<p> POMERANIAN IN PROFILE by Malcolm Dupris </p><p>Pomeranians may come in a small package, but they have a lot of heart. This member of the Toy Group in the A.K.C., comes in a body that is approximately five inches at the shoulder, and weighs in the range of four to seven pounds. There are smaller Poms than this average, but with miniaturization, there comes the price of some severe medical problems. Pomeranians never think of themselves as being small, they have a big dog's attitude. Their ancestry comes from the sled dogs of the Arctic, and the Poms of today still think they are tough guys. Their character has been described as nothing short of fearless. This can be a problem at times for the owner, because the Pom does not know any limitations. They possess a thick, double coat that does need quite a bit of grooming, both at home in the form of daily brushing and a bath every ten days, and professional grooming for any clipping and trimming of the coat. The Pomeranian coat can come in a variety of colors (solid, parti-colored, black and tan, chocolate and tan, blue and tan, and brindle). They possess a topcoat made up of somewhat harsh guard hairs, and a soft, thick undercoat. A well-kept coat begs to be touched, and petted, and this dog will not mind if you give it attention every minute. The Poms are excellent indoor dogs, being small in size means they can get a lot of exercise in an apartment, condominium, or average sized home. They also thoroughly enjoy the pampered life. Poms are not nervous, shaky or high-strung little doggies when they are well bred. Poms will challenge other dogs, and people, that they do not know, that wander into what they consider their territory. They are not aggressive, but territorial and determined to draw a line as to where you should be. The Pomeranian is an alert, intelligent and courageous companion dog. He not only loves to show off in the conformation ring, the Pom is also excellent in agility and obedience trials. He is highly trainable, but can be stubborn. Keep the training interesting for you and the dog, and you won't have the challenge of a bored dog, which is intelligent enough to make it interesting if you don't. The life span for a Pomeranian is on average twelve to seventeen years. This is an important consideration to potential new owners- there are some professional breeders who will not sell their puppies to people with young children. </p><p>05d3a100d2e7aa7772824fefa11c23d5.doc Page 1 of 2 Young children, if not supervised, can severely injure these little dogs. The Poms can move very suddenly, squirm out of young arms and drop to the floor with disastrous results. Children should be supervised around any type of dog, and taught the proper way to handle puppies. The Pomeranian has a foxy face, a vibrant personality, and a beautiful coat. To find good breeders of Poms, go to dog shows in your area, talk to the people there that are working with these dogs. Please be mindful that they do have ring times, so it is best to ask them when it would be a good time to talk about their breed. Show people love to talk about their dogs, and want to educate the public about their special breed. </p><p>05d3a100d2e7aa7772824fefa11c23d5.doc Page 2 of 2</p>