Crufts, 2008

Crufts has been over for just over a week and people are still talking about the German Spitz (Mittel) results for this year. A beautiful cream dog, CH DRUITZ CORNCRACKER FOR TEAMSPITZ JW SHCM, won the breed and made the cut in the group (a first for the breed), but an American Eskimo Dog, AM/POL CH HOWLINGROCS SEXN THE CITY, won 4th in the Open Dog class.

In the past, American Eskimos have been recognized as German Spitz by FCI under the understanding that this was the American name for the breed. However, AKC has accepted the German Spitz itself into the Foundation Stock Service- which would imply the breeds are NOT the same. The breed standards have distinct differences (eye shape and foot shape are directly contradictory, the shape of the skull and proportion of muzzle to skull are different, and of course there’s the color issue) and a dog that is correct for one shouldn’t be able to achieve a championship under the other. Complaints have been filed with the KC and FCI has been approached about recognizing the Eskie as it’s own breed. The whole thing is a big mess- but a very interesting one.

Living in Texas, Crufts is half a world away- I’m very glad for the internet, as I can’t imagine having been a breed fancier of a such an uncommon breed in the days before email! 🙂 I’m hoping to attend Crufts next year- if I’ve got any British readers, got any tips?

How I Choose A Breed

Choosing a breed is a really important part of picking the right dog for your family. Energy level, grooming requirements, personality traits- all of that plays a big role. Unfortunately, a lot of people get caught up on an aesthetic trait- and there’s nothing WRONG with that, but you have to also be realistic about your own capabilities when it comes to exercising and training a dog. So this post is really about how *I* chose the breed, and MY requirements.
I had a really long list of requirements, too. 🙂

The mental- smart, trainable, not TOO barky (something on the order of a collie was okay, but a sheltie would make me nuts), not too independent but not too clingy, either. Stubborn was fine, as was creative, to a degree- I wasn’t looking for a push-button dog, but I also wanted a dog who wanted to work with me and would find it rewarding (along with food) to be in my presence- some corgi girls deign to give you their attention once in a while but can be REALLY hard to motivate for that reason. I didn’t want a dog that would be innately difficult to train for reliability offleash outdoors (which ruled out beagles and most of the nothern breeds) since the dogs are offleash a lot at our family farm which has perimeter fencing, but the interior fencing isn’t all (or even mostly) dog proof, and finding a dog on 2000 acres, 1/2 of that thick, scrubby bush? No fun. Basically? I wanted something similar to my corgi and my collie in personality and drive- a blend of the two would be perfect. And while I don’t mind prey drive, I wanted a dog who could live peacably with other pets, including small animals, and this ruled out most of the terriers.

The physical- I wanted a healthy breed with a natural look and not too many major health issues. I wanted a dog big enough and sturdy enough to play with Malcolm (10″ was my minimum height, and 12# my minimum weight- these were based on a dog I was fostering, a Chihuahua mix, who played VERY well with him) but not taller than 20″ at the shoulder, and preferably towards the smaller end of that. Since most breeds in that height range are shown on the table in the breed ring, I wanted a dog that typically weighs less than 30 pounds, the maximum I’m comfortable lifting frequently on and off a grooming table. This last requirement ruled out another Cardigan Corgi.

The aesthetic and purely shallow things- I wanted a natural-looking breed without too extreme grooming requirements for the show ring, preferably with erect ears. (Yes, it’s shallow, but I like them.) I wanted at least a double-coated dog like my Corgi but a dog with a bit more coat would be great too, as long as it wasn’t so long that it dragged the ground. I preferred a breed which came in multiple colors, and despite this requirement, came very close to putting down a deposit for an American Eskimo puppy- but in the end, decided to keep looking. I don’t mind fluff drying, but I’m not a good enough groomer to prepare something that needs extensive scissoring for the show ring, like a poodle. Oh, and I wanted a clean face- no beards to gather gunk- this took out the Tibetan Terrier, a breed which a friend owns and has been successful with.

The practical- I wanted a breed that wasn’t dominated by professional handlers in the show ring. (There went the shelties!) It didn’t have to be an AKC breed as long as I could show it with UKC or another real kennel club. That said, I wanted a breed that wasn’t OPPOSED to AKC registration so that hopefully it would eventually become AKC recognized and open up another venue for dog sports- by far the largest one in my area, where we have relatively few UKC shows. I also wanted a breed with a large enough gene pool that if I *did* fall in love and want to breed someday, it’d be feasible. (which removed the Alaskan Klee Kai from consideration) And along with that, I wanted a breed that I’d be comfortable placing in a wide variety of living environments if I did breed- a breed that could be a good family dog, performance dog, show dog, companion, and possibly even small service dog (hearing, psychiatric, seizure alert, etc.).

After sifting through every breed book I owned (including several from the UK and Australia), reading most of the United Kennel Club, American Kennel Club, and Canadian Kennel Club websites, and talking the problem to death with my best friend, and getting to meet a number of breeds I’d never really considered, I finally settled on a breed- the German Spitz (Mittel).

A Brief History of the German Spitz

The natural features, erect ears, foxy face, and curled tail characterize all the breeds in what we call the Spitz family and most of the northern and primative group of dogs. The German Spitz, specifically, is thought to descend from sled or draft dogs brought to Germany sometime in the early middle ages. Early reports of Queen Charlotte’s dogs describes them as herding dogs, and in all likelihood the prototypical German Spitz was an all-around farm and family dog fulfilling many different roles depending on the needs of their owner- simple herding, crittering, playing with children, and as a watchdog and companion. The smaller sizes evolved as companions.
The German Spitz was originally introduced to England by Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III in the 18th century. At the time, it was a much larger dog- around 30 pounds. At the time, these were called Pomeranians, since they were believed to originate in Pomern. The modern toy form of the Pom originated with Queen Victoria over a hundred years later when she found her first toy speciman of the breed (In Italy? need source -ed.) and the standard was revised to the modern size. But the original, larger form persisted in Germany, merely known as the Spitz and divided by size (and color.)
In the 1970s, a Pomeranian fancier in England decided to look to Europe in an attempt to reintroduce the color white into the British Pom, where it had apparently been lost. This led to a group of fanciers trying to incorporate a larger size of Pom (the “Victorian Pom”) which was unsuccessful due to the resistance of fanciers of the smaller modern version of the breed, and it was decided instead to bring the German Spitz into the UK as a separate breed, and not allow interbreeding of the two smaller varieties (Mittel and Klein.) The first Spitz imported into the United States under that name arrived in the mid-90s and their numbers have grown slowly since then.
There is some confusion in the US about the origin of the American Eskimo. American Eskimos come, originally, from German Spitz, but a century of indepdent development has created a unique standard and character.

Sources
“The New Complete Pomeranian”
German Spitz World UK website, http://www.germanspitzworld.co.uk and the article there by Rosemary Bergman.
Picture courtesy of http://www.georgianindex.net/Prinny/pwales.html

The Varieties

The German Spitz, in Germany, consists of five varieties. Unlike varieties in the AKC use of the word (where the various types may be interbred), each variety of German Spitz is considered separate, although I believe the smaller varieties may be interbred to some extent, particularly Kleinspitz and Zwergspitz, which have both been registered as Pomeranians in some countries. Although the Keeshond and Pomeranian are recognzied worldwide, the Gross Spitz is quite rare outside of Germany. The German Spitz (Mittel) and German Spitz (Klein) are recognized as separate breeds by the Kennel Club (in the UK) and in Australia.

• Wolfspitz (43-55cm / 17″-21.5″) is known as the Keeshond elsewhere in the world and comes in only one color, wolf-grey (grey sable).
• Gross Spitz (42-50cm / 16″-19.5″) or Giant Spitz is the least common of the varieties. It comes in only solid colors: Black, brown (liver) or white.
• Mittel Spitz (30-38cm / 12″-15″), the Medium Spitz comes in Black, brown,
  white, orange, grey-shaded (sable of all shades from black/silver sable to orange and cream sables to wolf-grey), other colors (particolor).
• Klein Spitz (23-29cm / 9″-11.5″), or Small Spitz. Comes in the same colors as the Mittel.
• Zwerg Spitz (18-22cm / 7″-8.5″). This is the most popular of the German Spitz varieties, known outside of Germany as the Pomeranian.

The FCI breed standard defines ‘other colors’ as particolor (white predominating, with colored patches on a white ground), black and tan, other shades of sable, and cream. This is somewhat confusing, as other colors DO occur and are allowed- blue, chocolate and tan, etc. White markings on an otherwise solid dog are a disqualification.

In the UK and Australia, the breed standard allows for any color and does not discriminate against marked self dogs. Currently in the US, the clubs which allow conformation showing for the German Spitz (UKC, IABCA, Rarities) all use the FCI standard.

Welcome!

This blog was created to chronicle the growth of a German Spitz puppy.

The Spitz family of dogs is familiar to most pet owners, encompassing a huge number of breeds with similar features- erect ears, typically curved tails, and thick, dense coats to protect them against the cold. From the toy spitz breeds such as Pomeranians to the giant Alaskan Malamute, the Spitz family is a delightful one with a breed to suit nearly all homes. In Germany, Spitz refers to a specific breed of dog which comes in five varieties- the Wolfspitz (called Keeshond in other countries), Gross Spitz (or large German Spitz), Mittel Spitz (medum), Klein Spitz (small), and Zwerg (toy or dwarf Spitz, called Pomeranian in other countries.) My puppy will be a Mittel.

The German Spitz is not currently recognized by the AKC, although it is part of the Foundation Stock Service, which will eventually allow the breed to become fully recognized once a breed club forms and sufficient dogs have been imported and registered with AKC. Currently the German Spitz can compete in allbreed organizations such as NADAC and USDAA for agility and the United Kennel Club, and be shown in conformation through Rarities and several international-type show organizations.

I am currently on the waiting list for a puppy that is due in October. Keep your fingers crossed for us!