a stunning dog loved by a feminine clientele and has been spotted in handbag, crossed arms, laps, backpacks, and pretty much anywhere another dog wouldn’t enjoy being. Yet, breeding smaller pomeranian dogs is not accepted by many.

Welcome to #BreedersTalk! A series dealing with important dog breeding matters, one article at a time. For each, we handpick a handful of influential dog breeders to share their interesting points of view with you.

Currently, the trend with new dog owners and some new dog breeders is pretty clear: we love smaller dogs, and love smaller versions of already small dog breeds. Chihuahuas, Spitz, Pomeranians, French Bulldogs and other tiny dogs are all bred to be even smaller by some breeders. Supply and demand.

That trend sparks a lot of animosity in the canine world for several reasons: we drift away from the official Pomeranian standard, we put the smaller dogs at risk because of extreme breeding practices aiming for always smaller.

For this reason, I wanted to ask three Pomeranian breeders for their opinion, hoping one would discuss why they want to breed smaller Pomeranians to generate more money. As expected, nobody wanted to defend that point of view, even if they practiced it. I guess it was too risky and could get the breeder’s reputation damaged. I spoke to one of these breeders and promised a complete anonymity against a serious and honest comment. I got it, it is the last on this page!

A Smaller Pomeranian? No, Health First!

Macee Whitton, Glitzy Poms

Being a breeder for almost 7 years, I have seen a lot of ads for teacup Pomeranian dogs but the truth is the Pomeranian breed does not have a tea cup or toy type since the breed is so small to start with.

The Pomeranian’s AKC standard size is 3-7lbs, if a breeder says their puppies are tea cup or toy they do not know the Pomeranian breed nor its official standard. If a Pomeranian is bigger than 10lbs, they are called throwback Pomeranians. In my experience of almost a decade of breeding Pomeranians, I have noticed my buyers do ask for the tiny Pomeranian sizes between 3-5lbs and that trend strengthens. Don’t get me wrong, there are also some owners who want bigger Poms if they enjoy doing hiking or have small children.

To me, the American Kennel Club’s breeding standard of the Pomeranians is always my end goal so I will not breed any Pom that is larger than 8lbs, or smaller than 3lbs. Being a responsible breeder, I will not breed any female Pomeranian that is smaller than 4lbs as I believe this is when you start dealing with health problems and C-sections. Breeders who breed 2lbs Pomeranians are asking for many complicated health problems and rough C-sections just to get a little extra money in their pocket, which I find wrong and sad! Owners should also be looking for small, quality and healthy Pomeranian puppies.

When pricing my Pomeranian puppies I do price the smaller Pomeranians at a bigger cost but not only do I look at size, I also look at their quality. Does the puppy have a short teddy bear face? Does it have a high tail set? Does it have a short structure? Etc.

Being a breeder, you must estimate the puppies’ size and structure at a young age so there is never a 100% guarantee. You never look at what will bring more money in your pocket, you look at what will improve the breed overall. When you are a breeder like me, you don’t make much money because I am always trying to better my program, always doing check ups on my poms and buying them the best dog breeding supplies.

Why Not? Let’s Be Real About It…

Anonymous Input

Does anyone else find it at all weird that literally every person, professional or industry that provides a product or service for our dogs is allowed to behave and profit like a business except for the people who actually PRODUCE the dogs? Think about it trainers, groomers, vets, pet food manufactures, companies that make collars, leashes and accessories, dog walkers, pet sitters, rescues and shelters that run for profit as many are.

All of these people benefit in a direct financial way from us owning dogs yet somehow the people who actually bring those dogs into being don’t even deserve to be compensated for the time, care and money they put into making the dogs we love….. Odd.

So, my two cents here are simple. As long as the dogs remain healthy, I would happily reduce their body size to generate more revenue. The client is happy, I am happy, the pom is happy. This is a fair situation for the three parts, in my humble opinion.

Just a precision, I wished to remain anonymous for this simply because I know I will receive hate messages for breeding smaller Pomeranians and I don’t want to spend hours over the next weeks to explain myself especially because I just did it in the lines above. I understand why some people wouldn’t do it, try to understand why I would.

Conclusion

Listen to old-school breeders, nobody should breed smaller Pomeranians. Listen to newcomers in the dog breeding industry, follow the trend and do it because if you don’t, someone else will. What I personally believe after reading these stories from established Pomeranian breeders is pretty simple: have your dogs’ health in mind first and foremost.

If you are completely confident into breeding slightly smaller Pomeranians that get through life with no extraordinary health issue, it is fine. If they are not conform to the official standard because of their too small size, just make it clear and don’t try to be misleading! Chances are, someone who wants a tiny Pom will not really care about the official Kennel Club standard.

Breeding smaller Pomeranians is happening, it is reality. Let’s make sure it does not get too out of hands and stays focus on the poms’ health, regardless of the body size.

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