Pomeranian Training

Are Pomeranians Aggressive Dogs? Find Out The Facts

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Last Updated on 29/11/2023 by Dochlaggie. Post first published on May 23, 2023.

Learn why your Pomeranian is acting aggressively, how to prevent Pomeranian behavior issues, and curb Pomeranian bad habits. Is your Pom dog an angry Pomeranian? You ask, are Pomeranians mean, and are Pomeranians aggressive dogs? 

The Pomeranian disposition is usually well-behaved and naturally friendly, personable nature. Normally a Pom is not an angry or aggressive Pomeranian dog.

This article will discuss the different causes of dog aggression and how to handle it if your pup has an anger issue.

Aggressive behavior is the number one reason people seek out professional help for their dogs.

Some Pomeranians will be protective, even though they’re so small. Is your Pomeranian aggressive towards owners, growling, barking, or trying to bite visitors? Could you describe your Pom dog as an angry Pomeranian?

The Pomeranian ancestors were the bigger Spitz dogs, and they were gentle sled dogs. However, like all dog breeds, Poms may have issues with aggressive behavior but cannot be described as an aggressive breed.

Pomeranian Experts Answer the Question on Pomeranian Dog Aggression

Quote by Denise Leo, Pomeranian Expert and Author of “The Pomeranian Handbook”:

“Are Pomeranians aggressive? Absolutely not! Pomeranians are spirited and confident, but with proper socialization and training, they are gentle and loving companions.
It’s important to understand that a Pomeranian’s behavior largely depends on how owners raise and treat them.”

Quote from the team at Pomeranian Headquarters, a trusted authority on the breed:

At Pomeranian Headquarters, we firmly believe that aggression is not a breed characteristic of Pomeranians. These adorable furballs are known for their playful nature and affectionate personalities.

Pomeranians thrive as loyal and well-behaved pets with early socialization and consistent positive reinforcement, and love and care are vital ingredients to nurturing a well-rounded Pomeranian.”
The Pomeranian Headquarters Team
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Are Pomeranians Aggressive Dogs?
Are Pomeranians Aggressive Dogs?

Discover the Facts on Dog Bite Statistics

Local reports and a literature review by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) offer valuable research into dog bite data. However, the AVMA’s study does not mention Pomeranians – this could mean that the frequency of bites from this breed needs to be more significant to analyze.

Alternatively, given their small size, Pomeranian bites may go unreported. While an aggressive Pomeranian is still a concern, their small size means they are less likely to cause serious harm than larger dogs.

The AVMA’s review also revealed that smaller and medium-sized dogs display more aggressive behavior than larger breeds, according to surveys conducted with veterinarians and pet owners. This could be due to inconsistent training provided to small dogs compared to their larger counterparts.

Pomeranian Behavior Characteristics

Pomeranians have a longstanding reputation as delightful companions. Lacking a guardian disposition, Poms excel as cuddle buddies more than protective dogs. However, if your cuddly Pom displays uncommonly aggressive behavior, it can be challenging to know how to proceed.

There are Two Types of Pomeranian Aggression 

  • Being aggressive towards people. It may be a reaction to strangers in any scenario or towards you or a family member. Signs of such behavior include: snapping in the air near somebody, nipping or growling, and making contact with the person’s skin.
  • Your Pom may demonstrate aggressive behavior towards other animals. If you have other dogs or cats, this will seem more significant.

To ensure your Pom becomes a well-adjusted dog, proper training is essential. However, as a dog owner, you can take various other steps to prevent aggression in your pet. Learn more about these helpful strategies to keep your pup happy and healthy.

Preventing Aggression in Dogs: Tips for Owners

Buy From a Trustworthy Breeder

Ensure your Pomeranian puppy is healthy and well-adjusted by choosing a responsible breeder. A breeder that conducts health screenings and provides socialization before the puppy turns eight weeks old will give them a solid foundation for life.

The American Kennel Club and Pomeranian headquarters breeder referral websites are valuable sources, but it’s crucial to communicate with potential breeders and ask questions that align with your needs.

Don’t hesitate to ask if the breeder’s Pomeranians have a history of aggression. Finding a trustworthy breeder is essential in welcoming a healthy and happy Pomeranian into your home.

Improve Your Puppy’s Behavior: Socialize Pups Early

If you want to prevent dog aggression, make sure you socialize with your furry friend from a young age. Poor socialization is the usual culprit of aggressive behavior in dogs. Enroll your puppy in a socialization class so they can feel calmer and more confident in different environments.

In your spare moments, take your pup to different places and introduce them to diverse individuals. You can even ask strangers to offer your Pomeranian puppy a treat, which can help your furry friend form favorable associations with new people. Socializing your dog early can make a significant difference in their future behavior.

Learn How to Teach Your Puppy Not to Bite

Puppy biting is natural, but teaching your puppy good manners when nipping and biting is essential. To do this, you need to teach bite inhibition.

One effective method is to say “ouch” and withdraw your attention for 10-20 seconds every time your puppy bites too hard. Once they’ve learned this, move on to teaching them not to bite at medium strength, followed by softer bites until they know not to put their teeth on people.

By training your puppy in bite inhibition, you can help them develop good behavior and avoid potential problems with aggression down the road.

Train Your Dog with Positive Reinforcement

It’s essential to choose the correct training method for your four-legged friend. Avoid dominance-based approaches, such as yelling and spanking, as they can cause aggressive behavior. Instead, opt for positive-reinforcement training to promote good behavior and prevent problems.

Encourage desired actions with treats, praise, and playtime while discouraging unwanted behavior via timeouts. Timeout involves removing your attention, toys, and treats briefly.

If you’re having trouble training your Pomeranian puppy, seek assistance from a qualified positivity-based dog trainer.

Learn How to Identify the Signs of Aggression in Your Dog and Take Action

Is your dog exhibiting signs of aggression or distress? Please don’t wait until it’s too late to address the problem. Look out for telltale signs like tail tucking, lowering of the head, pinning of the ears back, snarling, and lunging.

If your dog exhibits any of the actions mentioned above, it is recommended that you take immediate action by removing them from the surroundings.

Pomeranian Aggression Towards Owners and People

Pomeranian aggression towards owners can cause frustration, but you can learn training tips to help combat the problem. Pomeranian puppy behavior training needs to be started from day one. An aggressive Pomeranian puppy needs to commence socialization training. 

There are a couple of reasons why this is happening:

Pomeranian Fear

Dog owners must understand the reasons behind fear of the unknown, including strangers and other dogs. 

Signs of fear include:

Improper Status

If your Pom is displaying aggressive tendencies toward family members, this may be because he’s confused about his status within his human family.

Pomeranian Health Issues

If your Pomeranian is usually well-behaved but suddenly demonstrates aggression one day, it may be because he has a health problem.

If he has pain, he’ll growl, snarl, nip, or possibly bite his loving owners because he has no other way to tell you he has a problem. If he feels vulnerable, he’ll lash out at whoever he believes will threaten him while weak.

If your Pom is usually friendly, happy, and calm, yet one day, he shows some aggression; you must get your vet to give him a complete medical examination. Even if you had only got him checked out recently, this change can be a serious cause for concern and needs immediate attention.

Don’t even attempt any of these following ways to train him unless you’re 100% satisfied that his health is fine.

https://pomeranian.org/angry-pomeranian/
Are Pomeranians Agressive?

Training Tips for Pomeranians Who Are Aggressive Towards Strangers

If he shows this type of aggression, it’s a socialization issue. Your Pomeranian needs to be taught that coming into contact with strangers is a natural part of life whenever he’s with you, and he’s expected to behave properly.

It’s normal for dogs to have a degree of verbal aggression when it comes to real strangers, such as door-to-door salesmen. This can be a good thing because it’s like a warning sign that someone is there who isn’t expecting it.

In fact, if your dog barks at strangers, he may scare off a person trying to break in.

Remember that although a Pom is small, if he’s barking behind a closed door, an intruder won’t know his size or whether he’ll bite. Providing your dog calms down after the person leaves, it should be okay.

If you’re happy, he barked when a stranger came to the door; you can pat him and tell him, “Good dog.” Then go back to whatever you were doing so he sees everything is fine.

It’s a different story if you’re taking him for a walk or if you’re both in a social setting. You would naturally want your Pomeranian to behave properly. No one enjoys the company of an angry Pomeranian.

So you must teach him both acceptable and unacceptable behavior. You’ll need to enlist some people to help with this training. Ask some friends, family members, and neighbors to help you; ideally, they should be people your dog isn’t used to.

Explain what you need to do to train your dog and see if they will help with different scenarios. Once you start this training, you should do it daily until you’re happy he’s fully trained. The first test is to get somebody to come to your home and need dog treats in their pocket.

When your friend tells you they’re at your door, get your Pom to sit beside you and have him on a leash. Open the door and teach your beloved pet that everything is fine.

Use slow actions and calm words. Show your dog you’re greeting this person without stress or tension. Get your friend to give your Pom a small treat but save the rest for a bit later. This training scenario aims to reward your dog for good behavior and isolate him if he behaves badly.

If he interacts with someone well, even for a minute, get excited as though that’s absolutely fantastic, pat him, praise him, and give him some treats.

Every time your dog demonstrates aggressive behavior, take him into an empty room where he can see you but not get to you. A playpen is a great example of this. Then you socially isolate him for five minutes by ignoring him. Don’t tell him off or respond. Simply ignore him.

Show him that life is no fun if he misbehaves. After the five minutes have elapsed, bring him back to the room where you and your helper are sitting. Every action should be responded to with either isolation or praise, depending on whether he has been bad or good. This first visit should only last 10 minutes.

As you change your helpers, increase the time increments by five minutes. Thirty minutes is the maximum time period for this training.

If you rigidly follow this training plan word for word, it should only take two weeks for your Pom to be used to strangers, and his behavior will vastly improve.

Are Pomeranians Aggressive Dogs?
Are Pomeranians Aggressive Dogs?

Training Tips for Pomeranian Aggression Towards Owners and Family Members

If your Pom is 100% healthy but still demonstrates aggression toward your family’s human members, the most likely reason is instinct. A dog has an innate instinct to be the “alpha dog.”

When dogs run in packs, a leader is always the “alpha.” This was for the good of the whole pack. Pet dogs also need an “alpha” in their pack, usually a human like you.

A dog has to know if he’s the leader or if another dog (or human) is the leader. Then he won’t be confused and demonstrate aggression.

He’ll get stressed if he doesn’t know who the alpha is, even if it’s himself. He may test members of the family to see if someone backs down, someone takes charge, or if someone will take his place as a leader by facing up to him.

Why Is My Pomeranian Aggressive Towards Children?

The causes of dog aggression towards family members can be anything from fear to possessiveness and even hierarchy issues.

With their small size, Pomeranians can be delicate. Children need to know how much care they need when dealing with these little dogs not to cause any harm or injury.

As children often cannot read the signs of a dog in pain, the dog may try and remove itself from the child’s company or respond aggressively.

The dog’s owner should be aware of the signs that their pet may have shown aggression towards children and take appropriate measures to prevent further aggressive behavior.

Keep Kids Safe: Supervising Your Pomeranian Around Children

Did you know that most dog bites occur when a child doesn’t know how to interact with a dog? Denise Leo recommends protecting your Pomeranian and young children, and being present and supervising interactions between them is essential.

Denise Leo recommends that a capable person, like the dog’s owner, be present to intervene if necessary. With Pomeranians being a small breed, it’s even more important to watch out for over-excited children who may accidentally injure your furry friend. Keep your Pomeranian and young visitors safe by being present and supervising all interactions.

My Pomeranian is Being Very Aggressive Towards Animals

If your dog is aggressive towards animals, it could be an expression of its prey drive. It’s also possible they’re trying to figure out where they fit in with other dogs and/or their human family members.

The Pomeranian is a breed that does not have an intense prey drive. It will just be figuring out how it stands in the world.

Pomeranian Aggressive Towards Other Dogs

Life will improve once your Pom is trained to behave properly around other dogs. If your Pomeranian shows aggression towards other dogs, it can have an adverse effect when you take him for walks, to the vet, and many other things.

Find someone, whether a neighbor, friend, or family member, who already has a well-behaved dog. Arrange a “play date.”

Explain to that person that you’re using a training method and that it will take a couple of weeks to fully train your dog so he knows what behavior is expected of him in all situations.

You’ll need plenty of patience, but the rewards are plentiful…a life-long companion who will bring great joy to your life. Both dogs must have their leashes on, and your Pom also needs a harness. Ask your helper to have treats in their pocket when they arrive. You should also have treats in your pocket.

When the other dog enters your dog’s “territory,” talk happily and stay calm. Let the dogs sniff each other. If your dog barks or is aggressive in any way, pull him back by the leash until he’s 10 feet away. Then ignore him 100%.

Don’t talk to him, pat him or pat him. After the barking stops (and eventually it will), you can walk your dog back to where the other dog is sitting patiently.

Whenever aggression surfaces in your Pomeranian, lead him away from everyone else and ignore his barking and other ways to attract your attention. This positive reinforcement will teach him that he gets zero attention, zero interaction, and zero fun when aggressive.

When your Pom behaves well with the other dog, praise him roughly once a minute. Give both dogs some treats and watch them both to ensure no trouble is caused.

Pomeranian
Pomeranian

To teach your dog that you’re the true leader, you must strictly follow these rules at all times:

People always eat first. If mealtime is for people and dogs, they should eat for 30 seconds. Then one of the owners will stand and tell the Pom to sit. As long as he sits, his bowl will be placed on the floor, and he can eat while everybody else eats.

People enter and exit rooms first. If you leave the home or return, you must enter first, followed by your pet. You use a leash to ensure the Pom waits for his turn.

This gives him the powerful message that you’re the den leader, and the house is the den. When you take the time to train your dog to behave the right way, you build a strong relationship between you and your Pomeranian.

Offering a fun way to interact and, at the same time, teaching him respect will positively establish you as the pack’s leader, and, as such, you must be obeyed.

Dog owners need to understand Pomeranian behavior issues are a socialization problem.

Pomeranian Dog
Pomeranian Dog

How Do I Know If My Dog Is An Angry Pomeranian

You might be wondering if your Pomeranian is angry. They can show signs of playfulness or something more severe, like aggression.

Still, luckily with some knowledge about how dogs communicate through body language, we’ll know what these behaviors may indicate.

When you notice your dog’s body language changing, it might indicate that he is feeling threatened.

Final Thoughts on Aggressive Pomeranian Behavior

Are you looking for an adorable and cuddly dog companion? Look no further than the Pomeranian! Known for their sweet and affectionate personalities, Pomeranians are great for families and individuals alike. Plus, unlike other dog breeds, they are not known for being aggressive.

However, if you are experiencing difficulty training your Pom and suspect an underlying problem, it’s best to obtain the help of a professional dog trainer. Their expertise can help turn your aggressive Pomeranian into the lovable and fluffy pet they were meant to be.

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References and Further Reading:
[1] Official Standard of the Pomeranian (AKC). American Kennel Club, 2011.
[2] English Kennel Club Pomeranian Breed Standard, 2017.
[3] Denise Leo, The Pomeranian Handbook.
[4] Milo G. Denlinger “The Complete Pomeranian.”
[5] Kimbering Pomeranians “1891-1991”.
[6] William Taplin’s “The Sportsman’s Cabinet.”
[7]  E. Parker “The Popular Pomeranian.”
[8] Lilla Ives “Show Pomeranians.”

Angry Pomeranian
Angry Pomeranian

Are Pomeranians Easy To Train? Pomeranian Training Tips

 

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About

Denise Leo

Pomeranians are my passion, and I have shared my life with these darling little dogs for many decades. The creator and face behind this website is published author and Pomeranian breed authority Denise Leo of Dochlaggie Pomeranians.

Denise Leo
Denise Leo