The original Poms were a 30 lb. herding dog, similar to the German Spitz or Keeshond. My guess would be that most dogs you see come from backyard breeders or puppy mills, and represent dogs who have been refined less from the original stock, therefore you may have throwbacks to the original type. Also in mills, there is a possibility of an accidental mix, because different males could be housed in a cage with one female, or you could have a multiple-sire litter.