CHAPTER LVIII 



THE POMERANIAN 



OWEVER applicable the name of Pomeranian or Spitz^may 

 be to the large sized dog bearing that title it is of doubtful 

 correctness when applied to the toy dog. Long before there 

 was any Pomerania this dog was a favourite pet of the Gre- 

 cian and Roman ladies, and it was not until the late Queen 

 Victoria went to Florence to spend a winter that we heard anything of the 

 little dog which became so suddenly popular. The Queen brought Marco 

 from Florence and it was for many years her favourite dog, while it will not 

 be forgotten than one of her last requests was for another of her favourites, 

 also a little Pom. It is first necessary to consider the dog originally known 

 as the Pomeranian and the evidence points to this larger dog, weighing 

 about 20 pounds, as almost invariably white. "Idstone" thirty-five years 

 ago said that the colour should be a cold, flake-white "and frequently comes 

 creamy and clay coloured." He mentions that blacks have occasionally 

 occured and instances one that he says was an undoubted specimen. Dal- 

 ziel in his description of the breed says that the white should be a pure flake 

 white, coloured patches, fawn, or other being objectionable and that al- 

 though the fashion was so distinctly for a white dog he thought black, cream, 

 fawn, red and buff should be encouraged. A much older description in the 

 "Sportsman's Cabinet," 1802, says they were pale yellow or cream, some 

 white, a few black, and very rarely spotted. Certainly the aim of breeders 

 at the time of the early dog shows in England was to get a perfectly pure 

 white dog, without any tendency to cream in the coat. 



All the old descriptions refer to the Pomeranian as being the sheep dog 

 and wolf dog of their native country and it is evident that some of the breed 

 must have been large dogs of the Norwegian elk hound type or akin to 

 them. Considering the situation of Pomerania that is not improbable and 

 accepting that is the origin, the variety we are considering was therefore the 

 house dog, selected for size and bred with more care. They always had the 



general reputation of being snappish and as very unsuitable for children to 



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