A French-language guide covering the breed as it is kept and registered in France, German Spitz in France, organises the same material around varieties and standard, character and health, and the steps that precede adoption. That structure is a useful reminder that the standard describes an ideal, while a puppy is a growing animal with a pedigree and a body that will change.
What does FCI standard 97 actually fix?
Standard 97 is the breed standard for the German Spitz, and it is written to cover all five varieties in one document. It fixes the general appearance first: a spitz of medium size, close and profuse coat, fox-like head, small pointed ears set high and triangular, and a tail carried curled over the back. Then it fixes the size ranges that separate the varieties, and this is the part breeders and judges use most often.
The varieties run from smallest to largest: the Dwarf or Miniature Spitz, the Small Spitz, the Medium Spitz, the Large Spitz and the Wolf Spitz. Each has its own height band at the withers, and a dog outside its band is not placed in that variety regardless of how good its coat is. The standard also describes the double coat in detail: a topcoat that stands off the body, and a dense undercoat that insulates. The Wolf Spitz is the exception in colour terms, since it is expected in grey shades, while the smaller varieties accept a wider range of solid colours.
What the standard does not do is predict temperament or health. It describes structure and type. A dog can meet the standard and still have patellas that need checking, or a mouth that needs watching as teeth come through.
The five size varieties and how they differ
The Dwarf Spitz is the smallest, and it is the variety most often seen in apartments. The Small Spitz sits just above it. The Medium Spitz is a step up again and is often described as the classic house spitz. The Large Spitz is a substantial dog, still a spitz in type, and the Wolf Spitz is the largest of the five.
Size changes more than the number on a measuring stick. It changes the amount of coat, the volume of the voice, the space a dog needs, and the force it can put through a joint. A Dwarf Spitz and a Wolf Spitz are the same breed, but they are not the same animal to live with. The standard keeps them in one document because the type is shared; the varieties exist because the size is not.
For a future owner, the variety is the first decision, before colour and before a specific litter. It determines the crate, the exercise, the grooming time and, in many households, whether the dog is allowed on the sofa.
How does the double coat work?
The double coat is the defining practical feature of the breed. It has two layers: a long, straight, stand-off topcoat and a short, dense undercoat. The topcoat sheds dirt and water, and the undercoat traps air, which is what insulates the dog in cold weather. The coat is not a single uniform layer, and treating it as one is the most common mistake new owners make.
The undercoat turns over twice a year in most dogs, and during those periods the amount of loose hair is significant. Between turnovers, the coat needs regular brushing to the skin, not just over the surface, because the undercoat can felt if it is left compacted. Bathing too often strips the natural oils that make the topcoat weather-resistant, so most owners bathe less than they expect to.
Clipping is a separate question. Shaving a double-coated dog removes the topcoat and can change how the undercoat regrows, and the coat may not return to its original texture. For a spitz, the coat is part of the standard, so clipping is a decision with consequences beyond convenience.
What should an owner check before adopting?
Adoption preparation is mostly a list of questions asked before money changes hands. The first is health documentation. Patellar luxation is a known concern in small breeds, and the relevant screening should be available for the parents. Dentition matters too, since small mouths can retain deciduous teeth, and eyes and skin are worth asking about because they are visible and often inherited in pattern.
Weight and reproduction belong on the same list. A breeder who can describe the weight range of adult dogs in the line, and who can explain how litters are planned, is giving information that a photograph cannot. The French-language guide mentioned above places these points together with the choice of kennel, the visibility of adult dogs, and the checks that precede a reservation, which is the order in which the questions usually arise.
The second area is the voice. Spitz types are vocal, and the standard does not measure that. A dog that alerts to every sound is not a fault, but it is a fact of living with the breed, and it matters more in a flat than in a house with a garden. Attachment is the third: these dogs bond closely and do less well with inconsistency, so a household that agrees on rules in advance has an easier time than one that negotiates them later.
Does size change the price and the care?
Price in France is usually quoted by variety, and the larger varieties tend to sit higher than the smaller ones, though the gap is not uniform and it moves with the year. What matters more than the figure is what it includes: health testing of the parents, registration, vaccination and the follow-up a breeder offers after the puppy leaves.
Care scales with size in a predictable way. A larger spitz eats more, needs more exercise, and takes longer to groom because there is more coat. A smaller spitz is easier to transport and easier to handle at the vet, but it is also more fragile underfoot and more prone to the small-breed dental and joint issues already mentioned. Neither end of the range is cheaper in effort, only in a different currency.
Reading the standard without over-reading it
The standard is a description of an ideal, written for judges and breeders, and it is not a health certificate or a temperament test. It tells you what the breed should look like and how the varieties are separated. It does not tell you whether a particular puppy will be calm, whether it will bark at the postman, or whether its patellas will stay in place.
Used well, the standard narrows the field: it tells you which variety you are looking at, what the coat should do, and which features are breed-typical rather than individual. Used badly, it becomes a checklist for buying a dog by appearance. The useful sequence is the reverse: decide the variety, ask about health and temperament, meet the adults if you can, and let the standard confirm what you are seeing rather than replace it.
Breed standards vary in how much they fix and how much they leave to interpretation. The German Spitz standard sets size ranges and coat types by variety, and a buyer can compare those figures against a dog's paperwork. The same method applies elsewhere: the Russian Toy standard and history shows how FCI standard 352 defines size and coat, and how to check breed records and history against verifiable sources. Reading a standard this way keeps expectations tied to documented criteria rather than to a seller's description, and it works for any breed a buyer is considering.
Further Reading