Canton Pomeranians

The garbage referred in breeding lingo is the undesirable aspects of the canine specimen.  It could be divided into the following classifications which may be overlapping:  (1)  Faults specified in the Breed Standard, whether they be minor, major or disqualifying faults;  (2)  Features not in conformity to the Breed description which may not necessarily be specified as faults but rather a divergence in Breed Type;  (3) Other General Issues which need not be specified since they are applicable to all canine population such as:  Undescended Testicles, Unsoundness in Structure, Diseases, Temperament Issues, etc.

Therefore, the phrase Garbage In, Garbage Out,  refers to reaping the problems that you sow in your breeding program.  If you breed both the dog and the bitch with a common problem, for sure the resulting puppies will have the same problem and perhaps in a more significant degree.  You would have cemented that feature in your litter.  If only one of the partners have it, the resulting litter may have it too….  If not, chances are it will be camouflaged in the unseen gene pool of the puppy and it will resurrect in the future generation, whether in expectation or as a shock to the future breeder.

Accordingly, it follows that a prospective breeder would want to look for a breeding specimen that has the least problems and at the same time, have all those desirable virtues as described in the Breed Standard.  The perfect specimen is non existent and is everyone’s dream and in the interest of going direct to the point, interested parties can read further my earlier “Blog 17:  Its All a Compromise.”

You are now in the real world, knowing the ideal and reality.  Necessarily, at one point or another, during your breeding decisions, you will be faced with alternative partners for your bitch which may not necessarily be what you like but you do not have other open options.  A competitor whose stud dog would be a good alternative would not allow him to be used.  Or perhaps, due to funds availability, you do not have the stud service fee to pay.   My only advise is: RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH….way, way, way in advance.  Just remember a quality and well known stud dog used will enhance the quality and demand of the pups involved.  Accordingly, it you are sure your bitch have a good chance of having a successful litter, you will have everything to gain to invest in the stud service.

I have been cornered in this position in the past and my action was basically not to breed my bitch, and wait for a better opportunity.  For this very reason, I keep a lot of stud so that I will have a wide range of choices.  Whenever I see or merely just hear of a dog that is interesting, I would immediately ask if he was available at stud, even if, I am not sure I would necessarily want to use him at all.  I just want to know whether that option is open and from there make a decision later.

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One big area of concern for me is the lack of knowledge of many Pomeranian fanciers and even judges.  Hence this portion of my blog.

Like all the Canine Breeds, the Pomeranian has a Breed Standard which is really the  Pomeranian Bible.  It specifies in detail what the Pomeranian should look like.  It spells out the pomeranian faults and the specifics of the Breed type.  Accordingly, a judge, particularly an ALL BREED judge, who knows the generalities of the canine specimen, will make the wrong decision if he or she does not know the details of the Pomeranian Breed Standard.  It would be very difficult for them to know all the breed standards in detail because there are so many breeds involved.  There is always that need to continue to learn and learn and learn until they have mastered all  breed standards that they are supposedly qualified to judge. …and that takes years and years and years.  There are the fast and eager learners and there is the opposite.  It is very disappointing to see a Pomeranian winning just because it is showey with a huge orange coat when he lacks the breed type.

What is Breed Type?

The Pomeranian Breed Type is the very essence of the Pomeranian Breed.  Based on the Pomeranian Breed Standard,  these are some of the important aspects of the Pomeranian Breed...oftentimes overlooked or misinterpreted.

…BALANCE:  A dog with a side profile that will fit inside a circle.  He is square and for AKC, they want something that is shorter than square.  So, in the dark, without really being able to see the dog in detail, you know it is a Pomeranian.  It is so disappointing to see a  judge put up a pom that has a long back like a choo choo train because this is very much against the essence of the breed.  The AKC Pomeranian Breed Video focuses on this feature in so much detail to emphasize its importance.  For bitches, it is permissible to be slightly long to allow them enough space for their maternal duties.

…HEAD:  The Pomeranian headpiece should have ears set up high and erect.  Not  long spitz like ears nor one set  low like a pappilion.    The eyes should be medium in size, dark and almond shaped with a black lining around the eyerims.  Not large round eyes like that of a mouse.  The muzzle should be short with a good stop.  The English and Japanese specifies a short wedged shaped muzzle with a good stop which means short and V-shaped.  The American counterpart accepts the same thing but has an inclination towards a short U-shaped muzzle.  In both cases, the muzzle is short and has a good stop.  Not a long muzzle because it would look too spitzy.  Not one lacking in stop because the stop would affect the expression.  The expression should be alert and sweet.  The Japanese wants smiling faces.

…COAT:  The coat should be harsh and profuse giving the Pomeranian a full and complete look.  NOT a soft coat which though attractive and glamorous is considered as a major fault.  I see a lot of judges so overwhelmed and impressed that they put up these soft glamorous coats and thus popularizing this wrong feature.  They can always shrug their shoulders and leave the country with this mistake.  In reality, they only reinforce and popularize this wrong coat texture and it is the Pomeranian breed in this country that will be suffering; people will start crying when they see them beloved Pomeranian go bald.  It  has been so specified as a major fault in the breed standard precisely because this is the kind of coat  that oftentimes ends up with the dreaded bsd…Black skin disease.  For those interested to read more about this, go to my Blog 13:  BSD, aka  Black Skin Disease:  A Nightmare in Pomeranians.  Or simply do a site search.

…TAIL/TAILSET:   The tail of the Pomeranian should be set up high and should be straight shooting like an arrow towards the head.  The tail will affect the profile of the dog; it could even make the dog look longer than what it actually is.  This tail issue can be enhanced by proper grooming.  To my shock, I saw a high profile US breeder-exhibitor cutting short the long plumage of the pom to give the specimen a clean well set tail while strutting in the ring.

…PASTERN:  The Pomeranian should be up on the pastern like a ballet dancer.  This  is a specific breed type inherent to the Pomeranian..  A down in the pastern is a major fault.

…SIZE:  I see so many Pomeranians winning when it is quite clear that they are just too big.  The FCI is quite strict with this and using FCI rules, many poms in the ring will not be considered a Pomeranian or Toy Spitz  but rather a  Miniature Spitz or German Spitz.  The KC is also as strict in their size requirements.  The AKC has liberated the requirements to be 3-7 lbs with ideal size for showing being 4-6 lbs.  Yet,  inspite of this compromised rules on size, some Pomeranians in the ring are just too big and still winning.  My Blog 13 talks about Pomeranian Sizes.

…COLOR:  Since mostly all colors are allowed in the AKC Breed Standard, NO specific color spells out Breed type.  A dog should not win just because it is orange.

Oftentimes, people with the wrong kind of stock will try to justify and confuse people. Specially when economics are involved.  What they really should do is to breed the problem out.  Water it out.  Dilute the problem until it no longer exists. It is just plain common sense.

If you go against the Pomeranian Breed Standard, your breeding program effectively goes in the wrong direction..  If you knowingly breed your pomeranian to another Pomeranian with the same problem,  you are effectively marooning and cementing your stock into an irreversible position which will take generations and generations to correct.

Garbage in, Garbage out.

September 11, 2009

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