Bajan Pomeranians
Breed History
'Friday 2 November - The French traveller was Monsieur Bertollon, a merchant of fine stuffs at Lyons. He and I and my servant and a German woman got into an extra post for Mannheim. The Frenchman had a Pomeranian dog called Pomer whom he was mighty fond. He was singular Frenchman, a great lubberly dog with a head like a British tar. He sang most outrageously. He was jolly.' (Ref. Boswell On The Grand Tour Germany and Switzerland 1764 edited by Professor F. A. Pottle 1953)
Many believe that Shakespeare's 'cur of Iceland" is unquestionably 'the cur daily brought out of Iseland' as described by William Harrison in his article 'Of our English dogs and Their Qualities' written for the Holinshed Chronicles in 1577. In it he described a toy dog called a whappet and descriped as being 'a prick eared cur' daily brought out of Iseland. He went on to describe their saucy dispositions. Iceland may have bred down from one of it's several known larger breeds a Tudor lapdog (often called 'shock dogs') in order to compete with the small, popular Maltese/Bolognese toy type dogs for profit. Norwegians settled in Iceland about 874AD - all dogs were originally imported as there were none indiqenous to the island. The country was eventually controlled by a Danish Norwegian monarchy. In 1416 the Danish king was Erich der Pommer. He was the son of Duke Vartislav of Pomerania. With these political connections, there is much reason to expect that the trading between Iceland and Pomerania included dogs and that this is when and where the deliberate creation of the breed began.
Interesting Note - The first documented account (Hunter 1789) of breeding a dog to a wolf in Great Britian was of the Pomeranian bitch of one Mr. Brooks (a reputable animal merchant in London). It was requested of Mr. Brooks that he breed his Pomeranian bitches to a wolf that he also owned. Noblemen paid a great price for the puppies and a litter of 10 pups was born in 1766 that resembled "a wolf refined; the fur long, but almost as fine as that of the black fox"
Interesting Note - The first documented account (Hunter 1789) of breeding a dog to a wolf in Great Britian was of the Pomeranian bitch of one Mr. Brooks (a reputable animal merchant in London). It was requested of Mr. Brooks that he breed his Pomeranian bitches to a wolf that he also owned. Noblemen paid a great price for the puppies and a litter of 10 pups was born in 1766 that resembled "a wolf refined; the fur long, but almost as fine as that of the black fox"
- Victorian Popolarization-
In the Spring of 1888, Queen Victoria acquired her first Italian Volpino (at the time thought of as Pomeranians) from Italy and called her Gena. Gena was shown at the first Crufts exhibition and shared first place with the winning dog, Rob. Gena weighed 7 1/2 lbs and was referred to by the New York Times as "one of the most famous dogs in world" and "an especial favorite with the Queen". The Queen went on to breed a few more "Pomeranians" who she dearly loved. In January of 1901, just one day before she died, she rallied her strength and made a last request of her caretakers asking "May I have Turi?" He was to be the last of her favourites. Soon after she died, Turi was adopted by The Duchess of Albany.
- Breed Registries and Standard-
Over the past two decades, as people have begun to see their dogs more as family members, the interest in quality pure-bred dogs has brought on a rash of new dog registries. Puppy mills and backyard breeders who are unable to register their dogs with the AKC will often turn to these alternative registries in order to be able to advertise that their dogs are registered. This is not meant to be an indictment of any particular registry but only a warning to those new to this breed to do your homework. By far, the most well-know breed registry in the U.S. is the
American Kennel Club (AKC). Their official standard, by which Pomeranians have been judged, has evolved over time into a well defined, beautiful, sound, and comical little dog to which we as breeders strive to achieve. Breeding to a universally recognized standard first and foremost benefits the breed as much consideration has gone into making certian we are breeding a healthy, fun-loving companion.
Click here to read the entire AKC Pomeranian Standard.
- Early History-
Archaeological evidence lends support to the view that today's modern day Pomeranian descended from the pre-historic turbary dog or Torf (Turf Spitz) and shares this ancestry with the larger variety of Spitz type breeds including the Keeshond, German Spitz, Volpino Italiano, and the Mittel. The earliest known historical document to reference a breed known as the Pomeranian is found in the diary of James Boswell of Scottland in 1764. Boswell was then a twenty four year old law student on tour and recorded this entry regarding his travels between Mainz and Mannheim;