The Pomeranian Chihuahua Mix, also known as the Pomchi dog, is a toy/small mixed breed dog that results from cross breeding a Pomeranian parent with a Chihuahua parent.
The Pomchi isn’t recognized by any authoritative entities as being its own purebreed dog, it is however recognized by a few authority entities listed below as being a designer mixed-breed dog.
- American Canine Hybrid Club
- Designer Dogs Kennel Club
- International Designer Canine Registry
- Designer Breed Registry
- Pomchi Club of America
Pomchi Appearance
Size, Height & Weight
Generally speaking, a fully grown adult Pomchi will tend to weigh anywhere from 2-10 lbs and will tend to stand anywhere from 6-9 inches tall, which is a very small size for a dog.
Coat
Depending on which of its two parents it takes its coat from, its Pomeranian [1] parent or its Chihuahua parent, the Pomchi may end up having a ridiculously long and fluffy coat like the one Pomeranians have, or it may end up having a relatively short coat like the one Chihuahuas have.
In most cases, the Pomchi will take after their Pomeranian parent’s long coat, although they won’t have a coat that’s as fluffy.
The most common solid colors that the Pomchi’s coat come in are white, cream, gray, brown, black, and blue, while certain Pomchis can have coats that come in multiple colors.
Pomeranian Chihuahua Mix Temperament
Exercise & Physical Activity
One of the most unique (and cutest) things about the Pomchi is the fact that they have no clue whatsoever that they are tiny sized dogs.
Anyone who has a Pomchi at home and has lived with them for a significant amount of time knows for a fact that these dogs think they are the biggest, strongest creatures in the world! And it’s so cute when they do that.
Given the fact that Pomchis are much smaller-than-average sized dogs, they don’t need nearly as much exercise and physical activity as other larger-sized dogs need to get throughout the day.
One of the best things you could do for your Pomchi is stack up on its toys supplies, because these dogs absolutely love to keep themselves busy and play with their toys all day long.
Give a Pomchi a toy to play with and watch them go at that thing for long bouts of time on end.
Besides giving them all the toys they need to keep themselves busy and exercise themselves on their own, you should pitch in by taking them on 1-2 short walks on a daily basis.
Be careful not to make the walks too long though, as this dog is very small in size and will easily tire out real fast when compared to other larger sized dogs.
You should also be very aware when taking them to places such as dog parks where they could mix and interact with other dogs that are significantly larger in size than them, as even the least bit of rough play from those other dogs to your Pomchi can cause significant body damage.
Don’t forget that your Pomchi weighs a fraction of what those other dogs weigh, so they can’t compare in terms of strength and physical capabilities.
It’s best that you keep your Pomchi on a safe and comfortable leash when taking them out for a walk so they don’t get themselves into trouble and you can keep control of where they go and who they come into contact with.
Watchdogs
The Pomchi is an excellent watchdog that is always very alert and will immediately bark to notify you when a stranger is too close somewhere they shouldn’t be close to.
And tying hand in hand with what we said about Pomchis thinking they’re the biggest dog in the block in the section above, if your Pomchi senses any kind of danger on your or any other family member it loves, it will take matters into its own hands and try to prevent the danger from happening.
Even though this usually doesn’t end well for the Pomchi because it’s such a tiny dog and even the least bit of physical contact can cause its body significant damage, it just goes to show you how loving and caring this dog is.
The Pomchi is really known to be shy and submissive when it comes to people it doesn’t know and other dogs it meets for the first time, which is a very important reason why they should be properly socialized [2] from a young age so they don’t develop these negative social traits when they grow up.
You do want a Pomchi that likes to play around with people and other dogs as any other normal dog would do, don’t you?
Probably one of the first things you’re going to want to train your Pomchi on is how to properly function while on a collar.
Training your Pomchi to accept wearing a collar should be done before you even get to the stage where you want to socialize them or train them to do any tricks or follow certain command.
In general, your Pomchi will give you a bit of a hard time at first (because just like everything new, there has to be some sort of objection to it), but they will get used to it after a few days pass.
Just make sure that any collar you get them is comfortable enough and isn’t negatively affecting their neck area.
When it comes to training a Pomchi, they aren’t exactly the easiest dogs to train, nor are they the hardest.
Pomchi dogs are known to love to make their owners happy during training, but also have a bit of a stubborn side to them that can be apparent in certain times and situations.
Sometimes during training as well, they will start to excessively bark in an attempt to show you that they’re in charge and not you.
When your Pomchi starts to show their stubborn side during training, the last thing you should do is resort to harmful practices such as yelling at them or spanking them, as this will only make the entire situation worse.
You’re going to have to outsmart them into letting go of their stubbornness and their “personal pride” in return for a reward or praise that they will be looking forward to.
Do a little search on positive reinforcement training methods and get to know them, they will come in real handy when you’re training your Pomchi and things get a little dry.
Chihuahua Pomeranian Mix Living Conditions
As we already established above, Pomchis are relatively small sized dogs that don’t need to get all that much exercise and physical activity during the day, nor do they take up too much space wherever they live, which is very good news to many people because that means that they are perfect candidates to live in an apartment.
Other dogs are terrible candidates to live in apartments, mainly because they’re much larger than average sized dogs that need to be out in the open to stay comfortable and active, but not the Pomchi.
And given the fact that not everyone lives in a private property with a large backyard in it, it’s always a good thing to know that the dog of our dreams is perfectly capable of comfortably living in different conditions.
That’s not to say that you don’t need to take your Pomchi outside the house on a regular basis, because every dog needs that no matter what breed or size they are.
It’s a really good change of scenery for your Pomchi, not to mention they desperately need it when nature comes calling.
So if you’ve got a backyard at home, then that’s a very nice added bonus for the Pomchi.
Just know that it’s not a deal breaker whether you have one at home or not, as is the case with other dog breeds.
You should also know that this dog absolutely loves to be in the company of the humans it loves most, and becomes an excessive barker when left alone for long periods of time without you or anyone else from your family or household spending some time with it.
Be careful though about letting this dog be in the company of young kids without proper supervision or without having properly educated the kids about how they should handle and take care of this tiny dog, mainly because of the fact that kids can inflict severe physical damage to the Pomchi’s very fragile body with the least bit of rough play or show of affection if they are unaware about how they should properly handle a dog as small and fragile.
Pomchi Health
Not enough time has passed by since this cross-breed first came to life in order to determine exactly what health problems are most likely to affect them during their lifetimes.
However, we’ve seen some common health problems among many Pomchis up until now that prompts us to believe these might be some of the most common health problems that are passed on to them from their Pomeranian and Chihuahua parents.
- Skin disease
- Heart disease
- Allergies
- Eye problems (PRA)
- Cataracts
- Low metabolism levels
- Low blood sugar [3]
- Epilepsy
- Seizures
- Hip dysplasia
The Pomchi’s expected lifespan is one of the most lengthy ones among all dog breeds, being anywhere around 12 years to a very impressive 18 years.
Pomchi Care
First off, let’s have a little talk about the food your Pomchi should be eating on a day to day basis.
To start off, and despite what you may think because of their small size, you should know that Pomchis have enormous appetites and they will eat to no avail if given the necessary access to all the food they want.
This will usually mean your Pomchi overeating way more than their nutritional requirements for the day, and becoming overweight little cutie-pies in the process.
You should also make sure that you only feed your Pomchi dry dog food and not wet dog food because of the fact that this dog is more prone than other dogs to suffer from specific dental problems, which could be severely aggravated by feeding canned dog food.
Dry dog food is known to be much better for your dog’s dental health and teeth than canned dog food.
As for brushing this dog’s coat, again this greatly depends on whether they get a long and fluffy coat like their Pomeranian parent or a short and close to the skin coat like their Chihuahua parent.
And knowing that most Pomchis take after the coat of their Pomeranian parents, you’re going to have to do a little more work regarding this issue than you would with other dogs because the Pomchi is going to be a moderate shedding dog.
When brushing your Pomchi’s coat, you should make sure that you use a very soft brush and not just any brush you can get your hands on, because of the fact that Pomchi’s tend to have somewhat sensitive skin that can easily be irritated if the wrong kind of brush is used.
As for giving your Pomchi a bath, you should only be doing this when they need one and not once too often.
Preferably when bathing your Pomchi you use a hypoallergenic dog shampoo and not any shampoo made for human consumption.
You should also get your Pomchi’s eyes checked every now and then to prevent potential eye problems from developing, get their ears cleaned around once every 1-2 weeks in order to prevent ear infections, brush their teeth once every other day and trim their nails when they start to grow and become very apparent.
Resources
1. Pomeranian Dog Breed Profile https://www.petfinder.com/dog-breeds/pomeranian/
2. Puppy Socialization: Stop Fear Before it Starts https://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/puppy-socialization-stop-fear-before-it-starts/
3. Low Blood Sugar in Dogs https://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/endocrine/c_dg_low_blood_sugar
Really bad and contradicting article. How can this dog not need exercise but 1 or 2 walks a day. Oh and plenty of toys?