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Creating a Breed! How? What? Where? Who?

What does that mean?

History brief and condensed.  About 8 years ago there was a picture you may have seen of a tiny husky looking dog.  This pup was actually a Finnish Lapland puppy, mislabeled the Pomsky.  This photo went viral.  Two friends decided to create the first litter and they did. They put a video out and it went viral as well. The Pomsky was born.  Time has now passed with hundreds of Pomsky Kennels and thousands of Pomskies around the world some kennels, breeders of the Pomsky have decided they want more for these little guys.  These breeders would like to see this happy little dog become a breed of it’s own.  

How do we do this?

Well this is the million dollar question and it turns out it is not simple.  According to the American Kennel Club to create a new breed there are many requirements.  First there must be three, or more breeds mixed to create a breed of it’s own.  To protect the already established breeds AKC will never recognize a breed that is a cross of two already recognized breeds.  So what breeds can we, should we add, and who makes this choice?  This is where then you must have a club (an organization dedicated to this breed) and a stud book (records of breedings and bloodlines).  There must be several hundred of these dogs and the list goes on and on.  Turns out this is allot of hard work and dedication. Once the belief that these little beautiful babies should become something more was commonly held breed clubs with members who share a common view were formed.  The Pomsky Club of America, The International Pomsky Association, The Pomsky Breeders Club, The American Pomsky Kennel Club, to mention a few.  These breeders often have common goals for this breed in common, size, coat, what breeds to add, and temperament to name a few.  As with the creation of any breed; breeders will disagree and conflict is not uncommon.  Most breeders have very specific views in mind, are very protective of their dogs, and as we all know people do not always agree.  This brings me to my next topic.  What breeds to add?  Why are there now so many names for very similar dogs?  What is a Pomsky-x? 

We now have, The Pomsky, Pomsky-x, the Arctic Spitz, Miniature Husky, Kolu Husky, and more.  What does this mean and why so many different terms?

Back to the breed clubs.  Each is similar and yet some differences are present with all agreeing the Pomeranian and the Husky are the primary mix.  Trying different outcrosses to create the desired look and move forward towards a breed is essential if you want to create a new breed.  In an organization breeders vote and collaborate on the breeds they want to try.  For example the IPA, which has been the larger of these clubs, first chose the Alaskan Eskimo Spitz and the German Spitz.  The reasons for these choices were based on the knowledge that the Eskimo and German Spitz were Spitz breeds like the husky and the Pom.  Futher they believed the traits from these two breeds would improve this tiny husky looking dog that they would like to call The Arctic Spitz.  They also have allowed up to a 15% outcross to allow the individual breeder to experiment with other breeds.  In this tiny amount each individual can try other breeds to see varying results.  These results may change the list of allowable outcrosses based on the results seen.  Of course these findings must be reported back to the breed club.  

Some breeders never desire for the Pomsky to be recognized and will always stay with just the two breeds.  Why do we feel like this is a problem? The first thing we noticed was instability in sizes.  Why is this?  When the sperm meets the egg some interesting things happen after the first generation.  Some puppies get more husky DNA from the parents and some get more Pom DNA; this is why we see Pomskies that are 40lbs and ones that are 8lbs, as well the variation of Pom to husky percentages. I am sure this is why AKC requires more than just the two breeds.  The second issue I see... is that while I love my Pomsky dog, there may be things we can do to improve them.  

In adding, or trying otherka