# Pomeranian question



## pompup (Jun 30, 2007)

Hi, I just got a pomeranian puppy. They said she was 7-8 weeks old, however, she seems a bit big to me for that age. But I'm no expert, so I don't know. She's 7 inches tall. Would it be possible to sorta guess about how tall she'll be when she's grown up?


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## Durbkat (Jun 26, 2007)

Well can you post a pic of your new puppy? Congrats by the way!


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## blackrose (Oct 7, 2006)

Seven inches from the tip of her head to the floor, or seven inches from the top of her shoulder to the floor?

I looked at the Pom breed standard and nothing is said about height, just weight:


> The average weight of the Pomeranian is from 3 to 7 pounds, with the ideal weight for the show specimen being 4 to 6 pounds. Any dog over or under the limits is objectionable. However, overall quality is to be favored over size.


 If she is seven inches tall from her withers to the floor, then that seems big to me, especially at that young age. However, so many Poms are badly bred that they are either really big or really small...a Pom came in to be groomed the other day that was as big as a mini American Eskimo....way to big, IMO.

Pictures would be helpful.


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## workingdog (Oct 19, 2006)

My pom is a year old today and he is 12 inches tall, that is from the shoulders to the ground. He weighs about 10 pounds. Bigger than i wanted but he was a surpise from my husband. My husband just met the people with out looking at the parents and taking their word for he will be small(around 5 pounds) well they were wrong.But we love him.I don't know how much taller yours will get. Did you see the parents? that will give you some idea.


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## pompup (Jun 30, 2007)

Seven inches from her shoulders to the floor. Unfortunatley I didn't meet the parents, they just sorta came to the door with her. 

Here's pictures...




























I also have another question. This may sound silly, but do pomeranians usually wag their tails? She never seems to, even when she's playing. Could it just be because she's young? She seems otherwise happy.


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## Durbkat (Jun 26, 2007)

Aww, he looks like a teddy bear. lol


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## ToysHaveMyHeart (May 9, 2007)

pompup said:


> I also have another question. This may sound silly, but do pomeranians usually wag their tails? She never seems to, even when she's playing. Could it just be because she's young? She seems otherwise happy.


Actually, my little pommie boys just kinda twitches his tail when he's happy, when he's really excited he tends to wiggles his behind along with his tail.  - the other two poms that I have owned previously really didn't move their tails much.


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## workingdog (Oct 19, 2006)

omg, what a cutie! It looks like yours will be about 10 pounds or so. I dont think that i have ever seen my pom wag his tell.


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## ToysHaveMyHeart (May 9, 2007)

Just a few words of advice...that will most likely mutate into a bit of a rant...

A great pomeranian book is "The Pomeranian" by Lexiann Grant and Wanyne Hunthausen, DVM (consulting vet ed.), and covers grooming, health, nutrition, a bit of training, history, and a lot of other topics.

Training and socialization are very important to your new pom. Pomeranians are my favorite breed, but in all honesty, I have never met a nice one outside of the ones that I have owned, and I have met quite a few at the local parks, in my neighborhood, and the vet clinic I worked at. People tend to baby and shelter their pups, and they grow up to be unstable/aggressive adults. Pomeranians are very intelligent and are willing to learn. But will fall on the wayside if they are not trained. Without proper guidance a pom can very easily take over a household.

How widespread the reputation of the pom is unbelieveable. There have been too many times where I will mention that I have a pom and people respond with "they're little yappy furballs aren't they" or "those little dogs are pure evil" or something to that effect. Oni is a perfect gentleman in public (he is obedience trained) and people will still comment on how unbalanced poms are  

I wish you all the best with your pup. Poms make great excellent companions, but it does take a bit of work. I realize that this is somewhat irrelevant to your post, but I just couln't stop myself from posting.


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## Durbkat (Jun 26, 2007)

I agree toys, look at Mr. Winkle he is a nice pom.

http://snarkiness.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/mrwinkle.jpg


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## ToysHaveMyHeart (May 9, 2007)

He's cute!...but where are his ears?


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## Durbkat (Jun 26, 2007)

His growth has been stunted so thats why they are so small and he was a stray and this lady took him home and he has made millions! lol I bet it makes the previous owners wish they didn't abandon him. Watch the video that is hyperlinked in that faq.

http://www.mrwinkle.com/faqs2.htm


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## ToysHaveMyHeart (May 9, 2007)

Aww...that's so sad...it looks like he had also suffered some sort of neurological damage (or inherited it)-I am assuming by the tounge out of his mouth and the unbalanced walking. Its great that he was able to find a loving home. The possiblity of his previous owners abandoning him because of his ailment makes me absolutely livid . But at least he does seem to be a happy little doggie.

With him being such a small adult, I think its safe to guess that his condition was due to bad breeding.


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## pompup (Jun 30, 2007)

ToysHaveMyHeart said:


> Just a few words of advice...that will most likely mutate into a bit of a rant...
> 
> A great pomeranian book is "The Pomeranian" by Lexiann Grant and Wanyne Hunthausen, DVM (consulting vet ed.), and covers grooming, health, nutrition, a bit of training, history, and a lot of other topics.
> 
> ...


Well, I got her because I wanted a small dog that I could carry around with me most everywhere I go. So she's gonna be well socialized. I took her to my youth group today, she was so excited about all the attention, that she even wagged her tail a little bit!

I'm thinking of looking into a puppy training class at petco, depending on how much it costs. 

I have read that they tend to be yappy. I'm crate training her, and she barks and whines at first when I put her in there, but I'm assuming that's normal at first. She also barks and whines when I leave her alone in a room, but I'm also assuming that's normal for a puppy. Sometimes she barks when she gets excited, playing with my kitten and my ferret, but she seems to stop after a few barks. So it doesn't seem too bad at the moment. 

If she does get yappy, how do you teach them to not bark? Do you just say "no" every time they do it?


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## Durbkat (Jun 26, 2007)

No, you just ignore it. Like while its in the crate and it starts whining all night and if at anytime you take it out and comfort it, it will continue doing that because it know if it tries hard and long enough it will get what it wants. I've also read that you can put it in one room with the door closed and when it starts to whine and bark to throw a bean bag or a empty soda bottle at the door to startle it and when it stops for about 15 seconds then let it out and ignore it for a minute then praise it.


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## ToysHaveMyHeart (May 9, 2007)

Here are a couple of links that pretty much covers what I posted but is much more detailed:
http://www.inch.com/~dogs/cratetraining.html
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pets_cratetraining

(I wish I could post more links, but I am using a computer on campus, so no fav site for me  )

The most important thing, and seems to be universal in crate training, is that you MUST get your dog used to the crate first. One suggestion is if your pup has a favorite treat or toy toss it in the crate, if the dog goes into the crate, you can reward her (do not being to close the door on her just yet), you can also give her meals in the crate, again leave the door open. After doing this a few times, then and only then should you close the crate door, be sure to provide a safe toy or kong to keep her busy. You have to build up the amount of time that you leave her in there, I would recommend 5 min-7min-10min-20 min and so on (spread out during the day), but any other gradual increase in the amount of time works. (most of this process can be done in a day-try not to shoot for leaving her in there for hours if you can/it also helps to do the earlier steps of putting good things in the crate to attract her every once in a while each day, and continue to give meals while crated)

You want to associate the crate with good thing. PLEASE DO NOT PUNISH PUNISH THE DOG WHILE IT IS IN THE CRATE, this will only make the dog dislike being in there more and it will also put a dent in the trust you are trying to build. For nighttime, it is okay to leave her in there (with a mid-night/early morning potty since she is so young). I don't know if you mentioned how long you have had her...If you are sure that the pup is not hungry or does not need to go out, personally, I would just ignore it figuring that the pup will learn that whining gets it no where. 

Hopefully I didn't forget something, I usually do with long posts like this . Oni is at the point where I can tap the top of the crate, or say "bed" and he's happy to go in. I leave the door open and he will also go in there just to hang out during the day and sleep at night. Even though he has reached this level (he is 3yrs old now), I still on occasion give him treats for getting in just to keep him happy about it.

Here are some of the other treads about crate training from this website these are just a few, there is a search option at the top of the page under "forum rules" if you would like to search for other topics.:

http://www.dogforums.com/3-dog-training-forum/95-help-crate-training.html

http://www.dogforums.com/19-first-time-dog-owner/8805-crate-puppy-whining-barking.html

http://www.dogforums.com/13-dog-health-questions/3737-new-puppy-crying-night.html

http://www.dogforums.com/19-first-time-dog-owner/10067-more-assorted-noob-questions.html

I'm glad to hear that you are taking the time out to socialize your pup and its wonderful that she is enjoying it also.


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## pompup (Jun 30, 2007)

Thanks for the information and links.  She seems to be getting used to the crate pretty well.


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