Judging Pomeranian Puppy Coats

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174 – March, 2025

By Stephanie Hentschel

One of the Pomeranian’s most distinguishing features is its beautiful coat. A correct double coat consists of a short dense undercoat and longer, textured guard hair. Combined, this forms a ruff around the neck, over the shoulders, and chest. The thighs and hind legs are heavily coated and the length is maintained to form a skirt. The tail is profusely covered with the same long, harsh hair to form a heavy plume. The first few sentences of the Pomeranian breed standard describe the correct coat in detail and should help clarify the strong emphasis on a correctly coated dog. While overall breed type, structure, and movement are essential to the breed–the coat is an important element and should be given the proper weight when judging.

It is no secret that Alopecia-X (referred to by vets as hair cycle arrest) is a problem that plagues several Spitz breeds, especially the Pomeranian. The American Pomeranian Club, its members, and breeders recognize this to be a serious problem and have contributed countless time and funding to research and education. While the exact cause of Alopecia-X remains unknown, it is essential that dogs with improper coats are not used in breeding programs, and that dogs showing indications of this disease are not awarded in the show ring.

While you can only judge the dog on the day, you must consider the impact of today’s judging on the future. Every pedigree and line matures differently, and even breeders cannot predict how a dog will fully mature. However, there are indicators that can help determine if the coat is properly transitioning to the ideal double coat that is outlined in the standard. Puppies, especially in the 6-9 class, may mostly have a softer, dense, shorter coat all over their body. As puppies mature, they will often have a “stripe” of hair up their back that is more brilliant in color and is harsher in texture. This is the adult coat that is beginning to grow. This stripe will eventually expand and the rest of the body, the tail, and pants will also begin to grow guard hair. Oftentimes one of the first indicators of Alopecia-X is a profuse, abundant puppy coat that lacks guard hairs. As the dog ages, the cottony coat does not properly shed out or transition and the hair eventually becomes dry and brittle.

Click here to read the complete article
174 – March, 2025

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