Everything You Need To Know Before Getting A Pomeranian Puppy in Singapore!
Looking For A Pomeranian Puppy For Sale in Singapore? Learn how to care for them, and avoid these common mistakes!
Why Get A Pomeranian Puppy?
- Pomeranians have a very distinctive look: small, proud and very fluffy!
- They are blessed with the cutest face, making them look like soft toys which can instantly brighten anyone’s day. And if their looks are not enough to win you over, you’ll be happy to hear they also have the sweetest personality! They often have energy outbursts when they’re happy.
- Pomeranians are extremely friendly and love receiving attention, making them the perfect family dog.
- A benefit of their small size is that they are easy to bring out: Pomeranians can fit into a small portable dog carrier/bag and be brought around with their humans.
- Even when full grown, their small size and adorable faces often tricks others into thinking that they are young puppies!
- Pomeranians are also relatively easy to care for, and don’t need to be walked every day as they can get a lot of exercise indoors. Their fur, as majestic as it looks, is also straightforward to maintain (more on that below).
Is It a Good Idea To Bring Up A Pomeranian Puppy In Singapore?
Due to their small size, Pomeranians are very easy to bring up in Singapore, despite small living areas.
They can be pee-trained in an indoor setup, and are overall, a very clean breed.
Moreover, Pomeranians are HDB approved.
Their barks are not very loud, and they are not prone to howling, so you should be able to keep your neighbours happy!
History
Did you know that today’s adorable and fluffy Pomeranians were once big spitz-like dogs who were often used as sled dogs in the past? The ancestors of Pomeranians were arctic sled dogs in the northern region of Finland and weighed a whopping 15 – 20kg!
They were imported from Finland to Pomerania, and the breeders in Pomerania focused on improving the coat of the breed to adapt to the cold temperatures during winter as well as bringing the size of these dogs down.
Major developments in this breed really began in England. The English breeders brought down the size of Pomeranians to 10kg as well as introduced a wide variety of colours that we see in Pomeranians now, such as, black, merle, black and tan, chocolate, lavender and parti-coloured to name a few.
The breed was recognised and gained large interest by Queen Victoria of England. She went on and housed 35 Pomeranians in her royal household, it is safe to say that she had Pomeranian obsession! Queen Victoria established her own Pomeranian kennel with the sole purpose of bringing the size of the breed down even more to introduce the perfect lap dog size for the royalty and upper class back then. She was successful in her attempts and eventually brought the breed down to 1.3 – 3kg and standing at 18-20cm tall, which are the small balls of fluffs that we are very familiar with today!
Training
Pomeranians are highly trainable as they are very eager to please and will enthusiastically attempt to understand what you are expecting from them.
Pomeranians are very intelligent and thrive on mental stimulation and learning new commands/tricks.
With patience and positive reinforcements, it will be a breeze to housetrain a Pomeranian.
Here are some tips for potty training!
It is recommended to set up a small area with only a pee tray and their bed.
Poms would tend to avoid soiling their sleeping areas and do their business on the pee tray/pads. Having this setup will be crucial in setting your Poms up for success.
When they finish their business on the designated potty area, rewards and praises should be given to encourage the correct behaviour.
Any type of training requires a period of repetition and plenty of patience. Consistent training efforts are the key to success. Keep your training sessions short and positive so that both the pup and the trainer will be looking forward to the next training session!
Nutrition
Like with every other dog, a well-balanced diet is necessary in keeping your dog healthy… except it is much cheaper to feed a Pomeranian as they eat a lot less than bigger dogs. A natural diet with as little processed food as possible is ideal and can benefit your Pom in the long run. On the flip side, an improperly balanced diet can cause more harm than good compared to a traditional kibble-based diet. If important nutrients are missing from their meals, your dog can run the risk of developing health issues.
Each individual dog has different alimentary needs.
There are many factors to be considered, such as your dog’s gender, age, level of activity, weight, and overall health.
Obesity is a serious problem that must be avoided. As Pomeranians are meant to be small sized, their legs and joints are often not strong enough to withstand excessive weight, and this can potentially cause joint related health issues on top of the other well known health issues that are linked to obesity. A common tell-tale sign that your dog is overweight is when you are unable to feel their ribcage.
Obesity in dogs often occur due to not having fixed eating schedules and instead, refilling the food bowl whenever it is empty. Doing this makes it extremely difficult to control the exact amount of food that your puppy is actually eating, and as a result, your dog will probably overeat and develop obesity.
How Should I Groom My Pomeranian?
There is no doubt that one of the Pomeranian’s most attractive traits are their full and luxurious coat.
Pomeranians have a double coat, which means that they have a soft, fluffy and dense undercoat, and a topcoat that is made up of straight, coarse fur also known as guard hair.
These guard hairs are longer than the fur of the undercoat. The undercoat is there to keep the dog warm and the topcoat protects the undercoat and the dog’s skin from environmental factors like rain, snow, and UV rays.
That is why it is important to never shave a Pomeranian as without their coat, they would not be able to regulate their own body temperature and would be exposed to the harmful UV rays from the sunlight.
Additionally, if the fur is shaved, it might not grow back to its original state, soft and fluffy, instead it will be coarse and rough. Pomeranians can develop post clipping alopecia due to shaving down their fur. Post clipping alopecia develops when a dense coat is clipped down, the fur that grows back may be thin, patchy and of a different texture and therefore, altering the dog’s natural heating and cooling system.
Shower & Brushing
Pomeranians should shower once every week or once every two weeks, and like every other dog, they should not be showered every day.
Over bathing any dog would cause their skin to dry and become itchy and flaky, especially with Singapore’s humid climate. Once the skin is stripped of it’s natural oils, your dog’s skin will ‘overcompensate’ and over produce more natural oils, resulting in your dog looking and feeling greasy.
While showering your dog, make sure the dog shampoo actually reaches your dog’s skin for a thorough cleaning.
Brushing, on the other hand, should be done daily. As Poms are double coated, it is important to brush out their coat every day to rid the coat of the dead fur that has been shed. If not done regularly, the dead fur left stuck in the coat can easily tangle with the Pom’s coat and result in matting.
Thorough brushing using a slicker brush should be done to prevent mats from forming. To properly brush a Pomeranian, dampen their fur with a conditioning spray meant for their coat and brush out the fur in sections. A slicker brush should be used instead of brushes with rubber tips as those would hurt the pup more as it can easily catch onto tangles and mats and get stuck during brushing, which can tug and pull on the tangles instead of untangling it.
Nail Clipping
The nails of the Pomeranian should be clipped near to the quick, which is the blood supply and nerve that nourishes the nail.
Clipping their nails can be uncomfortable for them but it is not painful if the quick is untouched, just like human’s nails.
It is important to clip their nails twice a month as short as possible, or bring the puppy to the groomers for professional services.
Source: tractive.com
Brushing Your Pom's Teeth
- It might be tricky to brush a Pomeranian’s teeth as their mouth is small and it is significantly harder to reach the back of their mouth. Small pieces of food can easily get stuck in the Pomeranian’s mouth and if neglected, can cause tartar build up which could lead to gingivitis (the early stages of periodontal gum disease). The gum disease will cause the dog’s teeth to rot and fall out if it is not treated early.
- For Pomeranians, the right pet toothpaste and toothbrush must be used due to the small size of their mouth, it is recommended to use a small toothbrush or even a finger brush to clean the Pom’s teeth as opposed to a regular sized toothbrush. It is also important to ask your vet to check their teeth and gums health regularly.
Pomeranian Known Health Issues
Unethical breeding practices typically lead to unhealthy puppies, as unscrupulous breeders may knowingly breed dogs with health issues in order to produce more puppies for sale and maximize their profits.
Pet Me Please only works with ethical breeders who screen their dogs for 200+ known health issues before breeding them, ensuring you get a healthy puppy with no genetic disease.
Pomeranians are generally speaking a healthy breed…
But they might not be suitable for families with young children. Pomeranians are relatively fragile due to their small size and can easily get injured from things , even dropping them from a short height can lead to lasting damages, being too rough with them or accidentally stepping or sitting on them, these small accidents can lead to something more serious like their bones being fractured. Bone fractures are painful for Poms and require surgery that can be quite pricey and requires weeks or even months to fully heal.
A very common issue is a luxating patella, which refers to the propensity of their knee cap popping out of place. To prevent this, we highly recommend to keep your puppy on an anti-slip surface from a young age. Indeed, walking on slippery surfaces forces their legs to spread open and puts unnecessary pressure on their knees, and speeds ups the development of luxating patellas.
Pomeranians are also prone to trachea collapse, which happens when the cartilage around the trachea collapses. For this reason, we strongly suggest you NEVER use a collar for your Pomeranian, which can easily injure them even if you try to handle them gently. A harness is a much safer alternative.
More rarely, the breed can develop Alopecia, a skin condition also known as black skin disease. This is a genetic disease which causes the dog’s skin to turn black and lose all or most of its hair. Its development may be accelerated when a pom is shaved, so we strongly discourage you to never shave your Pomeranian.
With that being said, sourcing a Pomeranian from a reliable ethical breeder/pet shop in Singapore is the first step to giving you and your pup the assurance for a healthy and happy life. Having pets is a huge responsibility and we do our best to make sure our pups are going to the right family to avoid more dogs in adoption centres or even being abandoned. It’s not all scary, here at PMP we do our best to help owners by arming them with knowledge so they can care for their new pup confidently.
