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Explore the Samoyed’s survival traits in the Arctic Circle, from sledding origins to the modern breed standard.
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The Arctic Circle is one of the most desolate, bitterly cold areas of the world. There are very few of the amenities available that modern humans are known to love. We visited the Arctic Circle on an Expedition Cruise in June of 2023 via Greenland. Finding a dock was rare; if we wanted to go ashore, we could climb into a Zodiac boat, which is a rubber boat with a motor, and travel from the ship to the shoreline. We wore knee-high rubber boots so that we could climb out of the boat into the water, and help the men drag the rubber boat onto the beach.
It snowed every day; the daily high in June was 32 degrees, and the low was 12 degrees. There were huge glaciers in the water within the Arctic Circle. We were not able to reach some areas of Greenland due to the ice… the ship could not navigate through some of the heavy ice floes in the water without running the risk of getting stranded.
It is in this environment that the Samoyed not only worked, but also thrived. We were able to see an example of how they lived by observing the Greenland Dogs. The Greenland Dogs are a fourth Arctic breed that is related to the Samoyed, the Siberian Husky, and the Alaskan Malamute.
The Greenland Dogs are maintained by the Inuit people of Greenland, who still use them for sledding during the bitter winter months when the temperature drops to 40 degrees below zero. The dogs were taken out of sledding service the week before we arrived, in June, and they reminded me of the original Samoyeds, coming in a variety of colors and markings.
How did these Arctic breeds survive in the frigid Arctic Circle for thousands of years before the creation of dog booties and warming blankets? We will find the answers in the Samoyed Breed Standard.
During the late 1800s, the Samoyed first became known to the outside world due to the exploration of the North and South Poles. Most of the Samoyed strains in the UK and the United States are related to the veteran sled dogs of these expeditions. It is speculated that there were only twelve dogs that constituted the original breeding stock outside of Russia.
The first Samoyed was brought to England in 1889 by Mr. Kilburn Scott, the head of the London Zoological Society. This was a brown Samoyed male named Sabarka, and he was put on display at the London Zoo. Sabarka was quite the novelty and drew many visitors to the zoo, generating interest in this rare Arctic breed. His wife, Mrs. Kilburn Scott, was very taken with this newly discovered breed and asked her husband to bring some more dogs back from his next expedition. He brought back several colors of the breed, including a white dog, and it was Mrs. Kilburn Scott who fell in love with this beautiful white dog, now known as the Samoyed, and decided they would breed these dogs, but they would only breed for the white, cream, and biscuit colors, eliminating the brown, black, and spotted colors from the breeding stock.
Through modern DNA testing, we now know that if you test a Samoyed for color it will test as a brown or a black dog, and that the white, cream, or biscuit coat color is a lower case ee recessive gene. The first Official Breed Standard was adopted in England in 1909, based on Mrs. Scott’s interviews with the Arctic explorers who discovered them. Let us examine the key survival characteristics of this breed, which is based on the feedback of the Arctic explorers.
Coat: The Samoyed is a double-coated breed, with a soft, thick wool undercoat, which provides warmth for the body, and a longer, harsher hair growing through it to form the outer coat. The outer coat is weather-resistant, stands straight out from the body, and should be free of curl. The outer coat protects and shields the undercoat from snow, and with a good shake a Sammy can remove the snow from its body. A droopy coat is undesirable.
The quality of the coat should be considered more than the quantity. The silver tips on the coat that cause the coat to glisten with a silver sheen are actually created by the hair shaft of the outer coat becoming clear at the ends, and it enhances the Teflon effect of the outer coat in the snow. The female does not carry as long a coat as the male and it is softer in texture. The Samoyed coat should be pure white, white and biscuit, cream, or all biscuit. Any other color is a disqualification.
Tail: The tail should be moderately long, with the tailbone terminating approximately at the hock when down. It should be profusely covered with long hair. The tail was important to the dog’s survival on the tundra as the dog would curl up in a ball when sleeping, with the tail covering its muzzle and nose, helping to warm its breath while asleep. The tail should be carried forward over the side and the back when alert, and it is sometimes dropped when at rest. The tail should be mobile and loose, not tight over the back. The arch of the tail should balance out the arch of the neck when the dog is alert and standing at attention. A double hook is a fault, as the dog is unable to wrap it around its muzzle for warmth. A judge should see the tail over the back once when judging.
Feet: Pasterns should be strong, sturdy, and flexible, with some spring for proper letdown of feet. The pasterns are the “shock absorbers” of the dog when moving, and they contribute to its endurance when working. The feet are the dog’s running gear and should be long and slightly flat… a hare foot with two elongated center toes. The foot should be slightly spread, but not splayed, with arched toes, thick and tough pads, and a protective growth of hair between the toes. An untrimmed Samoyed foot will also have longer feathering growing from the top of the foot, for warmth and protection.
The hare-shaped foot helped the Samoyed make quick turns when herding reindeer on the tundra, much as a rabbit can quickly change direction in times of danger. The polar bear, another mammal of the Arctic, also has feet that are heavily furred around the pads. The heavily furred foot pads and tops provide natural protection for the feet during the frigid Arctic winters, although in warmer climates, the fur tends to form ice-balls between the pads if left untrimmed.
Head: The Samoyed is not considered a “head breed.” However, according to the Arctic explorers, there are a number of characteristics about the head on this breed that contribute to its ability to survive and work in the extreme weather conditions of the Russian Arctic Circle. These characteristics should be preserved.
The ears should be thick, well-furred, and mobile, which protects the ears from freezing on the tundra. The ears should be in proportion to the size of the head and the dog. If you think the ear looks too long or too short, fold the tip of the ear towards the outside corner of the eye… the tip of the ear should end close to this point, if it is the correct size. Ears should be set well apart, but positioned within the border of the outer edge of the head, and be slightly rounded at the tips. Think about the exposed vascular areas of the body where a human might get frostbite; the ears, the fingertips, the nose, and the toes. Evolution has rounded the tips of the ears, and made them heavily furred and mobile to protect them from frostbite or freezing.
The skull should be of medium length and depth, and should form a wedge. The width of the wedge can vary, depending on breeder preference, and the stop should not be too abrupt. This enhances the aerodynamics of the dog when moving. The skull should be broad, but not round, and should form an equilateral triangle between the inner base of the ears and the central point of the stop. The muzzle must have sufficient underjaw to give depth to the muzzle. Having a muzzle of sufficient length and depth is important for warming the frigid Arctic air before it reaches the lungs.
Eyes should be dark for preference, placed well apart, and be almond-shaped, with the lower lid slanting towards the outer corner of the ear. This is a survival characteristic of the breed. It is interesting to note that most creatures living in the Arctic Circle, both human and animal, have this almond-shaped eye. Evolution created this eye shape, as a round eye has been proven to result in snow blindness from the many months of exposure to the sun’s glare on the Arctic snow. Please note that blue eyes are a disqualifying fault in this breed. The nose, lips, and eye rims are to be black for preference, but a brown, liver, or dudley nose is not to be penalized.
The lips should curve up in the corners in a “Sammy Smile,” even when the mouth is closed. Expression should consist of a “lighting up of the face” when alert or intent on anything. Ears should be erect and alert, eyes should sparkle, and the mouth should form the “Sammy Smile.”
There should not be droopy flews at the corners of the mouth, as this would cause saliva to accumulate and freeze around the mouth and muzzle, causing discomfort while the dog is working. There is an important reason why the Samoyed evolved with a smile on its face… the upturned lip line serves a functional purpose in the frigid Arctic Circle!
The bite should snugly overlap in a scissors bite. Please note: There is no disqualification or penalty for missing teeth in this breed! It is not necessary to count teeth or open the mouth to look at the top and bottom dentition when checking the bite.
In conclusion, the Samoyed is an ancient and beautiful breed that has, for the most part, been shaped by evolution, with the Kilburn Scotts from England being instrumental in choosing the white, cream, or biscuit coat color. The Samoyed continues, as it has for thousands of years, as a natural breed that combines the functionality of the past with our desire to maintain these survival characteristics for future generations. We, as breeders, hope to preserve the integrity of this stunning breed!
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