# Pomeranian's Size and weight?



## TofuLove

Hi! I'm new to this forum and am also a new dog owner. My pomeranian is currently 9 weeks old and weighs about 4.7 lbs, considering he has a lot more months until he stops growing and he's almost reach the average weight of a Pom I'm wondering if he's overweight? We feed him 3 times a day and maybe around 1/4-1/2 cup of IAMS Smart Puppy..is that too much? How many times a day are puppies suppose to eat? We also give him some treats through out the day to reinforce his good behavior when he goes on the wee wee pads. Should we lower the treats? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


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## Dogstar

His food and treat intake sounds fine. What size were his parents? Poms are a relatively young breed in their modern form and that in addition with their popularity (and the resulting increase in breeders who aren't breeding to meet the breed standard) means that the 4-7 pound breed standard is more of an idea than a guarantee. ;P

I *would* look at a food with a lower corn content than IAMS. If you're limited to foods you can get at the grocery store, you might look for Purina Pro Plan or Biljac Frozen. With a pup eating as little as a pom does, it's not at all difficult to feed a really good quality food.


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## LittleMoonRabbit

Yeah, I have a pom (about 10 months) and she is 5 lbs... but I have seen many poms that are much bigger. My former boss had a pom that grew up to be 22 lbs!!! What color is yours? It seems as though the white Poms have more of a tendency to be bigger. Also, foxy faced poms have more of a chance of being bigger, as opposed to teddy-bear faced. 

As for the food... there are many other puppy foods that are much better quality... and if you feed those, you can feed a lot less. I probably feed my Pom 1/2 of a small can of Innova EVO canned for breakfast, and then about a 1/3 of a cup of EVOnkibble at night for dinner. She has plenty of energy to burn all day, and she's a perfect weight. However, your dog is young... try doing searches for "best puppy kibble" and see what you come up with. There's also a site www.dogfoodanalysis.com that has a lot on different foods... but stick with a puppy food until your dog is at the very least 6 months old... I switched my dog over when she was about 8 months old. This was in accordance with a Pomeranian book I got.


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## TofuLove

Wow 22 lbs?? Can poms really grow to be that big? I bought my pom from a friends aunt who's dog had puppies so he doesn't meet the breeding standard. I figured he wouldn't grow up to be the usual small size but I'm hoping he doesn't become too big. He's a white pom with cream patches along his back and I think he has a fox type face..not really sure though.

Here are some picture's of Tofu around 7-8 weeks so as you can see he's kind of big already for his age..but he's still the cutest! Do they usually gain weight fast when they're that young? Let me know if the pictures don't show up.


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## Chicster

Since you really have no idea of the dog's family history, there is no garuntee to his size. There are poms called "throwbacks" that are much bigger than usual, becuase their ancestors are actually medium sized dogs (spitz).

The lady who let her dog get pregnant should really have her spayed. There are too many shelter dogs (yes, even poms!) waiting for good homes to have people breeding that don't do it carefully and to improve the breed.

You should watch your dog's health carefully. Poms are prone to slipping kneecaps (which is hereditary), make sure you don't let her jump off any high places... and bring in for regular vet checkups. Being badly bred doesn't make your puppy any less cute, or any less of a good pet, it just means that you have to be an extra careful pet owner. Good luck and have fun with your new baby!


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## briteday

We have one of those "throwback" poms. It turns out that poms were originally bred from spitz type sled dog lines. They were originally about 30 pounds. During the turn of the century people wanted to flaunt their wealth by owning comapanion dogs. But they wanted small dogs so the smallest poms were bred to the smallest poms to get the wee little 6 pounders that we see in the show ring now. 

However, I've been doing some research on this. Even a very good breeder who has had several generations of breed standard poms can get a pup that is a "throwback." And these larger dogs tend to be the white or parti-colored dogs. They also are more common in the long haired, flat coated type. And lastly most of the larger dogs have a longer, foxy looking nose vs the shorter teddy bear nose.

Our dog is 12 pounds and stands about 14 inches at the shoulder. She is the dog in my avatar. Her color is parti-colored, orange and white.


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## TofuLove

Another quick question, after how long should I stop feeding him 3 times a day?


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## briteday

Usually pups can go to two meals per day at about 6 months of age.


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## snowflake

I work as a groomer so see quite a few Poms. I have 2 that are quite large..maybe about 18-20 pounds...the others are all small


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## ChrissyBz

briteday said:


> Our dog is 12 pounds and stands about 14 inches at the shoulder. She is the dog in my avatar. Her color is parti-colored, orange and white.


That's a Pom? I'm going to have to get my prescription checked, I thought it was a Pap.


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## talalyn

Aw, well, first Tofu is so adorable regardless of his size! 

But as a younger kid, we had a pom who birthed a "throwback" pup, it's because of the Spitz line. Right now, I have a pom who is six months old and weighs 5 pounds- it varies accordingly. That could be the case here, I doubt it's the amount of food you're feeding him.


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## TofuLove

Thanks for all your replies! I have another question if anyone can help that would be great!

Since tofu's still in the process of getting his shots I haven't been able to walk him yet, but I've tried bringing him out to the backyard so he can get use to being outdoors. He actually really loves it outside and is always trying to run out. The only problem is he always tries to lick and eat dirt and dried leaves off the ground and in the grass. This happens everytime and I have to end up bringing him back in the house. Is there something I can do to stop him from doing this?


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## PomMom

I have two Poms. Lexi is almost 3 and she weighs about 11 lbs. The vet said she should be about 10 lbs, based on her frame. My new Pom is Maggie. She is 6 weeks old and 1.9 lbs! I have seen one that was about 20 pounds. It depends on the parents. Both of mine have the same parents, so my new one should be around the same size as Lexi.


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## briteday

ChrissyBz said:


> That's a Pom? I'm going to have to get my prescription checked, I thought it was a Pap.


Yes, she's an odd looking pom. That picture was taken when she was adolescent and her coat has filled in a bit. As soon as I have free time (like that's in my future, LOL, jsut got a jury duty notice today of all things, LOL!)
I'll get on to photobucket so I can post pictures of all the dogs.

And for Tofu...you just have to be vigilant about not letting your dog pick up things in their mouths. It gets easier once you've done some obedience classes, again after shots are complete usually. One of the first things I teach my dogs is "leave it."


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## DogsforMe

I fed my Border Collie 4 time per day until 3 mths, 3 times a day until 6 mths & twice a day until 12 mths. That was the reccomendations from the breeder. I think one of the meals was puppy porridge. She's nearly 15 so its hard to remember. If you can get her used to eating raw chicken wings, they're good for her teeth.
The poms I remember from my childhood were bigger, I think now they may have been German Spitz. We've had a couple at my obedience club & they are only a handful.


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## Lorina

I know a Pomeranian whose top weight was about 42 pounds.  She does have a thyroid condition and has lost some, but she's just a BIG Pom.

I also know a 75 pound Jack Russel mix and knew a 175 pound Boxer, who has - surprise! - since passed away from heart failure.


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## doggone6

Lexi is darling.

Actually, at 5 pounds she could go to 2 meals daily. My guess is that she will mature in the 10-15 pound range; as others have said, Poms were originally much larger dogs and even show breeders occasionally have a throwback in size...I once had a litter from 5 and 6 pound champions (with 6 generations of champion breeding behind them) that gave me one in-standard pup and another who matured at 9 pounds. That's HUGE for a show-type Pom!

There is also a chance Lexi is not a purebred Pom. Poms have upright ears, and I've never seen one with tipped ears like that. If so, she will obviously be larger. Not that she is any less adorable!


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## TofuLove

PomMom said:


> I have two Poms. Lexi is almost 3 and she weighs about 11 lbs. The vet said she should be about 10 lbs, based on her frame. My new Pom is Maggie. She is 6 weeks old and 1.9 lbs! I have seen one that was about 20 pounds. It depends on the parents. Both of mine have the same parents, so my new one should be around the same size as Lexi.


Tofu was around the same weight as Maggie when he was 6 weeks, hopefully that means he grows up to be around 10-15lbs too.  but even if he does grow to be bigger I would still love him regardless. 



briteday said:


> And for Tofu...you just have to be vigilant about not letting your dog pick up things in their mouths. It gets easier once you've done some obedience classes, again after shots are complete usually. One of the first things I teach my dogs is "leave it."


Yea, I've heard of the "leave it" command from my dog training video's, I've started saying it recently and it seems to work a lot better than "NO"


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## Dogstar

TofuLove,

Leave It vs No is immaterial, since even the most brilliant Poms don't actually know English. (Hard to believe, based on their behavior.  My corgi did eventually learn to spell D-O-G-P-A-R-K, though. ) It's all about training a response.

When you say "NO!" do you mean 'spit out whatever's in your mouth" or "stop peeing there!" or "don't bite the leash" or "get that electrical cord OUT of your mouth" or "stop harassing the cat"? It's a very general term and you want him to do different things based on when you're using it. T his makes it hard to teach. 

Leave it is a much more specific behavior. You still have ot teach it (There's a sticky about Doggie Zen on the training board here that is pretty useful) but you're more likely to use it only when you actually mean it. 

As long as Tofu has had SOME shots, I would get him out and start seeing the world. All dogs need socialization, and if you wait till he's totally done with shots, you miss a lot of the critical socialization period. I would NOT take him to places where there are lots of other dogs lik edog parks or pet stores, but what about taking a folding chair and hanging out in front of your local big box store and asking people to pet your puppy? What about local outdoor markets, like farmer's markets? (And don't carry him- he needs to start learning that the world is a very tall place for a little dog. ) You don't want to risk disease exposure beyond what you have to, but you really do need to get him out there.


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## Westwindrv

We've got a new puppy called Logan. He was pure white when we got him but is now getting a lot of blond color. We are a little concerned about his weight. He is now 11 months old and 12 inches tall at the shoulder. He weight 12 pounds and would eat 24 hours a day if we would let him. Don't know the history on his parents.

Logan is very active and always loves to play fight. Sometime he gets so excited that he wil bite a little hard and has to be warned not to bite so hard. Loves to go out in the yard and hunt for grasshoppers and bugs. We keep him inside most of the time but usually take him on bike rides around our trailer park a couple of times a day. He loves to run and when we get back home and release him, he will tear from one end of the trailer to the other four or five times just as fast as he can do, just like he didn't get enough exercise.

One thing that surprises us is that he doesn't like to be petted except to scratch him on his chest. He is not a lap dog. Can't stay in one place for more than about 10 seconds but loves to lay at our feet while we are working at the computer.


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## buttonlady

Westwindrv said:


> We've got a new puppy called Logan. He was pure white when we got him but is now getting a lot of blond color. We are a little concerned about his weight. He is now 11 months old and 12 inches tall at the shoulder. He weight 12 pounds and would eat 24 hours a day if we would let him. Don't know the history on his parents.
> 
> Logan is very active and always loves to play fight. Sometime he gets so excited that he wil bite a little hard and has to be warned not to bite so hard. Loves to go out in the yard and hunt for grasshoppers and bugs. We keep him inside most of the time but usually take him on bike rides around our trailer park a couple of times a day. He loves to run and when we get back home and release him, he will tear from one end of the trailer to the other four or five times just as fast as he can do, just like he didn't get enough exercise.
> 
> One thing that surprises us is that he doesn't like to be petted except to scratch him on his chest. He is not a lap dog. Can't stay in one place for more than about 10 seconds but loves to lay at our feet while we are working at the computer.


Very cute dog!

I'm certainly not an expert, but I've several Poms and Pom-mixes thoughout my life. One girl's healthy weight was 12lbs; right now I have a 5 lb male who the vet says is a little pudgy, and would like to see him lose about a pound. They do love to eat, so I feed measured amounts of a good grain-free dog food twice a day (and have to keep an eye on the little male, he tries to steal from the others' bowls!) I would ask the vet his opinion on a healthy weight for Logan and work to keep it there; toy dogs that are overweight tend to have health issues later on (arthritic joints in particular) that could have been minimized by maintaining a healthy weight.

Good luck, I hope Logan brings you many years of joy.


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## *pixi*

My last pom I had grew to 25 pounds! ( a throwback most likely) she's black and tan with fox face. I just got a new little boy that's 4 months and 4 lbs, i'm hoping this one stays small! He's a creamy white


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## rokkerbaby1

I was relieved to see this. I have a 6 week pom that is the same size. 1.9 lbs and I was thinking she was a bit small but seeing this made me feel a little better.














http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wy--Lg0CezM/TxeUW3tKL1I/AAAAAAAAAMM/oDCjahumNaM/s1600/011812170717.jpg


PomMom said:


> I have two Poms. Lexi is almost 3 and she weighs about 11 lbs. The vet said she should be about 10 lbs, based on her frame. My new Pom is Maggie. She is 6 weeks old and 1.9 lbs! I have seen one that was about 20 pounds. It depends on the parents. Both of mine have the same parents, so my new one should be around the same size as Lexi.


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## VickiEck

My female Pom is 15 months and 11 lbs.


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