| Trainability: | 7/10 |
| Shedding: | 10/10 |
| Energy Level: | 7/10 |
| Guard Dog: | 7/10 |
| Good With Children: | 10/10 |
| Popularity: | 1/10 |
Behavior
The Mittel German Spitz is often called the ideal watchdog. While it is happy to be around family and enjoys your company, it is always alert and watchful and on the lookout for strangers or other things it feels it should be wary of. They love attention and have even been known to stand on their hind legs in hopes of getting it from owners. If you do not want your dog barking incessantly every time the doorbell rings or your hear someone on the stairs, then proper training and obedience lessons are required right away. The dog needs to learn that it is okay to bark a few times but then it needs to stop. The Mittel German Spitz needs to know that you are the boss in order for it to listen.
Daily walks and exercise are a must for this breed in order to help it with training and to use up energy. The Mittel German Spitz loves walks of any kind, whether they are just short jaunts or very long treks for miles and miles. The walks are good to help establish you as the leader so the dog will be more apt to take to your commands.
Appearance
The Mittel German Spitz is found to have a wide variety of coat colors, even more than most of its close relatives in the German Spitz family. It has very high set ears that are compact and close together. It has shorter hair on its head when compared to the length of the hair on the rest of its body. The hair on its head and body are both very thick in nature. This breed has very small feet and most often has hair in between its toes. The tail often curls up to the top of the back and will lay flat against the side of the dog’s body. It also seems to have very wide eyes in proportion to the rest of its head and body.
Grooming
Since the Mittel German Spitz does have a thicker coat of hair, regular brushing is an absolute must. Without regular brushing, the hair will easily get matted and tangled, causing problems and discomfort for your dog. There are some members of this breed that do not like to be groomed at all and need to be taught and trained that this is part of daily life. They will need to be trained to behave for grooming sessions. As with other breeds, bathing should be done as it is needed and the ears and teeth should be checked regularly.
History
The Mittel German Spitz directly descends from Nordic dogs such as the Lapphund and the Samoyed. Most believe it was brought to Europe by the Vikings very early on. There are references to the Spitz that date back to the 1400s. The Spitz was imported to England in the late nineteenth and early part of the twentieth century. It is very similar to the Pomeranian and they are often confused for one another. The Mittel German Spitz has lost much of its prominence and is losing popularity even in its home of Germany.
