Samoyed
GENERAL APPEARANCE : Medium in size, elegant, a white Arctic Spitz. Its appearance gives the impression of strength, endurance, grace, agility, dignity and security. The expression called “Samoyed smile” is formed by combining the shape of the eyes with their position, and the corners of the mouth slightly curved upwards. Gender must be clearly defined.
Personality: Friendly and sociable.
Power Level : Active.
Good with children: Yes.
Good with other dogs: With supervision.
Grooming: Seasonal.
Life Expectancy : 12-13 years old.
Bark level: Bark when necessary.
HISTORICAL SUMMARY
The name Samoyed derives from the Samoyed Tribes of northern Russia and Siberia. In the southern part of the area, they used white, black, and brown particolor dogs as sheepdogs; in the northern part, the dogs were pure white, had a good temperament, and were used as hunting and sled dogs. Samoyed dogs lived close to their owners, slept inside the shelters and served as heaters. British zoologist Ernest Kilburn Scott spent 3 months among the Samoyed tribes in 1889. Upon returning to England, he took with him a brown male calf named “Sabarka”. He later imported a female named “Whitey Petchora” from the western part of the Urals and a white male named “Musti” from Siberia. These few dogs and those taken by explorers are the basis for Western Samoyeds. The first pattern was written in England in 1909.
Country of Origin: Russia and Siberia.
BEHAVIOR AND TEMPERAMENT: Friendly, open, alert and full of life. The hunting instinct is very light. Never shy or aggressive. Very social and cannot be used as a guard dog.
HEAD: Powerful and cuneiform.
CRANIAL REGION
Skull: Seen from the front and in profile, it is slightly covex. Wide between the ears. Groove between eyes slightly visible.
Stop: Clearly defined, but not too prominent.
FACIAL REGION
Nose: Well developed; preferably black. During certain periods of the year, the pigmentation of the truffle may become lighter, the so-called “snow nose”. It should always be dark at its edge.
Muzzle: Strong and deep; almost equal in length to the skull, tapering gradually to the nose; neither pointy nor heavy or square. Straight nose bridge.
Lips: Tight and full. The lip line is slightly curved at the corners, creating the characteristic “Samoyed smile”.
Jaws and Teeth: Regular and complete scissor bite. Strong teeth and jaws. Normal dentition.
Eyes: Dark brown, well set in the sockets, set apart, slightly slanted and almond shaped. The expression is “smiling”, kind, alert and intelligent. Eyelids well pigmented in black.
Ears: Erect, rather small, triangular, thick and slightly rounded at the tips. They must have mobility; set high; due to the width of the skull, well separated.
NECK: Strong, of medium length and proud of bearing.
BODY : Of length slightly greater than its height at the withers; deep and compact, yet flexible.
Withers: Clearly defined.
Back: Of medium length, muscular and straight; in females, slightly longer than in males.
Loin: Short, very strong and defined.
Croup: Full, strong, muscular and slightly oblique.
Chest: Broad, deep and long, reaching almost to the elbows. Ribs well sprung.
Bottom row: Moderately tucked up.
TAIL: Set high. In attention or in movement, it is carried bent forward over the back or to the side; at rest, when carried hanging, it reaches hock level.
MEMBERS
PREVIOUS: Well placed, muscular and strong boned. Seen from the front, straight and parallel.
Shoulders: Long, firm and oblique.
Arms: Oblique and well adjusted to the body; approximately as long as the shoulders.
Elbows: Well fitted to the body.
Carpi: Strong but flexible.
Pasterns: Slightly oblique.
Feet: Oval with toes long, flexible and well directed forward. Arched fingers are strong and flexible.
HINDQUARTERS: Seen from behind, they are straight, parallel and heavily muscled.
Thigh: Medium in size, broad and muscular.
Hocks: Low and well angulated.
Knees: Well angulated.
Metatarsals: Short, strong, vertical and parallel.
Paws: Like the previous ones, the ergots must be removed.
GAIT/MOVEMENT: Powerful, free, seemingly tireless, with good range. Good drive from the hindquarters.
COAT
Hair: Profuse, thick; dense polar fur. The Samoyed is a double-coated dog with a short, soft and dense undercoat. The covering coat is longer, rougher and straighter. The fur forms a mane around the neck and over the shoulders, framing the head, especially in males. On the head and foreparts, the coat is shorter and softer. On the outer surface of the ears, the hair is short, straight and soft. The inside of the ears is well lined. On the back of the thighs, the fur forms a breeches. In the interdigital spaces, there are protective hairs. The tail is abundantly coated. In females, the coat is often shorter and softer in texture than in males. The correct texture of the coat must always have a special glossy luster.
COLOR: Pure white, cream or white with biscuit (the background color should be white with slight biscuit marks). It should never give the impression of being beige.
SIZE Height at the withers: Males measuring 57 cm with a tolerance of +/- 3 cm. Females measuring 53 cm with a tolerance of +/- 3 cm.
FAULTS
Any deviation from this standard should be considered a fault and penalized in exact proportion to its severity and its effects on the health and well being of the dog.
DISQUALIFYING FAULTS
• Aggressiveness or excessive shyness.
• Any dog that shows any sign of physical or behavioral anomaly must be disqualified.
• Atypical dogs.