About Colors

Red
A true red is not dark orange, but a deep rusty red. Red pomeranians must have black points (red rims, nose, lips and pads)

Orange
A proper orange colored coat is a bright, clear orange and varies from a light orange to a deep rich orange. Orange Poms must have black points, (eye rims, nose, tips and pads) according to the Standard. Poms that appear orange (phenotype) as adults must be of two genetic typical (genotypes.) Newborn puppy appearance will reflect this genetic difference. More commonly a puppy is born smutty (with black hairs) and the coat will become progressively more orange and less smutty as the dog matures until it is bright orange. Otherwise the puppy is born clear (without any black hairs). This is the result of being homozygous for the orange gene (both genes at that locus have the allete for orange "ee"). Homozygous oranges can still range from the palest creamy-orange to the darkest Irish Setter red: however the pigment of their points is often not as dark as those carrying a sable gene.

Cream
Cream is a very pale orange, liver or yellow color. A cream is an even self color throughout with no white breechings. Due to the harsher texture of the guard hairs, the top coat may appear slightly deeper in color then the undercoat. Creams must have black pads, (eye rims, nose lips and pads).

Sable
Shaded sables are coats that are shaded throughout with three or more colors. This shading must be as uniform as possible with no patches of self color.
In Red Sables the base color have red hugs with black tips.
An Orange Sable has a light orange or creamy undercoat with deeper orange guard hairs ending in black tips.
Cream Sables are cream variations with black tips.

Black
A black is generally pictured as "coal black", completely devoid of any white, red or brown hairs. The guard hairs are consistently the same color all over the dog's body although some reddening or "sun burning" of the coat may appear in those dogs which spend time outside. The undercoat may be lighter in color particulary pior to shedding. The points (eye rims, nose, lips, and pads) are black.

Brown (chocolate)
The color brown includes all shades from the darkest chocolate to the lightest beaver. The chocolate is a rich dark candy color that is self-colored throughout. Brown is more milk chocolate, occasionally appearing with lighter shadings. Some reddening, or "sun burning" of the coat may appear in dogs which spend time outdoors. The points (eye rims, nose, lips and pads) are brown. If the coat contains any other color, the dog is more properly referred to as a brown & tan, parti-color, or bi-color.

Beaver is a dilute of brown with shades ranging from a cream-beige to an orange brown. In previous standards it was referred to as biscuit. One distinguishing feature is self-colored beige/brown pigment on nose, lips, eye rims and foot pads.
A dog which has any black in its coat or points is not a brown or beaver.

Blue
Blue is a solid color which is actually light to dark grey and often has a bluish coat. The undercoat is also grey. Blue puppies are born the color of silver or appear black before developing a silvery grey undercoat and a darker slate blue top coat.
Some blues may be so dark that they appear black until they are seen next to a pure representative of those colors. The points (eye rims, nose, lips, and pads )are blue. If the coat contains any other colors, the dog is more properly referred to as a parti-color, or bi-color.

& Tan Pattern
Pomeranians with the "& Tan Pattern" or Tan Pointed" come in three base colors - black, brown and blue. All base colors share the same tan marking pattern.

Pattern: The pattern is a sharply defined with Tan points appearing above each eye; on both sides of the muzzle; checks; inside of ears; throat; forechest which has either one very large tan spot or two tan spots called "rosettes" on each side of the chest above the front legs; on all legs and feet, there may be a distinct "pencil mark" line in the base color running lengthwise on the top of each toe on all four feet; the underside of the tail which is on top when the tail is carried over the back; and the pantaloons or skirt. The tan color ranges from a light cream (sometimes referred to as 'silver") to a dark mahogany rust. Occasionally there is a lack of the & Tan Pattern causing some of the markings to be lost or diminished.

Dogs with any white, other then age graying on the muzzle, with tan markings in areas other than thoes described here, or without tan markings in the required areas are more correctly referred to as black, brown, with tan markings or as tri-colored.

Black & Tan
Black and Tan poms are black poms with tan or rust. The undercoat of the base color should be a lighter shade of the base color and the points (eye rims, nose, lips and pads) should be black. In black & Tan dogs of equal quality, the darker rust markings are preferred over lighter tan markings.

Brown & Tan
Brown & Tan, referred to as Chocolate & Tan, include all shades from darkest chocolate to light beaver with tan or rust. They should have brown points, the darkness of the points should be in keeping with the darkness of the base coat color.

Blue & Tan
Blue & Tan poms are blue poms with tan or rust. They should have blue points, the darkness of the points should be in keeping with the darkness of the base coat color.

White
White is a solid color. The guard hair is consistently all over the dog's body. The undercoat is also white. The points (eye rims, nose, lips and pads) are black. Almost all white are born snow-white with pink points. As the puppy ages, the points will darken but the coat will remain white.

Wolf Sable
A wolf sable has a light gray undercoat with a darker shade of steel gray guard hairs ending in black tips. There must not be cream or an orange cast to the base color. The points (eye rims, nose, lips and pads) are black.

Brindle
The Brindle pattern consists of stripes overlaps on a base color. The base color is gold, red, or orange brindled with strong black cross stripes. It may appear in conjunction with another coat pattern such as Parti or Black & Tan (the stripes will show in the tan area). The undercoat and points (eye rims, nose, lips and pads) should be correct for the base color. The stripes may be broad or thin and may extend the entire width of the body or only part of the width. Because adult Pomeranians coats become longer than their puppy coats, the stripes may appear broken in the adult coat. Some Brindles may have a dark dorsal stripe.

Parti
A parti-colored Pomeranian is one with more than one coat color. Ideally, the parti Pomeranian is a white dog with colors that are distributed in patches on the body, with a white blaze preferred on the head. The white is clear of excessive ticking. The patches may be in any of the solid colors. All the patches must be the same color. The color of the points (eye rims, lips, nose and pads) on parti-colored dogs should be in keeping with the points required for the color of the coat patches (i.e., orange, red, black, cream, sable, red merle, blue merle and bridle partis should have black points, blue, and blue sable partis should have blue points, and brown, brown merles and beaver partis should have brown points). Symmetry of facial markings is desirable.

AOCA
(any other allowable color)
A tri-color is a dog who is displaying both the "& tan" pattern and parti-colored pattern (a tan pointed parti). The color of the points, (eye rims, lips, nose and pads) on Tri-colored dogs should be in keeping with the points required for the color of the coat patches (i.e., orange, red, black, cream, sable, red merle, blue merle and brindle parti should have black points, blue, and blue sable parti should have blue points, and brown, brown sable and beaver partis should have brown points). Symmetry of facial marking is desirable.

Merle
Blue merle- This is the classic gray/black pattern. The blue merle is actually a black or black & tan dog with the dilution gene acting upon the black areas of the coat. The points (eye rims, lips, nose and pads) are black. One or both eyes genetically may be blue, have blue flecks or be brown.

Red, Liver or Chocolate merle - This is a chocolate dog with the dilution acting upon it. This dog will have a chocolate nose and pigment and the pattern will be chocolate and silvery chocolate. One or both eyes genetically may be blue, have blue flecks or be brown.

Sable Merle - this is a sable dog with the merling acting primarily upon the black hairs in the coat. In a heavily sabled dog the pattern may be very obvious, while in a lightly sabled dog, it may be imperceptible. The merling pattern is clear at birth but can fade within weeks. An experienced breeder can recognize champagne color of the coat of an adult sable merle dog. Pigment of the dog will be black. One or both eyes genetically may be blue, have blue flecks or be brown.

Variations
Merle can dilute black and chocolate each time it occurs including: black, black and tan, chocolate and tan, dilute black (blue), blue and tan and dilute chocolate (fawn/beaver/isabella), sables, brindles. Merling can occur in the color areas of parti-colored dogs. Other colors (red, orange, cream) show little visual effect. One or both eyes genetically may be blue, have blue flecks or be brown.