Pomeranians or Poms are very affectionate dogs despite their feisty temperament. They are excellent companions especially if you are living alone in a small apartment. They are loving (in their own way), loyal (in their own way), and highly intelligent (which is where all your training problems will begin).

Training Pomeranians will take a lot of patience and persistence. This breed of dog is very clever and will try to train you, instead of letting you train them. Three of the most primary things in training Pomeranians are respect training, obedience training and housebreaking.

For some dog breeds, respect training is synonymous with obedience training. In training Pomeranians, however, respect training should be the keystone of establishing further instructions in obedience. Respect training is what we will tackle for now.

Why is respect a big part of training Pomeranians?

Some Pomeranians can be a bit feisty. During your training time, try to see if your pet does one or more of the following: barks back when you give an instruction, flat out refuses to obey simple instruction like "give" and "fetch," makes you chase after it when your pet does something wrong, retaliates by biting or destroying things or leaving something "nasty" on your bed or belongings, stays beyond arm's reach when you ask it to come to you, steals food from your plate or your trash bins, and wrestles with you when you try to groom it?

If you answer yes to one, or more, or (heaven forbid) all of the questions above, then you do have a badly temperamental pet -- one that is often considered as a dog with behavioral problems. Your pet Pomeranian will most likely bark at strangers incessantly, try to nip you when you don't give in to its wishes and will most likely jump on people whenever, wherever it feels like it.

Training Pomeranians respect is basically teaching your pet who is standing in the highest rung of the pecking order. Like all dogs, your pet has an innate ability to discern and follow only that one entity who is highest in social ranking -- a throwback to its wolfish origins of pack living. Hopefully, you can teach your dog that you are the top dog.

You also have to remember one more thing: even if you train your pet Pomeranian to obey you, without respect training, it will always try to upset the balance of power. It will be compelled to try to assume the highest position in the pack if it feels like the top dog (which should be you) is not performing accordingly. Pomeranians, as a rule, are crafty little rascals.

Respect training begins with one simple word: "no." You have to say this firmly and consistently.

If your pet Pomeranian has the habit on jumping on people, say "no" every time it does it. If it backs off quietly, reward it with a pat on the head or a hug or a piece of treat complete with one or more verbal compliments for a job well done. If it backs off with a grumble (moaning or barking at you as it does,) do not give it any form of reward. Say "no" repeatedly or until the dog associates the word with something that it is not supposed to be doing.

Respect training Pomeranians may seem like an endless cycle of saying "no" on your part but it is necessary to establish your hierarchical dominance over your pet.