The statement is misleading because it treats an old ancestral lineage and a modern standardized breed as the same thing. The Pomeranian belongs to the German Spitz family, whose history is described as ancient, but that does not prove the modern Pomeranian is itself one of the world’s oldest continuously existing breeds.
The FCI’s official standard includes the Pomeranian as the German Toy Spitz and says German Spitz dogs descend from ancient European spitz-type dogs. However, the Royal Kennel Club describes the Pomeranian as a smaller dog bred down from the German Spitz and records its appearance in Britain in 1870, indicating that its recognizable modern form is substantially newer.
Archaeological research also cautions against assigning modern breed names to ancient dogs. Formal dog breeds were largely established during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, so prehistoric spitz-like ancestry cannot by itself establish the age of the modern Pomeranian breed.
The Pomeranian has ancient spitz ancestry, but the modern toy breed is much more recent.
Fédération Cynologique Internationale
The official standard classifies the Pomeranian as the German Toy Spitz and describes German Spitz dogs as descendants of ancient European spitz-type dogs.
Based on: Fédération Cynologique Internationale
Royal Kennel Club
The organization describes the Pomeranian as the smallest spitz breed, bred down from the German Spitz, and says it was first seen in Britain in 1870.
Based on: Royal Kennel Club
Reuters
Reporting on archaeological research explains that formal breeds emerged mainly in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and that ancient remains cannot reliably be assigned to modern breeds.
Based on: Reuters
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