Breed: The snow-white puppies of the Samoyed look like teddy bears, the adult Samoyed is resembling a white wolf. Samoiedskaya Sobaka appeared in the frozen Siberian tundra many centuries ago. This dog was a faithful friend and helper of a Samoyed people who lived in these rigorous, unhospitable land.

According to the legend, the cradle of mankind was the Iranian high plateau. Over time the population there became bigger and bigger. What that lands could give to people was not already enough, so the more powerful and numerous tribes began to afflict their weaker, less powerful cousins. They moved farther to the northern lands, through Mongolia. Finally, by the end of this migrations, the Samoyeds - tribe, that belonged to the Sayan family - settled on the snowy plains of the tundra, that is stretching from the White Sea to the Yenisei River. Here the Samoyed people - from one generation to another - were living a nomadic life, which is simply unimaginable without the deers. And of course, without the four-legged assistants.

Samoiedskaya Sobaka has many centuries of history. This breed is considered one of the most ancient - no wonder that it relates to the Group 5 in the FCI nomenclature - "Spitz and Primitive Types of Dogs". The breed recieved it's name from the Samoyed tribes, who lived in northern Russia and Siberia. These nomadic tribes (now - Nenets) needed a four-legged assistants who could carry heavily loaded sledges over the huge distances. Also this dogs had to graze the herds of deers in the vast northern lands and to warm the children with the dog's rich coats in the bitter cold. For those people the Samoiedskaya Sobaka (which is now more commonly called "Samoyed") became an indispensable helper.

In those days they were called Belek or Belker and their present name - the Samoyeds - they have got to honor those people who "brought" them and preserved them until our time in a pure form.

Also the preservance of Samoyed is a merit of Ernest Kilburn-Scott and his wife - Clara. British zoologist Ernst Kilbrun Scott in 1889 spent three months among the Samoyed tribes. Returning to England he brought with him a brown dog - a puppy named Dog. Later he imported a cream-colored bitch named Whiteley Pechora from the Western parts of the Urals and the snow-white dog named Masty from Siberia. These dogs and the dogs, that were brought from the earlier expeditions, became the founders of a western Samoyed. As Sarah de Monchy and Peter Kaiser wrote in their article "About the preservation of cultural heritage": "Ernest Kilburn-Scott and his wife Clara were the first who began a systematic and purposeful breeding of the Samoiedskaya Sobaka in the West. It all started with a business trip, that Ernest Kilburn-Scott made to Arkhangelsk in 1893. He stayed there for two months and, while visiting the Nenets tribe living near the city, bought from them a puppy. Ernst never traveled deep into Siberia, but, using a variety of acquaintances in Russia, he managed to collect pretty much of information about the dogs, that were living on these territories. This led to the construction of a large kennel, named "Farmingham", which later became quite famous. In 1909, Ernest Kilburn-Scott organized Samoyed Club, which was the first Samoyed Club of the Great Britain and the first Club of this breed in the world. In may 1909 the Samoyed Club developed the first breeding standard of the Samoiedskaya Sobaka, which was written by Kilburn-Scott himself (probably with the participation of Clara, who had actually been a breeder). Thus began a successful procession of the Samoyed around the world.

It was there - in the Northern lands - where for centuries was forming the famous breed. The modern Samoyeds are probably the closest to the primitive dog - in this dogs you will not find a hint of a cross between a wolf and a fox. Harsh polar sun and snow have made their business: you just look at these beauties, all year round flaunting in their luxurious coats! Constant - from century to century, from generation to generation - presence of people (as the Samoyed is always beside his master) had a huge impact on their habits: Samoiedskaya Sobaka understands his owner perfectly. The owners of this dogs also have always looked after the reindeer herds - a shepherd by nature should be primarily the guardian, the protector, but in any case not a robber. And you always study from the one, that is close to you. So there is no wonder, that the Samoiedskaya Sobaka differs with the qualities, that are quite rare in the dogs world. In the almost childlike innocence of this dogs and in their spontaneity you can always see the nature of a primitive man.

Despite their constant communication with people, the Samoyeds did not turn into some "sissies", some kind of a capricious children. Quite the contrary: this dogs are a real hard workers. As they participated in many Arctic and Antarctic expeditions, the Samoyeds have made a lot of records, which to this day remain unsurpassed.

The sled dogs, which Fridtjof Nansen took with him to the polar expedition, honorably withstood the most severe tests: each of them was working very hard (another "heirloom" of Samoyed), managing to carry the luggage, weighing one and a half times of their own weight. With each new expedition - Jackson Hermsuort, Duke D'Abrutzzi, Sheklton, Scott, and especially Roald Amundsen, who reached, the South Pole in 1911 - was growing the glory of Samoyeds - the great travelers. In England the dogs of this breed appeared for the first time about a hundred years ago - and since then at almost every dog ??????show, they became a very, very noticeable participants. They were very much valued by the Queen Alexandra. The descendants of her own Samoyeds can now be found in many kennels in England and America.
Now this wonderful dogs have found their homes and their fanciers almost everywhere. Natives of northern Siberia, when it was needed, they safely crossed the equator. The relocation did not effect anyhow their working abilities, as it is evidenced by the Antarctic journey. Veterans of the Antarctic expeditions easily survived the Australian heat and returned back to England - and the family tree of the Samoyed got a new branch.

General Features: The Samoyed (Samoiedskaya Sobaka) is a strong and active dog. Height: males - 53-60 cm, females - 48-53 cm Weight - 23-30 kg. Head has a conical shape. Jaws are strong. Nose is black or brown. Eyes are dark, slanting, deep. Samoyed's ears are small, slightly rounded at the ends, always erect. Tail is long, well feathered, curled into the ring and hoisted to the back. Legs are strong, muscular. Paws of the Samoyed are flat and covered with hair. Coat of Samoyed is thick and fluffy, but not wavy, with a dense soft undercoat, which protects the dog from the cold. Color preferred white, but it is possible to be creme, yellow or white with yellow.

Temperament: Constant proximity to man has endowed the Samoiedskaya Sobaka with an almost human ability to understand and has identified this unique character in the world of dogs. A childish naive creature, but still a reliable keeper, obedient and good-natured, sturdy and unpretentious, Samoyed all year-round keeps in his heart and on his smiling "face" a glow of the winter,  Christmas holidays and the spirit of wonders.

Samoiedskaya Sobaka is a dog with a fine mentality and lively mind, he may easily impress you with his intelligence, non-standard thinking and quite creative actions.

Samoyed can not tolerate loneliness, he must live in a close contact with the owner and his family. Under these conditions the Samoyed at only 3-4 months of age is able to fully perform the basic commands of the obedience course, which must be achieved only through patience and love for your pet. In no case the Samoyed can be beaten and punished.

Samoiedskaya Sobaka, in her normal state, is not able to cause any discomfort to people or harm them, but there is one single case where this dog can "contradict to her nature" and bite a human - it's only when he is trying to cause harm, to hurt the child of a Samoyed's master! You'll probably laugh, reading these lines, but the Samoiedskaya Sobaka loves cats. Unlike many other breeds, she sees cats only as a partners for the games. (However, cats usually do not understand this good intentions!) Simply, for all long history of this breed, the Samoyed learned how to be tolerant to all living creatures surrounding him and how to treat them nicely.

Samoyed loves to play. Cheerful, affectionate, he is always trying very hard to please his master. And if the owner will understand his dog and properly supervise his actions, he will succeed in almost anything and everything: the competitions for the implementation of total obedience to the commands, and the competitions to overcome the obstacles - agility,  a search service for emergency teams, and a service as a guide for the blind people - you name it! And besides all that of course Samoiedskaya Sobaka will always be a great family dog, a faithful and affectionate friend for the adults, and a great nanny and companion for children.

Samoyeds differs with their thick coats, impervious to snow and rain, which has the unique ability to self-clean.

Most of the breeders recommend bathing for the Samoyed once in 7 - 10 days if it is a show dog. Because of the mud the coat becomes dull and loses it's snow-white color.

If the Samoyed does not attend the dog shows, it is recommended not to wash him more often, than 1-2 times a year, because frequent washing of this dog can lead to the loss of a self-cleaning ability of Samoyed's coat, and it will become dull and disheveled, full of mats. In addition, the frequent washing may contribute to the skin allergies and colds, as a thick undercoat protects the Samoyed from both: the heat and the cold.

Health problems: The Samoiedskaya Sobaka is prone to the hip dysplasia and skin allergies.

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