German Spitz is used to refer to both a breed of dog and category or type of dog. Several modern breeds have been developed from the German Spitz, and are either registered as separate breeds or as varieties of German Spitz. All the German Spitz type dogs are dogs of the Spitz type of Germany origin. The Großspitz, Mittelspitz, and Kleinspitz breeds of German Spitz type are also called the German Spitz in English.
History
German Spitz, like all spitzen, have many physical features found in oldest stone age fossil dogs in Central Europe, leading experts at the time to believe that the spitz is the oldest dog type. However, modern genetic evidence places them in a much more recent lineage, dating the Wolfsspitz-type to the 1800s. The German Spitz was later brought to United States, and was renamed American Eskimo Dog due to the widespread Anti-German sentiment prejudice during World War I, although other breeds ("White Keeshonds" and Pomeranians, along with Japanese Spitz) were also used in the formation of the breed. The American Kennel club recognizes the breeds as separate.
