How Long Do Pomeranians Live?

Know Your Pomeranian

Pomeranians are also called ‘Poms’, which is a pretty name that rhymes with their loyalty to humans and cuteness. A fully grown Pom is between 8 to 11 inches in height, and they are well classified under the small toy dog breeds.

They further tell their toy characteristic with their weight of between 1 to 3 kilograms (3 to 7 pounds). You can easily identify a Pom by observing his dense fluffy double coat, headed by a foxlike face, and his attentive and prick ears.

This is surely an interesting breed to adopt. But how long do Pomeranians live and what can we do as pet parents to extend their lifespan?

1.  Brief History

The Pomeranian has been long considered a descendant of German Spitz. The dog got its name from Pomerania in the Baltic Sea, which is a region between northern Poland and Germany. This breed was first registered by the American Kennel Club in 1898 and gained official recognition in 1900.

2.  Pomeranians’ Coat

Pomeranians shed a lot due to their heavy double coat, so you need to constantly vacuum your house to remove the fallen fur and keep your house clean.

Poms have a fairly square body shape and a fluffy tail that waves up and over their back. Their necks have a thick ruff all around which makes them a suitable breed to have in a country with lower temperatures throughout the year.

3.  Pomeranian Color

Orange is the most common color for Pomeranians. However, they exist in many colors and you will certainly find cream, white, black, brown, gray, or chocolate shades of Poms in your neighborhood.

The rarest Pomeranian color that you might come across is lavender. This color is very rare because it can only be brought about by breeding very specific and rare genes of Poms.

4.  Personality

Pomeranians have a great personality for a good companion dog in your house. They can easily interact with both humans and other pets in equal measures. You will not miss seeing your Pom engaging with larger dog breeds in interactive games and tackling them despite their small body sizes.

It is not uncommon to see your Pom welcoming a new face to your house especially if he recognizes him as your guest.

Despite their sociable character, Poms are very good watchdogs and they will always alert you when they sense danger in your presence. This makes Pomeranians susceptible to the excessive barking because that is what they chiefly rely on when sounding off alarms.

How Long do Pomeranians live?

This is a question that has been asked by people who already have a Pomeranian or would love to adopt one in the future.

Pomeranians are classified as small dog breeds and most of these types of dogs generally mature faster than their large breed counterparts.

This toy breed however has a longer lifespan than the larger dog breeds. This can be attributed to the fact that big dogs would always need more energy to keep them going and maintain daily functions.

Your newly-born Pom is now 1 month old, and you are wondering how long he is going to be with you. His mother is 7 years old now and the same question lingers in your mind. 

It is good enough to know the average life expectancy of your lovely pet. This will enable you to manage your expectations of him and also let you know when he is getting old. Elderly dogs always need a special type of attention compared to their younger ones.

An elderly dog will for example need dietary supplements more than other younger dogs. These supplements are useful in providing them with several nutrients and minerals which might be lacking in the main diet.

How long do Pomeranians live depends on few factors like genetics, how well you take care of him, and the things that you can do to increase his life expectancy.

An average Pomeranian lives between 12 and 16 years. Some Pomeranians will live shorter and others longer than this range.

How Long Do Teacup Pomeranians Live?

Miniature Pomeranians, which are widely known as ‘teacups’, are small-sized dogs of the already small Pomeranians.

Teacup Pomeranians are a sub-breed of Pomeranians with an extremely small size and are usually less healthy than Pomeranians. A normal Pomeranian normally weighs between 3 and 4 pounds (1.36 – 1.81 kilograms).

Breeding a Pomeranian below 3 pounds (1.36 kilogram) would be considered to be unhealthy and below the recommended standards in most countries.

The life span of a teacup Pomeranian ranges between 12 and 15 years. Teacups are prone to some genetically predisposed medical conditions due to their small size.

How To Keep a Pomeranian Healthy

In order to ensure your Pom lives to his fullest, you need to take good care of him by ensuring he gets his essentials in life.

A Pomeranian’s life span can be increased by doing your basic part as a pet parent. Just ensure your dog is well fed, he gets quality sleep, exercises, and prompt medical attention in case of any health issues.

Pomeranians are easy to keep up with because they do not require a lot of work. All they need is mostly within your reach and you can give them the best life.

They can sometimes be choosy eaters and consume only their favorite food but they rarely get obese and this can be attributed to their active nature.

Due to their heavy double coat and fluffy neck, you will be required to groom your Pom regularly to keep him clean and also to reduce shedding. When grooming your dog, you need to get a perfect dog brush that will get the work done without tampering with his coat pattern.

Similar to other dog breeds, Poms also need regular exercises to keep them active and fit. Most people usually ignore taking their Poms to exercise but that should not be the case.

In fact, you will realize that Poms are one of the dog breeds that love training and learning new tricks every day. They are intelligent by nature and will often repeat whatever they perform in a short time.

Even though Pomeranians will socialize well with other dog breeds, you need to be cautious if you have multiple dogs in your house which include smaller and larger breeds. Poms should not be mixed with the larger breed when left alone for a longer time.

Larger breeds might severely injure smaller breeds if they’re provoked to that extent. It is a good idea to separate your dog in terms of body size, especially in sleeping areas, feeding areas, and when left in the house for long hours.

Poms have been found to do very well when raised in a house with children. They enjoy playing with children and running around with them.

You should however supervise your children when they are playing with poms to prevent them from squeezing and petting them in the wrong area. I wrote a guide on how to teach kids to interact with dogs.

9 Things You Can Do to Extend a Pomeranian Life Span

Having the average Pomeranian live for around 15 years does not necessarily mean that this is the maximum your lovely furry friend can reach.

We have had cases where a pom has lived up to 21 years old. Coty was his name, the oldest Pomeranian to be recorded to date.

How did Coty’s owners do it? Can you increase your pom’s life span? To answer these questions, we need to look at what we can do as pet parents to give them the best and longest life.

The following are some of the key things you can do to ensure that your Pomeranian lives a happy and healthy life:

1.  Vaccinate your Pom

Right from when he is eligible for vaccination, ensure your pom gets all the recommended vaccination shots at the right time.

The core puppy vaccinations are normally administered at 5/6 weeks, 9 weeks, 12 weeks, and 16 weeks of age. After that, your adult pom will be eligible to get the adult booster shots that should be recommended by your vet.

2.  Interact with your Pom

Pomeranians are very social dogs. They value every minute spent with their owners. The amount of time you spend with your Pom will definitely affect the quality of life that he has. 

Ensure that you create enough time regularly to sit down with your pom and pet him the right way. If you do this consistently, then your lovely pom will feel the affection and this will reduce his stress and anxiety levels by increasing his oxytocin and lowering the cortisol hormones.

3.  Eliminate triggers that cause stress and anxiety

You would not want your pom to be stressed and anxious all the time. You can do this by eliminating all the triggers that are likely to make your dog stressed.

Ensure that your dog is not left alone for prolonged periods. Aside from boredom, this might make him feel secluded and separated from the rest of the family.

If you work for long hours, consider hiring a dog walker who can take your pomeranian for a walk or two daily.

They should not be left alone with larger dog breeds for a prolonged time, especially when the larger dog breed is not accommodative of toy dogs. This will make your Pom feel threatened and will mess up his cortisol hormone level.

Like many other dogs, Pomeranians can be afraid of very loud sounds, especially when alone. Always ensure that your Pom is left in a manageable noise-level environment. Let him be the noisemaker and not the subject of too much noise.

4.  Feed your Pom a healthy balanced diet

What type of food do you give your pup? Always ensure that he gets a balanced and healthy diet throughout the day. In these meals, he should be able to get all the required nutrients and minerals to keep his body fit and healthy.

Remember that a balanced diet is not complete without clean drinking water. It is not uncommon to hear pet parents confessing that they forgot to give water to their pups. You can get your dog a good water fountain that will constantly provide water for him in an attractive way to encourage him to drink more.

Alongside this balanced diet, it’s advisable to give your Pomeranian some dog supplements especially when he starts aging. This will help to keep his muscles strong, provide a healthier coat, and also improve his bone health.

5.  Check your Pom’s dental health

Always keep checking your Pomeranian’s teeth and gum to ensure that they are healthy and in good condition. If your lovely furry friend suffers from any dental disease, then it might affect his feeding behavior.

This will in turn deny him the opportunity to ingest the right amount of nutrients and minerals needed to keep him fit. Teeth can be checked by a vet during the yearly check-up visit.

Also, some dog treats are effective in cleaning your pom’s teeth, removing plaque, and preventing dental diseases like gingivitis.

6.  Watch your Pom’s weight

Being overweight and obese has been associated with many health complications. These health problems can certainly affect the pom’s life. You can watch your pup’s weight by ensuring that he feeds on healthy food with fewer carbs and fat.

His diet should mainly consist of foods that do not add more weight to his body. Such foods are mostly animal-based proteins and vegetables. You need to talk to your vet to get the best diet recommendation for your Pom based on his age, medical, and other predisposing conditions.

7.  Regular exercise

Pomeranians are small dogs and it is very easy to assume that they do not need to exercise. Like all other dog breeds, Poms need regular exercises to keep them healthy and fit. Daily exercise strengthens the heart and muscles and provides a lot of health benefits.

The advantage with poms is that you do not need a very big space for exercising Just a small space is enough to keep him engaged for a session.

8.  Provide him with toys

Poms are intelligent dogs and they love playing games that work their brains out. You can therefore provide your Pom with interactive dog toys for him to play with to get stimulated and worked out. Stimulated games are also good for increasing your dog’s mental capacity. 

9.  Neutering or spaying

You can neuter or spay your Pom to reduce his risk of getting cancer. This method increases your dog’s reproductive health and makes him less susceptible to cancer that affects that area.

To extend the life span of your Pomeranian, you need to be very familiar with the common diseases that affect this breed. Health problems in dogs will certainly cut their lives short and cause them a lot of discomfort.

Watch out for any signs of the common diseases that affect poms and act promptly to cure them as early as possible.

Prevention is always better than cure. Take steps to learn how you can prevent health problems from affecting your pom’s life.

Main Reasons for a Shorter Life Span

The lifespan of a Pomeranian ranges from 12 to 16 years. Compared to other dogs, this might be both a shorter range or a longer range. Similarly, not all poms will live to celebrate their 12th birthday. Some will die younger and this might be due to some reasons within or beyond our control.

To pet parents, this is a short range because we would all love to stay with our lovely pets forever. However, certain factors will certainly predispose your lovely pom to early departure even within this range.

Trauma is a leading cause of Pomeranian puppies’ death. Trauma is also a leading cause of death in most puppies in the toy breed.

Between seven to twelve years, your Pomeranian would be entering his senior years of life when his health becomes fragile and prone to be affected by several factors.

Among adult poms, several health problems may affect them but the ones that cause the most fatalities are; Gastrointestinal infections, trauma, and viral diseases.

If a pom is predisposed to some genetic conditions, then he will certainly have a reduced life span when he suffers a serious health complication.

Female poms tend to live up to 1.2 times longer than their male counterparts. Similar to humans and all mammals, gender has a role to play in determining the life span of a Pomeranian.

Teacup Pomeranians might have their life span shortened due to their small sizes which makes them less healthy than normal Pomeranians. As a result, they are susceptible to health conditions that might not befall the other Pomeranians.

Conclusion

Pomeranians are great dogs and they love us unconditionally. The good news is that there are ways to increase your pom’s life span and get the best out of them.

How long do Pomeranians live? When do Pomeranians become fully grown? How long do teacup Pomeranians live?

These are all questions people often ask. It is important to however know that the lifespan of your pom is greatly affected by genetics and lifestyle. This is why it is essential to provide the best care for your pom from the moment he becomes a part of your family.

Thank you for reading through this post. If you have any concerns or questions, please leave a comment below and I will get back to you.

Written By

Laura Nassoura

Laura is the founder of Furs'n'Paws. She is a also a pet writer and expert with more than 20 years of experience of working with dogs and cats. She developed a very strong love for animals at a young age. Her passion led her to establish a thriving pet sitting and dog walking business in Dubai. As an expert in pet training, behavior, and nutrition, Laura is committed to helping pet owners and pet lovers by offering high-quality information on a wide range of topics.