POMERANIAN INFORMATION

In my short time with dogs I have had a lot of experience through my awesome pool of mentors, as well as owning and running a dog boutique with a partner who has an unbelievable amount of knowledge on dogs. Doing the rescue and coming in contact with pet owners who have questions about their Poms I have been asked quite a few questions. I have found I keep giving several answers over and over again and thought that this would be a great venue to address some of those questions and advice I have given to our new rescue owners on this page. There is some pet information, some show information in here and it will be expanded as time goes on and more questions are asked.

The answers below, unless referenced on another website are my personal opinion based on my personal experiences. The information below is in no way the views or opinions reflected by the American Pomeranian Club, the Pomeranian Club of Greater Baltimore, or any other club I may belong to. They may share some of these opinions with me, but that is not the purpose of this page or the intent of the information.

Below you will find:

I want to get a Pomeranian. Where do I start?
How do I get started showing a dog?
My dog is marking (peeing) in my home. What do I do?
What do I need to buy for my new dog?
What kind of grooming does a Pom need?
I want to bathe my Pom. What do I need to know?
What is the best food to feed my dog?
I think that crate training is mean. What do you think?
Owning a dog can be expensive. How do I save money?

I WANT TO GET A POMERANIAN. WHERE DO I START?

Don't buy your Pom from ANY pet store. Read the following sites for valuable information that could save you thousands of dollars and a possible heartbreak. Read my About Us page for my story of heartbreak after buying from a "Backyard Breeder".

http://www.americanpomeranianclub.org/stores.htm

http://www.americanpomeranianclub.org/breeder_referral.htm

If you choose to rescue a Pom, you can view the Rescue Contacts for the American Pomeranian Club here:
http://www.americanpomeranianclub.org/rescue_contacts.htm

Or you can go to www.petfinder.org and find many Pomeranians throughout the country in need of homes.

MY DOG IS MARKING (PEEING) IN MY HOME. WHAT DO I DO?

As soon as you have cleared through your veterinarian that nothing is wrong with your dog physically, then your options at this point are:

1. Crate him. He needs to know that there are boundaries. So you take him out in the morning, when he potties he gets to come back inside, then he gets to be out for a bit, then back in the crate for a nap. Then let out again, when he potties he gets to come back inside, rinse repeat.

2. Belly Bands - If you have any knowledge with a sewing machine, you can make 10 of these in an hour. Or you can buy them on eBay:
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http://greyhoundfreaks.com/v-web/gallery/albums/album08/PDiddyBellyBand.jpg

That is how it works. You put a thin generic maxi pad in there until the dog gets the idea that it is not cool to pee in there, then in the Poms you can go down to a day liner for good dogs.

This is the easiest solution and saves you from cleaning up your floor. Then when he is in the crate you take it off as long as he behaves in the crate, otherwise it comes off when he goes outside and you change the pad. Don't leave a wet pad on there for more than a few hours (same premise as a baby) as it will make the skin raw and irritate him.

WHAT DO I NEED TO BUY FOR MY NEW DOG?

So you are getting a dog? Congratulations! Here is a list of some items you will need for your new Pom:

Your new dog will need some supplies. Here is a quick short list of supplies that you can get for your new dog.

- Crate with a crate pad, or old towels for bedding
- Collar or Harness – we recommend a harness in Pomeranians as it is very easy to damage their trachea with a collar pulling on their neck.
- Leash – Flexi’s are great, or a standard leash will also do when you need more control.
- Small headed pin brush. Make sure pins are flexible and not too hard
- Metal Comb – that has Fine and Medium Fine for the teeth
- Toys – but of course!
- Food – see my section on Dog Nutrition for more information on this topic
- Food Bowls – stick to stainless steel or fire glazed clay bowls for sanitary reasons. Plastic is very porous and even after a run in the dishwasher can carry bacteria that can make you and your pet sick. Exposed non-glazed clay can also be a breeding ground for bacteria and mold.
- Treats – try to stick to as natural of treats as possible. Bully sticks are a known Pomeranian favorite. Treats that contain dyes or meat by-products should be avoided. You should make sure that her weight stays in check and so try to limit treats that do not have a health benefit to her – ie: supplement treats, teeth cleaning treats, etc. Pre-packaged chicken breast from Purdue makes a great training aid.
- Bathing supplies if you plan on doing your own bathing. See the section on "Grooming" for further information.

WHAT KIND OF GROOMING DOES A POM NEED?

All dogs need to have baths, nails clipped, anal glands cleared and ears cleaned (if dropped ears - which Poms don't have). Your Pomeranian also needs to have its coat taken care of as well.

Pomeranians are a double coated breed. That means that they have a plush undercoat (called undercoat) and top more thick hairs called guard hairs. When they shed, they shed the undercoat most of all. It is important that you teach your new dog from an early age that brushing can be a fun and rewarding experience. The earlier you can teach them, the better. To brush a Pom you will need two basic tools - a slicker brush and a comb. Your slicker brush should have a small head, and the pins should bend easily to the touch. Pins that don't bend are too hard for your small dog. You will also need a metal comb for Medium to Fine hair.

You can teach your dog how to like grooming by placing your dog in your lap on the couch or in a chair. Make sure your dog is relatively calm. Really hyper dogs will have a bad experience and will think that brushing is game to try to avoid the bush at all costs. Brush one stroke down your dogs back, then give him/her a treat. Do this a few times to teach them that this is a happy fun time. Then increase the brush strokes and decrease the treats. Two brush strokes/treat. Four brush strokes/treat. etc. You may have to repeat this process every day or every other day for a few weeks if you have an older rescue dog who is not used to being brushed. You should get to the point that you only have to treat after brushing is complete.

Once your dog is OK with brushing then to really get that dead hair out of there and prevent finding it in the corners of your house or all over your couch you will want to lift up the Pom's hair holding it against their body with one hand, then use the slicker brush or comb to comb downward each stroke pulling a little more hair from under your hand. This is called "line brushing" as you are essentially lifting the hair to make a hair line, then bushing that, then releasing a little more hair to brush again. This allows you to really get down to the skin and get all of that dead hair out of there. You can then repeat the same process with the comb if you really want to get all of the dead hair out of there. You should always brush, then comb your dog - never comb first as that could be painful for your dog.

I WANT TO BATHE MY POM. WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW?

So you want to bathe your Pom. Are you sure? If your Pom has a lot of coat, you may find it difficult to bathe and fully dry your Pom. I personally recommend a professional groomer who has their own shop so they have higher end shampoos and know how to deal with different coat styles and dog personalities.

However if you want to take this on yourself, get on some grubby clothes and follow along:

You will first want to brush out your dog as good as possible without causing harm to you dog. If you cannot get a brush or comb through their coat because it is so matted, you will want to seriously consider a professional grooming. Washing the coat in that condition will only result in more mats and pain and suffering for you and your pet. =)

Dogs have a natural oil strip down the middle of their back. The oil that comes from this area is different depending on the breed and the dog. In order to get a dog clean, you have to release the oil in their coat, otherwise this oil traps dirt and stink in their coat and two days after you bathe them they still smell funky.

So what you want to do is take a personal water bottle, fill it 7/8 full with warm water, then put a small amount of non-lemon dish soap in the bottle. Shake a little bit. Wet down your dog with as warm of water as you think they can stand without being uncomfortable (like you would do for a baby). Don't put it on their head.

Work it into their coat and then be sure to rinse it fully clean. You cannot leave any residue of shampoo on a dogs coat, or it can make them sick.

If you want to wash your dogs head, but sure to use a tearless shampoo. You can use a baby shampoo, or a tearless dog shampoo for this.

Then use a shampoo that has a coat conditioner in it. Work that into the coat. Rinse completely.

To dry your dog you can either let them air dry, or use a hair blow drying ONLY on a cool setting. The warm or hot setting is too hot for your dog and can cause them physical harm by raising their body temperature too high, or by burning their skin. When your dog is fully dry, you can comb out the coat. Again, if your dog has a really heavy undercoat you will want to take them to a professional groomer to have their coat blown out by a professional blow dryer. This is the only way to not torture you dog with mats after the bathing.

Unless you plan on trimming nails on your own, or doing anal glands - you will still want to take your Pom to a groomer at least every 8 weeks to keep nails under control. Long nails can actually cause your Pom discomfort. You will want to keep on top of these and make sure they don't get too long.

My personal favorites for Shampoo are:

Filthy Animal - This is always the first bath I give all dogs. Second bath can be the Best Shot, Yucca or Filthy Animal again, but this is always the first bath. The most important part to a clean dogs coat is breaking up the grease and natural oils in their coats in order to release the dirt, and allow shampoos and conditioners to do their job. This will get anything out of a dogs coat - grease, sap, skunk, tar, foods, etc. It kills fleas instantly - and I mean instantly. One gallon makes 64 gallons of shampoo. I generally take an empty gallon jug of shampoo, rinse out really well then just make a gallon at a time. You HAVE to make sure you dilute right, and that the dog is COMPLETELY rinsed, or they can get sick if it is left on their coat (which is true of all shampoos). I bathe the show dogs in this twice before a show - it takes out all oils and makes their coat stand on end. Regular baths get this as their first bath, then I follow up with one of the below shampoos.
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Best Shot - This is the one that conditions each hair and releases all of the dead undercoat. You can use this alone, or you can get the conditioner that goes with it, but I actually prefer a different conditioner which you will find below. You can dilute this 3:1 or 7:1 or just wet the dog down first with water, pour on the back and then rub in all over. This will take out ALL dead undercoat. If you let your Pom air dry, the next day you will wonder if you did something wrong the first time you use this as hair will be falling out of your dog. That is the point - to take out all dead coat. Do not use on a show dog at least three months before a show - bitches even longer.
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Yucca Flea & Tick Shampoo - This stuff is awesome. Has a mild conditioner and is an all natural flea and tick shampoo AND it is Tearless!! I do not use Frontline on any of the dogs. Frontline and other flea applications are harsh chemicals, and sometimes small dogs can have bad reactions and it does make them sleepy after the application. Therefore I use natural shampoos to prevent fleas and ticks. I generally mix about 50/50 water and Yucca in a drinking water bottle and then pour over the back of the dog and the head and work it into the coat.
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Puppy Tears - This smells like bubblegum, and is completely tearless. I like it for puppies and for the heads of all of my dogs. I usually keep an empty drinking water bottle and put about an inch on the bottom, then add water, shake and literally pour over their heads. This is so safe and tearless I can literally rub in the corners of their eyes for any eye drainage and it does not irritate their eyes at all.
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Ultra Silk is a heavy duty conditioner that I use when a Pom's coat is really dry in the winter or right after I do the Best Shot or after a show (bathing, hair spray, etc.) to prevent breakage before the next show. Better if watered down a little bit, I will put this on a dogs coat right on top of the second bath shampoo. So Filthy Animal for first bath, rinse, Best Shot and put Ultra Silk on top after about 3 minutes of letting the Best Shot sit - work it in and then final rinse.
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Fresh N Clean Cologne - All dogs get finished with Fresh N Clean Cologne on a regular bath. I only like the original scent, the tropical scent smells like fake roses. I love this stuff.
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WHAT IS THE BEST FOOD TO FEED MY DOG?

In my short time of owning dogs I have had the pleasure of also running a dog boutique where we sold all natural pet food. I have become a huge supporter of all natural pet foods as I have seen the difference in coat, stool, and overall health of my dogs.

Here is a bit of information on dog food that I think that every pet owner should know:

The hierarchy of dog food is:
Fresh Raw Diet
Fresh Cooked Diet
Canned
Dry Kibble

Dry kibble is at the bottom of the list, but it is the most sanitary and convenient for us. Therefore given it is the lowest in level of nutrition for your dog, you should pick the best dry kibble you can.

Dog’s use Protein as their NUMBER ONE source of energy. Therefore the source of that protein should be the best possible. We recommend a Chicken based food as Lamb can often be hard for small dogs to digest. Chicken Meal is an OK protein source as long as there is some chicken in there as well. Stay away from anything that has Chicken-by-product as that can mean the carcass of a Chicken with no meat, Chicken feet, Chicken feathers, etc. Protein sources such as Soy are not animal based and do your dog little to no good.

Fillers are just that... Fillers. Fillers in dog food include: Corn (or anything with corn such as corn meal, corn husks, etc.), Wheat and Soy. Fillers cause you to feed more food per day because you have to make up for the lack of protein by feeding more food. Fillers also cause your dog to have more poop than if they were on a natural diet. Finally, fillers cause you to buy more dog food, because you are feeding more dog food per day.

Natural diets are sold exclusively at small pet retailers. These manufacturers of natural pet food do not believe in supporting PetSmart, PetCo or other large Pet Food chains as the key to their food sales is education by the retailer to the consumer rather than huge marketing campaigns like the major pet food manufacturers. You can go to any small pet food retailer and they will be more than happy to give you free samples of their natural pet food for you to try it out and find out which one your dog likes.

If you are buying your food from PetSmart or PetCo we highly recommend you get any of the NutroMAX foods. The rest of the foods that PetSmart and PetCo carry aren’t as nutritionally sound as NutroMAX foods are and it is still not one of our favorites. Our favorites are below.

If you are going to go to a local small pet supply retailer, we recommend any of the following brand names:

Artemis
Canidae
California Natural
Innova
AvoDerm
Breeder's Choice
Merrick
Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul
Evangers
Fromm Four-Star Nutritionals
Solid Gold
VeRUS

Bottom line – No by-products, No corn, No Wheat, No Soy, No Colors, No Preservatives.

If you have an adult dog that needs to lose weight, you can put them on a weight management, reduced calorie or senior formula - all of which should be around 18% protein. Once they have lost the weight you can maintain with more of that food, or you can go back to an adult food of around 24%. Then back to 18% protein as he will be a senior dog.

Guideline for protein for a Pom should be:
Puppies - around 29% Protein
Adults - around 24% Protein
Overweight or Senior - around 18% Protein

Don’t be ashamed to shop by price. You can buy the cheapest food on this list and still have much better nutrition for your dog than the highest priced food at Pet Co or PetSmart. Plus you won’t have to feed as much which means less poop, and less food to buy – more savings for toys! =)

Scheduled feedings in the morning and evening will help predict when he will have to go poop and will hopefully avoid accidents in your home.

You can search for Natural Pet Food Retailers on the following manufacturer’s websites:

Artemis – makers of Artemis:
http://www.artemiscompany.com/html/map/map.htm

Canidae Pet Food:
http://www.canidae.com/

Natura – makers of California Natural and Innova:
http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=stores-tab

AvoDerm - Breeder's Choice:
http://www.breeders-choice.com/avoderm.htm

Merrick Pet Food:
http://www.merrickpetcare.com/locator/

Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul:
http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com

Evangers:
http://www.evangersdogfood.com/

Fromm Four-Star Nutritionals
http://www.frommfamily.com/

Solid Gold:
http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/

Verus:
http://www.veruspetfoods.com/

You can search the sites of the brands above to find other retailers in your area that may be more convenient for you.

There are other natural pet foods out there (Pinnacle, Force, etc) but you have to read the label and look for things like by-products, corn, wheat or soy. If it has any of those ingredients, don't buy it.

Once a bag of pet food is opened it goes stale (and the majority of the nutritional value is lost) within 30 days unless kept in a tight sealed container. So only buy small bags or invest in a sealable plastic container that you wash and dry each time it is empty.

I THINK THAT CRATE TRAINING IS MEAN. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Many people feel that crate training is not fair to a dog and is inhumane. Personally I feel that teaching your dog to be crate trained is just as important as lead training your dog, and getting your dog spayed or neutered.

There are many dogs that come into the rescue and they have never been crated before. Now I am sure these previous owners did not think at the time that they got their pet that they would be giving them up to a rescue, but yet, here they are. Now they don't know how to be comfortable in a crate, they are already stressed that they are in a new place, their fur family is gone and there is so much confusion. Now add on there the stress of being in a crate.

Or even if you have a sudden emergency completely outside of your control and you have to take your dog to a boarding facility. How stressed is your dog going to be being in that crate for the first time?

Crates provide function and a safe place.

Function for car rides, other transportation, boarding, etc.

Safety for a place where your dog will be safe while you are away from home instead of chewing on cords, leaving you "presents" around the house, digging at a closed door in a bathroom or laundry room that you think is more humane than the crate, getting into the trash and eating last nights chicken bones (which can seriously harm or kill your dog), etc.

Also, dogs are "den animals". A crate, even if the door is left open provides them with a safe place to sleep where they know nothing can attack them from above or the sides. It is their own personal little cave.

OWNING A DOG CAN BE EXPENSIVE. HOW DO I SAVE MONEY?

Aside from your food and vet expenses, the next largest expense in owning a pet is the "things" you buy for him or her. Beds, toys, treats, etc. can end up costing you a lot of money each year if you are not careful. Below are some general ideas on how to save money on the cost of purchasing these items for your pet.

Buy toys on sale at Target, PetSmart, PetCo, etc. Your dog doesn’t know a sale item from a full priced item and it will save you money.

eBay is a great resource for toys, beds, clothes, etc.

PetEdge is a leading pet supply distributor that charges you as a consumer only a little bit more per product than they charge their retailers. Call and request a catalog, or order online at www.petedge.com.

Dog.com is another great site with very reasonably priced items comparative to PetEdge.