History: The Spitz is the oldest breed of dog in Central Europe and served as the progenitor of many European breeds. Well preserved specimens of Stone Age “Peat Dogs,” known as the “Torfhund” (Canis familiaris palustris Rüthimeyer) and dating back 6,000 years, have been found in the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, England and Ireland and closely resemble modern European Spitz dogs. The term “Spitz” is derived from the Old Dutch language and literally
translates as “pointed peaks”.

The Spitz was common in medieval times, and was valued as a watchdog, for vermin control, and guardian of livestock and vineyards. The white Gross spitz was mainly in northern and central Germany. He was a typical guardian of the farm and was used for herding sheep. The black Gross spitz were especially widespread in the southern German wine-growing regions. During the day, they guarded the yard, and at night, they were sent to the vineyards. The brown Gross spitz was also common in southern Germany.

The Association for German Lace (Spitz) was founded in 1899 for large Spitz (“Großspitz” or “Gross spitz”). At the time, only the colors white, black, and wolf-grey were recognized. In 1906, all colors were allowed for small Spitz, but not for large Spitz. In 1958, colors for the small Spitz were limited to white, black, brown, orange and other colors including parti-colors. The large Spitz were still only registered as white, black, and brown. Merle is not an acceptable color. In 1959, the sizes were further divided into different sizes: Klein spitz (toy), Mittel spitz (miniature) and Gross spitz (large or giant). In 1969, the size variant of the Mittel spitz was added to the FCI Standard.

The German Spitz were brought to the US in the late 1800s and early 1900s by German immigrants.

General Appearance: The German Spitz, a descendant of the stone-age “Peat Dogs,” is the oldest breed in Central Europe and is the progenitor of many other breeds. Its natural distrust of strangers and intelligence make it the ideal companion, family dog and watch dog for home and farm. Their beautiful double coat, ruff and bushy tail carried boldly over the back combined with the foxy wedge head, alert eyes and the small pointed, closely set ears give the Spitz its unique
characteristic. The German Spitz possesses indifference to weather and robustness and enjoys longevity.

Size, Proportion, Substance: Weight corresponds to size. Height at the withers – Large Spitz: 16-20 inches; Medium Spitz: 12 up to but not including 16 inches; Small Spitz: 8 up to but not including 12 inches. Proportions – The height at withers equals the body length from the point of shoulder to the buttocks.

Head: The skull is slightly crowned. The fontanel should be closed. An apple head is a serious fault. The medium, wedge-shaped head, as seen from above, is broadest at the back and tapers to the tip of the nose. Expression – The expression is alert, intelligent and lively. Stop – Moderate to marked, never abrupt. Nose – The nose is small and solid black except the nose of brown dogs is dark brown. Flesh colored noses are a serious fault. Muzzle – The muzzle is slightly shorter than the back skull in a ratio of 2:3. Lips – The close-fitting lips are well pigmented and are completely black with the exception of brown dogs which are brown. Teeth – Scissors bite preferred; level bite permissible. Complete dentition. Missing teeth is a serious fault. Disqualification – Overshot, undershot and wry bite. Cheeks – The cheeks are gently rounded, not protruding to maintain the wedge-shaped head. Eyes – The eyes are of medium size, almond-shaped, slightly oblique and dark brown except that the brown dog may have a lighter brown eye. Disqualification – Other than a brown eye. The eye rims are black, except that brown dogs have dark brown eye rims. Missing eye pigment is a serious fault. Protruding or large eyes are a serious fault. Ears – The small ears are set high and relatively close to each other, triangular, pointed; they are always carried upright, stiff at the tips. Disqualification – Ears not fully erect.

Neck, Topline, Body: Neck – The medium length neck is slightly arched without dewlap and covered by a thick, profuse coat, forming a large ruff. Topline – Merges in a gentle curve with the short, straight back. The bushy, sweeping tail, which partially covers the back, rounds off the silhouette. Back: As short as possible, straight, and firm. Loin – Short, broad and strong. Croup – Broad and short, not falling away. Chest – The deep, broad chest is well sprung and reaches as far back as possible; the fore-chest well developed. Underline – A slight tuck up. Tail – The tail is set on high and of medium length. It reaches upwards and curls forward over the back, straight from the root. It lies firmly over the back and is covered with very bushy hair. A double curl at tip of tail is permissible but not preferred.

Forequarters: Shoulder – The shoulder is well muscled and firmly connected to the chest. The shoulder blade is long and well laid back. Upper arm – The upper arm, which is approximately the same length as the shoulder blade, forms an angle of 90 degrees to the shoulder blade. Elbow – The elbow joint is strong, close fitting to the chest and turns neither in nor out. Forearm – The forearm is of medium length in relation to the body, sturdy and completely straight. The back of the forearm is well feathered. Pastern – The strong, medium length front pastern stands at an angle of 20 degrees from the vertical. Forefeet – The forefeet are cat feet: small, round and compact, and well arched. Pads are tough and thickly cushioned. The color of pads and nails is as dark as possible.

Hindquarters: The hindquarters are very muscular and abundantly feathered to the hocks. The hind legs are straight and parallel. Thigh and lower leg – Thigh and lower leg are approximately equal in length. Stifle – The stifle joint is strong with only moderate angulation and is turned neither in nor out. Hock – The hock is of medium length, very strong and vertical to the ground.
Back feet – Same as front.

Coat: A double coat. Outercoat is long, straight and off-standing. Undercoat is short, thick, and soft. The head, ears, front side of front and hind legs and the paws are covered by short, thick hair. The rest of the body has a long, rich coat which is not wavy, curly, shaggy, nor parted along the back. Neck and shoulders are covered by a thick mane (ruff). The backside of the front legs is well feathered. The hind legs have feathering from croup to hocks. The tail is bushy. Trimming the toes and around the feet for neatness is allowed. Trimming on any other part of the dog is a serious fault.

Color: Large size – White, black, brown, and parti-color of black, brown and sable. In black and brown only, white spots on the chest, the paws and the tip of the tail are permissible. Medium and Small Sizes – White, black, brown, orange, grey-shaded, cream, cream-sable, orange-sable, black and tan, black and silver, and parti-colored. White should be pure white. However, a trace of biscuit or cream, especially on the ears, is permissible. Blacks have a black undercoat and outercoat and a black skin. The outercoat should be a shiny black without bronzing. Browns should be uniformly dark brown. In black and brown only, white spots on the chest, the paws and the tip of the tail are permissible. Oranges should be evenly colored in the medium color range. The chest, the tail and the trousers may be a lighter shade of orange. Grey-shaded are a silver-grey with black hair-tips. Muzzle and ears are dark in color. The eyes are well defined with a delicately penciled black line slanting from outer corner of eye to lower corner of ear, coupled with distinct markings and shading forming short but expressive eyebrows. The mane and ruff may be lighter. The legs are silver-grey without any black markings, except slight penciling is permissible on the toes. The tail is black-tipped and the underside of tail is a pale silver-gray. Parti-coloreds must have white as the main color. The patches must be uniformly in one color, either black, brown, grey-shaded sable, orange, orange-sable, cream or cream-sable. Patches are preferably distributed over the whole body. Black mask is permissible in sables and creams and parti-colors thereof.
Disqualification: merle.

Gait: The German Spitz double tracks and moves straight ahead with good drive. The gait is fluid and springy. A balanced front and rear is important.

Temperament: Attentive, alert, intelligent and extraordinarily attached to its owner. He is easy to train. He is neither timid nor aggressive. Excessive shyness is a serious fault.

Faults: Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.

Disqualifications: Other than a brown eye. Overshot, undershot and wry bite. Ears not fully erect. Merle.

Approved February 6, 2025
Effective February 6, 2025