Pomeranian Size Compared to Other Breeds
You may be wondering how small or large Pomeranians are in comparison to other breeds. However, it's important to note that just as it is with Poms, other breeds can also be larger than what is seen in the standard. The following is based just off of AKC breed standards and shows several of the most popular breeds in the toy group.
As you can see, the Pomeranian is one of the smallest toy breeds. In fact, only the Chihuahua has a smaller listed weight. The Pomeranian, at least in regard to standard guidelines, is on par with the Yorkshire Terrier and the Maltese. The Papillon, Shih Tzu, and Pug are notably larger in this regard. But, as you'll see coming up next, reported weights of pet Pomeranians brings some of them right in the range of these larger toy breeds dogs.
Actual Size of Pet Pomeranians
Breed standard guidelines are important documents. They specify the physical aspects of each purebred breed and this is what sets apart one from the other. This is very helpful for breeders in their quest to produce high-quality dogs and to fulfill a pledge to breed for the 'betterment of the breed'.
This said, some aspects, like size and weight, offer a very narrow range that most pet Poms cannot fit into, unlike their show -quality counterparts that compete in conformation events.
For this reason, a good number of Pomeranians are larger than the 3 to 7 pounds as seen in the AKC breed standard.
In 2018, PetPom conducted an online survey revolving around Pomeranian appearance, behavior, health, and personality. The full survey results can be found in
PetPom's GIANT Book of Pomeranian Care. In regard to size, we asked only those with adult Poms 1 year and up (84%, a total of 3,104 Pomeranians) how much their Poms weighed. The results were as follows:
2.5 lbs. (1.13 kg) 0%
3 lbs. (1.36 kg) 1%
3.5 lbs. (1.58 kg) 1%
4 lbs. (1.81 kg) 2%
4.5 lbs. (2.04 kg) 2%
5 lbs. (2.26 kg) 5%
5.5 lbs. (2.49 kg) 5%
6 lbs. (2.72 kg) 5%
6.5 lbs. (2.94 kg) 6%
7 lbs. (3.17 kg) 5%
7.5 lb. (3.40 kg) 7%
8 lbs. (3.63 kg) 6%
8.5 lbs. (3.85 kg) 5%
9 lbs. (4.08 kg) 7%
10 lbs. (4.54 kg) 11%
More than this 29 %
I’m not sure! 3%
We're sure you'll agree these results are very interesting.
No adult Pomeranians were smaller than 3 lbs. And just a small percentage, 4%, were in the 3 to 4-pound range.
If we look at all adult Pomeranians that fell within the 3 to 7 pound range (which is the listed weight per AKC breed standards) just a minority of Poms, 32%, were this size.
Because 3% of the respondents were not sure of the answer, this shows that the majority of adult Pomeranians, 65%, were 7.5 pounds or larger.
Looking at just the 7.5 to 10-pound range, this was the size of 36% of the Pomeranians.
And, as you can see, 29% were bigger than 10 pounds.
A Note about Mini, Teacup, Toy, and Other Size-related Terms
There is only one Pomeranian breed, meaning that there are no official off-shoots or special varieties. Though, you may have heard the terms 'teacup Pomeranian', 'toy', 'miniature', 'micro' or other words or phrases that suggest that a Pom is smaller than average.
These are all just marketing terms meant to draw in potential puppy buyers and it's terribly misleading.
As we covered, the AKC breed standard lists a weight of just a mere 3 pounds minimum as does the CKC. The KC has a minimum weight of 4 pounds. So, it's nearly impossible for an adult Pomeranian to be any smaller than is already expected by these major organizations. And,
as our survey showed, out 3104 adult Poms, exactly zero were smaller than 3 pounds.
Tips Regarding Pomeranians on the Small End of the Scale
This is Pooh, at 1 year old and just under 3 lbs. | Photo courtesy of Tammie