German Spitz Small

Breed Rating

Breed Details

General

The German Spitz Small is also known as the German Spitz Toy dogs. It is similar in appearance to its two cousin breeds, the Giant and the Standard or Medium but differs in height and weight. It stands between 9-11 inches and weighs between 18-22 lbs.

The dog has a fox like face with a round head and pricked, triangular shaped ears that are set high and close to each other on the head. The body is equal in length as its height. The legs taper down into tiny feet. Dark eyes are moderate in size. Nose is black but brown is acceptable in dogs with brown coat. Medium length neck is slightly arched and is covered with ruff. Back is short and straight with broad and strong loin. The tail should be high on the rump and should curl up and over the back. The skin is tight all over the body without any wrinkles. This breed has long double coat. Topcoat is straight while undercoat is short, dense and soft to touch. The coat comes in black, white, orange, brown, wolf-grey and other colours.

This breed is NOT recognized by AKC.

Color

This dog is similar to Standard German Spitz in coat colouring but differ with Giant German Spitz. It has same coat colouring as is found for Standard Spitz. This includes Orange, White, Black, Brown, Wolf-grey and other colours.

Coat

The top coat is long and straight and covers all the body. It is shorter on head, ears, front side of front and hind legs. The undercoat is short, dense and thick. The coat forms a ruff around the dog's neck.

Personality

The German Spitz Small is an active, happy, loving and affectionate dog with an innate sense of alertness. It is a great watchdog and will bark to signal arrival of strangers. Friendly and loving to its family, the dog is reserved and wary of strangers. It is an ideal companion pet for families with older children due to its loving and gentle nature but the dog may not be suitable and trustworthy around smaller children as it gets nervous and overwhelming with them. The dog is not compatible to live with other dogs, specially of same sex, unless it is raised with them from puppyhood. It is an eager to please dog that will love to make its owner and family happy. It can learn and perform simple tricks to make the family happy and in return, get much needed attention and praise for itself. This makes the dog trainable though it has a tendency to be stubborn and wilfull if not properly trained. The German Spitz Small make great watchdogs and very good family companions with proper socialization and training.

Care

The coat is easily matted and needs regular brushing every other day to avoid tangles. Both top and undercoat will need to be brushed. Bathing once a month should be enough.

Training

Very trainable dog with a firm and consistent trainer, the German Spitz Small can learn quickly. It needs an experienced trainer or handler who can show the way to dog in a firm yet gentle manner. This breed will become willful and stubborn with a weak and inexperienced owner.

Activity

This dog is happy with whatever amount of exercise it receives AFTER it has received minimum exercise. It can be a good jogging partner and can match the owner in his exercise routines.