iSi 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



THE POMERANIAN. 



THE Pomeranian is admittedly one of the least interesting dogs in existence, and consequently his 

 supporters are few and far between. He has not that delicate beauty of outline which belongs to 

 the Toy class generally, and his unsuitability for field sports renders him perfectly useless as a 

 sporting dog. The Pomeranian is certainly a foreign importation, but to what country the 

 credit of his production is due is a matter of conjecture. Good specimens of the breed have 

 appeared from time to time amongst us, which have been picked up in Germany, Belgium, 

 France, and other parts of the Continent, but the dog appears to be claimed by no one nation in 

 particular, though he certainly resembles the Esquimaux in outline. This breed is fairly popular 

 in America under the title of Spitz dog, and we have seen a very good specimen imported into 

 this country by a lady who had visited the United States. 



As before observed, the virtues of the Pomeranian, whatever they may be, have failed to 

 gain him many friends, and this is hardly to be wondered at when his good and bad qualities 

 come to be weighed in the balance. Against a pretty coat, sharp and rather intelligent face, 

 must be reckoned the snappish temper and lack of affection with which the Pomeranian is 

 so generally credited. In fact, this breed looks far more intelligent than it really is, for it 

 seems incapable of developing even an ordinary amount of instinct. As a guard to a house, 

 however, if kept indoors, the Pomeranian is of some service, for his ears are keen, and an 

 inclination to bark seems deeply rooted in the variety. On the other hand, though uncertain 

 and treacherous in disposition, his courage is very much below the average, and a Pomeranian 

 would sooner run than stand his ground any day. From this it may be surmised that as 

 a vermin dog, which from his size and shape of head he might reasonably be expected to 

 be, in some shape or other, a dog of this breed is worse than useless. Isolated specimens 

 may on occasion do a little in the way of destroying rats, but we have seen many tried at 

 all sorts of vermin, big and little, with the same result an apparently irresistible inclination to 

 get out of the pit as soon as possible, and leave their enemies to something which liked to 

 kill them better. This experience is corroborated by almost every one who has seen the breed 

 tried, and we do not believe any of their best friends take credit for a Pomeranian's gameness 

 or resolution in attack. 



With reference to the earlier history of the breed mention is made to it in a work entitled 

 " Cynographia Britannica," by Sydenham Edwards, which was published in London in 1800, 

 where we find that "the Pomeranian or Fox-dog" is thus described : " He is of little value as 

 a house-dog, being noisy, artful, and quarrelsome, cowardly, petulant, and deceitful, snappish, and 

 dangerous to children, and in other respects without useful properties. He is very common 



in Holland, and there named Kees There is a peculiarity in his coat : his 



hair, particularly the ruff around his neck, is not formed of hairs that describe the line of 

 beauty, or serpentine line, but is simply a semicircle, which by inclining the same way in 



