A Pomeranian does not require as much grooming as some of the other long haired breeds but do be prepared to at least brush your dog two or three times weekly if not more often.Grooming should be a time enjoyed both by your Pomeranian and yourself. I spend delightful evenings grooming my Pomeranians while I listen to the Strauss waltzes. Your Pomeranian will go through various changes in his or her coat during the years. For new Pomeranian owners I will mention the first shed your Pomeranian puppy will go through as I have found many new owners are not prepared for the changes the little ball of fluff will go through during puppyhood.

I have sold Pomeranian puppies at 8/10 weeks of age,Pomeranian babies with beautiful full fluffy baby coats,only to have a phone call from a very upset owner when this Pomeranian was 5 to 6 months of age to tell me that I had sold them a crossbreed- Their Pomeranian had no coat!! I patiently explain that this is called the puppy uglies and that nearly all Pomeranian puppies have to go through this awkward stage of adolescent and assure the distressed owner the ugly ducking will turn into a swan at 9 to 10 months of age. Then I have to explain about the 12 month shed of his first adult coat,about girls and seasons etc. etc.etc.

There are many factors that will affect the beauty of your Pomeranian’s coat- I firmly believe that the amount of coat is genetic and I object to the practice of adding supplements to the dog’s feed in the belief that these additives will improve the coat of your dog.I personally believe that if you are feeding your dog a balanced diet there is no need for any additives and indeed I feel more harm may be done by adding some of these products to your dogs diet.

I should not need to mention keeping your dog free of internal and external parasites is an absolute necessity. Ear mites will cause your Pomeranian to scratch at his or her ears which will cause the hair behind the ears to quickly matt. Fleas will cause your Pomeranian to scratch and bite at his or her coat and any internal parasites will cause the coat to look dull and drab. Hopefully your Pomeranian came from a long line of heavily coated dogs and you as a conscientious owner correctly care for your dogs coat with regular brushing and bathing. Extra brushing will be required when your dog is shedding coat. The dead coat must be removed as soon as possible to allow the new coat to come in. All loose hair must be removed or the result will be horrible matts which may have to be removed by clipping if let go too far!!!! If you groom your Pomeranian on a regular basis these problems will not arise.

Please pay attention to behind the ears and the groin area on your Pomeranian as these areas are prone to knots and tangles. The good news for owners of male Pomeranians is once you have got him through to about 18 months of age his coat will stay relatively the same year in year out. With a Pomeranian female you will not be so lucky, as the hormonal changes with seasons often play havoc on a bitches coat. Whelping and rearing a litter usually results in a complete shed . It will take the little mother at least 6 months to regrow her coat and regain her beauty after a litter. Anesthetics will also dramatically affect your dogs coat.

I use the following methods to care for the Dochlaggie Pomeranian’s
I must mention that I have found each Pomeranian may need different treatment to achieve the effect I want. What works with one dog may not give me the desired effect with another or what I found worked last year, or even last month may no longer gives me the same results. I bath all my Pomeranians on a regular basis,show dogs weekly,the whole kennel fortnightly during the summer months and at 4 to 6 week intervals during the winter. I have found that clean hair grows and dirty hair breaks off. Bathing is also helpful in stopping many skin irritations from developing.
As the Pomeranian is a double coated breed with a harsh textured coat, use a low sudsing shampoo on your Pomeranian.

I get the best results from bathing my show dogs a day or two before a show.If your Pomeranian has the correct harsh standoff coat bathing will not soften the coat. On the other hand if your Pomeranian has a softer textured coat than desired you may achieve better results by bathing 4 to 5 days before the show. It is important to wash your dog often as dirt and dust are very drying and abrasive to a dogs coat.

Owing to the drying qualities of talcum powder this product should be used very sparingly on your Pomeranian. Training your Pomeranian to enjoy all this attention as a young pup is very very important.I groom my dogs in front of a mirror, they just love looking at themselves being made beautiful.The added advantage is I also get lots of practice setting up the dog and can easily check what the show side looks like.

Nails must be kept as short as possible to help achieve a nice little "cat foot".Remember to also check any unremoved dewclaws and keep these trimmed short. The hair around the anus may be kept short for cleanliness. In the summer months I clip any Pomeranians that I do not intend to show in the coming few months . They enjoy having a change of hairstyle for the hotter months and by winter they have regrown a full coat again.

Always dampen the dogs coat before brushing-Do not brush a dry coat as this will cause split ends. I use 1 oz of conditioner ,mixed in a spray bottle of rain water and mist the dog’s coat as I brush in sections from the skin out, with ether a bristle or pin brush. Do not use a pin brush with knobs on the ends of the pins as this type of brush may damage the coat.I find a Mason & Pearson bristle and nylon brush gives me excellent results with the harsh standoff coats on my Pomeranians.

If possible do not use silicone based products on your dog as these conduct heat and will damage the coat.If you must use these products never leave on the coat any longer than 2 or 3 days before washing all traces from the coat and never use in hot weather.

Grooming a Pomeranian Puppy with a slicker:  Always brush your Pomeranian's coat forward. Always flick the coat with the corners of the slicker, using a slicker in this manner will not damage your Pomeranian’s coat. I prefer to use a larger very soft slicker.