Infiniti
Posted : 1/26/2008 2:43:43 PM
I'm hoping to contribute my thoughts delicately, as this appears to be a topic that touches on sensitivity. In regards to your OP, yes, Pomeranians are part of the backyard breeder issue (as many breeds are). The lack of care involved with BYB does lead to multitudious imperfections within the breed. However, there are established breeders who end out producing less-than-perfect Poms. That's why breeders sell "pet quality" pups. These are pups that do not meet the breed standard, and should not be shown or bred because of these imperfections. This does not make them less of a dog, merely not the correct "face" of their particular breed.
However, I do not believe that there are tons of Kleinspitz running around in the country. There are most definitely incorrect Poms, ones who are over-sized or have different ears. But looking different than the breed standard does not make a Klein for me. As an example, you would not call an oversized Beagle a Foxhound. They are two separate breeds, related yes, but two different breeds. As such, the dog world has recognized the difference between the Klein and the Pom (and the Mittle and Gross). While only a few registries recognize the different varieties, that does not mean they are not separate because the AKC does not say it is so. I definitely agree that many pet-quality Poms DO resemble Kleins. This stands to reason, as all 5 varieties of German Spitz are related. But the Klein is an established breed in other countries. The Klein has their own breed standard, and I feel that the only true Kleins in the US would be ones who were brought overseas. Do I think that there are lots of Poms who could be recognized as Kleins in other countries? Yes, definitely. But this is because their Pomeranian "imperfections" resemble the selected qualities of the Klein.
To take pet-quality Poms and deem them Kleins seems...wrong in some way that I can't accurately describe. Until a solid Kleinspitz line imports to the US and breeds true here, I just don't think that we should take incorrect Poms and make them our own version of the Kleinspitz. As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
There's five recognized varieties for a reason. They're all different, no matter what variations might occur in the pet-quality offspring.
I do agree that having Kayla as the poster Pom for your website is not the best idea. Your website is well-intended, and in order to reflect the most accurate information, you should definitely utilize pictures of Poms who are recognized for their conformation. Kayla would be a lovely poster Pom for a section on pet-quality Poms. And I do happen to agree with PWCA on the fact that you should probably not be calling Kayla a Klein. I could definitely see unethical breeders calling their BYB Poms "Kleinspitz" in order to achieve a higher dollar. Your stance on BYB tells me that you would not want to see this catch on. Since you're so passionate about educating the difference about Kleins and Poms, perhaps you can include a section on your website about the differences in the varieties, and how Pomeranians are the only recognized variety in the US right now. I would love to see true Kleinspitz and German Spitz in this country eventually, as they're beautiful dogs.
Just my proverbial two cents. Hope it all made sense.