A breed of dog with a pointed snout, thick fluffy coat, and sharp ears, originally from northern regions.
From German 'Spitz,' possibly from 'spitz' meaning pointed, referring to the dog's characteristic sharp snout and pointed ears. The breed was developed in northern Europe and Scandinavia for cold-weather work. The name stuck as the official breed name across multiple languages.
Spitz dogs were perfectly engineered by harsh winters—their thick coats, pointed muzzles for breathing cold air, and alert ears made them ideal sled and hunting dogs in Arctic regions. The name literally just means 'pointy' in German, which tells you medieval dog breeders weren't fancy with names, just descriptive! You can see their wolf-like ancestry in almost every feature.
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