The German Spitz breeds descend directly from the Nordic herding dogs, like the Samoyed, which were probably taken to Germany and Holland by the Vikings during the Middle ages. These dogs then spread throughout Europe and were crossed with other herding and shepherd breeds, thus making the foundation of the Spitz type. By 1700's, the Spitz became the fashion of British Society. Queen Victoria acquired several Spitz dogs weighing between 20 to 30 pounds from Pomerania. The German's disapproved of the erroneous term Pomeranian being used to describe the Spitz dog. These were not the same dog which is recognised today as the Pomeranian but were more the size of the present day Mittel German Spitz. With the ascent to the throne of Queen Victoria, the breed would be changed forever. The Spitz were gradually bred smaller and smaller until the toy breed of Pomeranian emerged. The larger sized Spitz died out apart from the odd large Pomeranian puppy cropping up in a litter. All things German dwindled away during the two world wars. The first German Spitz, as we know them today in the UK, was imported by a breeder who was wanting to re-introduce the white Pomeranian. As the breed was becoming established there was a mix of sizes as Pomeranians were used to mate with the imported dogs. You now have our present day German Spitz in two sizes in the UK and breeding between sizes is forbidden. However Kleins will occasionally pop up in Mittel litters and vice versa because of the mixed ancestry. Until 1994 the breed was classified by the Kennel Club as a Rare Breed.

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