Why nothing works on your Pom — and the 5-minute method a real Pom trainer now coaches

By Victoria, Brainy Pom founder · with Brandi, professional Pomeranian trainer · 5 min read

Two years ago, I was ready to admit I'd failed my own dog. I'd had dogs my whole life — good, easy dogs — and then a six-pound Pomeranian made me feel like I'd never trained anything.

The barking at the door, the window, at nothing. The way he'd look right at me and do the exact opposite. Accidents on the rug. And the second I left, he fell apart. I did everything the internet told me — the clicker, the treats, “being the alpha,” even a trainer. Nothing stuck. And somewhere in there, I stopped blaming the dog and started blaming myself.

I was training a wolf like a retriever

A Pomeranian isn't a Labrador. It's a Spitz — an ancient arctic breed wired closer to a little wolf than to the retrievers that nearly all mainstream dog training was built for. A Spitz was bred to sound the alarm and think for itself. So “sit, stay, good boy,” the treats and the firm voice — the things that work on a Lab — quietly fight thousands of years of your Pom's instincts. I wasn't a bad owner. I was a good owner using the wrong manual.

The 5-minute method built for the Spitz brain

There is a calmer way — a method built only for the Pomeranian brain. Five minutes a day. No yelling, no clicker, no “dominance.” It starts by understanding your own Pom. The first time I trained him his way instead of the Labrador way, he settled on the very first day.

And this is the part I could never offer before

The #1 reason training fails isn't the method — it's the moment something doesn't go by the book and there's nobody to ask. The video can't see your dog. The book can't answer back. So this year we brought in Brandi — a professional Pomeranian trainer of 13 years — to teach the method live, and to look at your Pom herself.

Meet Brandi · professional Pomeranian trainer

13 years training dogs professionally — more than 10 of them in behavior work — and a lifelong Pomeranian owner (you'll meet her own two Poms). After a decade with every breed you can name, she chose a Pomeranian for herself. Positive-reinforcement, force-free, working with the Spitz brain instead of against it.

Victoria · Brainy Pom founder

Victoria founded Brainy Pom after spending years learning — the hard way — that Pomeranians can't be trained like other dogs. She now helps hundreds of Pom owners work with the Spitz brain instead of against it.