These two are relatives. The Pomeranian is a spitz — the same family as the Akita, the Husky and the Malamute — bred down from northern sled and herding dogs until it weighed three to seven pounds. It kept the double coat, the pricked ears, the curled tail and the opinion, and it kept the one rule that matters most: never clip it.
This page is for someone weighing a very small fluffy companion against a large guardian, and for anyone who wants to understand what the two share. It covers the coat rules that apply to both, shedding, windpipe and knee fragility, barking, and cost.
The Pomeranian gives you the spitz temperament and the spitz coat in a body small enough for any flat, and it is more fragile and much noisier than the Akita.
Choose the Akita if you want quiet and a dog that copes alone. It barks at 2/5 against the Pomeranian's 4/5, grooms at 3/5 against 4/5, and tolerates being alone at 3/5 against 2/5. You are accepting 5/5 shedding, 1/5 for first-time owners, 2/5 with other dogs, $110–$240 a month and a shorter life.
Choose the Pomeranian if you live in a flat and want a bold, characterful little dog. It rates 5/5 for apartments, lives 12 to 16 years and costs $80–$150 a month. You are accepting 4/5 barking, 4/5 shedding from a tiny dog, patellar and tracheal fragility, and 2/5 with strangers — the same wariness the Akita has.
| Feature | akita | pomeranian | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | 70–130 lbs | 3–7 lbs | Equal |
| Height | 24–28 in | 8–11 in | Equal |
| Lifespan | 10–13 years | 12–16 years | pomeranian |
| Coat | Dense double coat | Fluffy double coat | Equal |
| Grooming need | Moderate (3/5) | High (4/5) | akita |
| Shedding | Very high (5/5) | High (4/5) | pomeranian |
| Energy level | Moderate (3/5) | High (4/5) | Equal |
| Exercise need | Moderate (3/5) | Moderate (3/5) | Equal |
| Trainability | Moderate (3/5) | Moderate (3/5) | Equal |
| Barking | Low (2/5) | High (4/5) | akita |
| Good with kids | Moderate (3/5) | Moderate (3/5) | Equal |
| Good with other dogs | Low (2/5) | Moderate (3/5) | pomeranian |
| Friendly to strangers | Low (2/5) | Low (2/5) | Equal |
| Apartment suitability | Low (2/5) | Very high (5/5) | pomeranian |
| Good for first-time owners | Very low (1/5) | Moderate (3/5) | pomeranian |
| Tolerates being alone | Moderate (3/5) | Low (2/5) | akita |
| Typical monthly cost | $110–$240 | $80–$150 | pomeranian |
| Typical first-year cost | $1,700–$3,200 | $1,200–$2,200 | pomeranian |
The most useful thing this comparison can tell you is a rule that applies identically at both ends of the scale.
A double coat has a coarse outer layer and a soft insulating undercoat. It keeps heat out as well as in. Clipping it removes the outer layer, which regrows slowly or not at all, while the undercoat regrows quickly and densely — and the result is a coat that traps heat, loses its weather resistance and often never recovers its texture.
In Pomeranians this has a name among owners: post-clipping alopecia. Coat that is shaved for convenience or for a summer trim can come back patchy, woolly, or not at all, and there is no reliable fix. Alopecia X, sometimes called black skin disease, is a separate coat-loss condition that also appears in the breed and looks similar.
The correct maintenance for both breeds is the same: brush through to the skin, rake the undercoat out during the shedding periods, and trim only feet, sanitary areas and stray hair.
Grooming is 4/5 for the Pomeranian against 3/5 for the Akita, and shedding is 4/5 against 5/5 — an enormous amount of hair from a three-pound dog.
Three items on the Pomeranian's list change how the dog is handled day to day.
Tracheal collapse is the most important. The cartilage rings supporting the windpipe soften and flatten, producing a honking cough that worsens with excitement, heat or pressure on the throat. A harness rather than a collar is not a preference in this breed, it is a rule for life.
Patellar luxation is the common orthopaedic problem — a kneecap that slips out of its groove, producing a momentary skipping step. Many cases are mild; some need surgery. Discouraging jumps down from furniture helps.
Hypoglycaemia is a puppy risk. A three-pound body has almost no glycogen reserve, so a missed meal or a stressful day can cause weakness, wobbling or collapse. Frequent small meals through the first months are standard, and a listless small-breed puppy should be seen quickly.
Dental disease is the recurring cost, as in every tiny breed, and daily brushing genuinely reduces the anaesthetics needed across a sixteen-year life.
The Akita's burden is autoimmune and endocrine, with hip dysplasia and bloat.
The Pomeranian's 4/5 barking is the trait most likely to cause trouble in a flat. It is alert, opinionated and has a sharp voice, and it will announce the corridor, the lift and the neighbour's television.
It reduces with work — blocking window sightlines, teaching a settled alternative, rewarding quiet — but the baseline is high.
The subtler risk is the one every small breed faces. A five-pound dog that growls at a visitor gets picked up rather than trained, so the behaviour is rehearsed daily and never interrupted. Treat a Pomeranian like a dog: let it walk, socialise it properly from eight weeks with calm adult dogs and a wide range of people, and do not permit anything you would not permit from a large breed.
At 3/5 with other dogs it is moderately social. At 2/5 for solitude it is closely bonded and does not suit a household that is out all day without cover.
The Akita's reserve is the same trait with much greater consequences, and its adult views on other dogs arrive at social maturity around two years old.
The Pomeranian runs $80–$150 a month against the Akita's $110–$240, and $1,200–$2,200 against $1,700–$3,200 in the first year.
Grooming is the item that narrows it. A 4/5 coat on a small dog is manageable at home if you learn to line brush and rake, and most owners still use a groomer periodically — for feet, sanitary trims and the shedding seasons.
Dentistry is the predictable veterinary cost. Anaesthetic dental work every couple of years across a sixteen-year life is normal for the size.
The number that changes the picture is that lifespan. Twelve to sixteen years against ten to thirteen means the cheaper monthly figure runs several years longer, and over a lifetime the totals converge more than the monthly comparison suggests.
On housing the Pomeranian rates 5/5 for apartments against 2/5 — with barking as the caveat — and both breeds need summer walks moved to the cool ends of the day, because a double coat is a double coat at any size.
Six rows tie: exercise at 3/5, trainability at 3/5, children at 3/5, strangers at 2/5, and both coats are true doubles.
The stranger rating is the family trait showing through. Spitz breeds tend to be reserved rather than effusive, and the Pomeranian is genuinely wary of people it does not know — bold about it, in the way small dogs often are, but wary. That is the same 2/5 the Akita carries, expressed at a twentieth of the weight.
Trainability at 3/5 for both is also a spitz characteristic. Neither breed is stupid and neither is eager to please; both consider the request first.
Where they part company is noise and durability. 4/5 barking against 2/5, and a three-pound frame with a soft windpipe and slipping kneecaps against a hundred-pound dog with none of those concerns.
Both are spitz-type dogs — the family that includes the Husky, the Malamute and the Japanese breeds. The Pomeranian was bred down from larger German Spitz stock and kept the double coat, pricked ears, curled tail and reserved temperament. It rates 2/5 with strangers, exactly as the Akita does.
No. A double coat insulates against heat as well as cold, and shaving it removes the outer layer, which regrows slowly or not at all while the undercoat comes back thick. Owners call the result post-clipping alopecia, and there is no reliable fix. The same rule applies to the Akita.
4/5, against the Akita's 5/5 — a genuinely surprising volume of hair for a three-to-seven-pound dog, with two heavy seasonal drops on top of steady year-round loss. Grooming is 4/5: brush to the skin and rake the undercoat out during the shedding periods rather than clipping it off.
No — a harness, for life. Tracheal collapse is on the breed's condition list, and pressure on a windpipe with softening cartilage makes it worse. The characteristic sign is a honking cough that gets worse with excitement, heat or pulling on the lead.
Yes — 4/5 against the Akita's 2/5, with a sharp carrying voice. It will announce the corridor, the lift and the neighbours. Blocking window sightlines and training a settled alternative reduces it considerably, but the baseline is high and it will not become a quiet dog.
Moderately, at 3/5 — the same as the Akita, for the opposite reason. A three-to-seven-pound dog with fine bones is genuinely at risk from a toddler, and dogs handled roughly learn to defend themselves. It suits older, calmer children and a quiet household.
The Pomeranian, at 12 to 16 years against the Akita's 10 to 13. That is a long commitment for a dog that will still need daily tooth brushing, harness walks and coat work at the end of it, and it is worth planning for rather than treating as a bonus.
The Pomeranian if you live in a flat and want a bold little spitz with the same wary temperament in miniature. The Akita if you want quiet and a dog that copes alone — it barks at 2/5 against the Pom's 4/5.
The Pomeranian runs $80–$150 a month and the Akita $110–$240, with first-year totals of $1,200–$2,200 and $1,700–$3,200 — though the Pomeranian is paid for two to six years longer.
Yes — both rate 3/5, around forty-five to sixty minutes a day, which surprises people about the Pomeranian. It rates 4/5 for energy and is an active little dog, not a cushion ornament.
Because it is a spitz. Reserve with strangers is a family trait, and the breed rates 2/5 — the same as the Akita. Socialise it properly from eight weeks and treat it like a dog rather than lifting it away from every situation that worries it.
Health information here is general and is not veterinary advice. If your dog shows pain, sudden behaviour change, or worsening symptoms, consult a licensed veterinarian.
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