THE HISTORY OF THE GERMAN SPITZ

The ancestors of the German Spitz go back some 8,000 years to the very first type of dog.

The breed is generally believed to belong to the group of northern spitz breed and probably descend from the Samoyed, the Finnish and the Swedish Lapphund. They are typical of the small pitz type dog, which is known to be over 2,000 years old. Evidence suggests that in prehistoric times they were a native of Siberia, along the shores of the Arctic Ocean.

Their main job was to be a watch dog.

There are various depictions of Spitz type dogs which occur in many artifacts from Central and Eastern Europe. In 1450 Count Ederhard Zy Sayne made the first documented reference to the terms “spitz” as a valiant defender of the home and fields. These dogs were frequently taken on boats used for fishing and trade as people found they offered protection for their goods as they were very good alert watchdogs. All were given the nickname ‘Mistbeller’ which means “dung hill barker”. They would stand on top of the hill and bark their warnings. As these dogs accompanies their masters to German settlements in North America, the white spitz became known as the ‘American Eskimo’ dog.

The breed started to gain popularity during the 18th century when King George first came to the throne with his German Wife. The breed, which was essentially known as a peasant’s dog suddenly became popular with royalty and the upper class in England! Many German visitors came to the royal court and broughts their dogs with them. By the late 1700’s Queen Charlotte had many white spitz running around the palace (though these were generally referred to as Pomeranian’s as the Kennel Club standards had not yet been defined)

The German Spitz was finally recognised as a separate breed in the UK in the 1970s and in Australia in the 1980s.