Brief summary of the origin of the breed

Above: Samoyed man with his dogs in Siberia 

The Samoyed dog is an ancient dog breed established in the Western world thanks to its working ability and utility capacity, not because of its appearance. There are approximately 300 different dog breeds registered our kennel clubs. Many of these dog breeds have been developed over the last few centuries, but some breeds have a very long history, such as the Samoyed dog and other polar dogs. Mitochondrial DNA studies have suggested that the domestic dog originated approximately 15,000 years ago (Savolainen et al. 2002). All different dog breeds are variants of the domestic dog, Canis familiaris (SiriusDog.com, 2004) which in turn originated from the wolf, Canis lupus (Leonard et al. 2002). All the variation we see in the dog population is in the wolf's genome, but does not appear until it has been heavily selected. Most of today's dog breeds are therefore difficult to associate with the wolf's appearance.

The dog breeds are thus developed to fulfill human needs. Many people today have dogs as a hobby, and for many it is a way of life. For an active dog owner, there is a wide variety of pursuits to choose from: various forms of sled dog work, exhibitions, agility, dog musching, obedience, game tracking, working, hunting in various forms, etc. The interest in dogs in arund the world is great. It is therefore in the interest of many people that our dogs are healthy and sound, both mentally and physically, because otherwise they cannot perform the work that is expected of them.

In the short time period of a little over 120 years, the Samoyed has gone from almost completely non-existent outside of Siberia to a breed present today across large parts of the world. And not too many years ago newspaper and news readers were served a story about some beautiful white dogs, described by their owners as representing a cross between a dog and a polar bear, this description is still used by many today when describing the appearance of the Samoyed dog "Little White Polar Bears ".

The stories of these dogs are many and long, the stories and legends of these dogs tell us about the past times of survival in Siberia. About their journey to western values ​​and then about the spread around the world. The Samoyed dog has made a long journey from Siberia, around the world and then also returns in its improved condition to its homeland of Russia.

This white polar dog is an arctic spitz dog that originated in northwestern Siberia among tribes from, among other things, the Samoyed and Ostjak tribes, nomadic and semi-nomadic people who in the beginning subsisted on hunting and fishing but later also on reindeer herding when the culture with tamboska also reached them the Siberian polar people, albeit in a very primitive variant. They called the dogs Bielkier (white dogs) and used them as draft, hunting, herding and guard dogs depending on which means of livelihood the respective ethnic group agreed with. The wide range of uses that the existing Siberian dog types had has led many to believe that the Samoyed dog was originally of two different varieties. Namely the big whites that were called "Bjelkiers" and were used for hunting and as draft dogs. The other type was slightly smaller and of different colors, mostly used as a herding dog. The dogs were valued according to their utility characteristics and not according to color, eye color or other things that are not essential in terms of use.

in Siberia the breed developed unaffected by other influences. Their white, cream and/or bisque coat has two layers, a dense woolly undercoat and a silver-topped rough outer coat of long, straight guard hair. A perfect example of an ancient working dog, hardy, lively and with a wonderful temperament.

Enlisted to pull sleds on Arctic and Antarctic expeditions, these warriors endured terrible times and served man in their search for the poles. Most of today's Samoyeds are descendants of these sled-pulling expedition dogs. Even the tsar's tax collectors realized what distinguished means of transport the "Bielkierspannen" constituted. So when Nansen planned his polar expedition, there was no hesitation in the choice of pullers - of course the Samoyed Bielker dogs. However, it was Ernest Killburn -Scott who, through his imports from Arkhangelsk, named the dog breed after the people he met there - the Samoyed dog was born.

These dogs were thus discovered by early explorers from the Western world, among others with the Samoyed and Ostyak people up in Siberia. It was the polar explorers Nansen, Scott, Schakleton, Borgevink, Amundsen, Jacksson, etc. who introduced the Samoyed dog to the western world, not because it was white and beautiful but strong, tenacious and best at its task. During his polar expeditions, Nansen kept some data on the dogs. Among other things, he stated the weight of all the dogs, the male dogs weighed between 17-31 kg. Which gave an average weight of about 25 kg for the male dogs. The bitches weighed 16-26 kg. Which gave an average weight of about 22 kg for the bitches (In this calculation, the Greenland dog Kvik is excluded).

These Siberian nomadic people groups who are responsible for the existence of these dogs have today been split up by the Russians and in many cases forced into alternative lifestyles. Fortunately, a handful of these dogs over a period of time between 1890 to 1912 came to be handled so well and exported to the West that led to the spread of the breed and a foundation for a breeding base in the West. Due to war and political chaos, some believe that no more than half a dozen dogs came out of Siberia during the 1920s and after this time period the door to Siberia is said to have been completely closed. But the door to Siberia has now begun to open again in recent years. Siberian sled dogs are exported again and again to Europe, including Yakutian laika, which is a close relative of our Samoyed dogs. Both dog types come from geographical areas that border each other.

Today's Samoyed dog carries a legacy of mentality and anatomy that testifies to the hard and tough survival in Siberia but also to the wonderful camaraderie that can arise between dog and owner. And this good-natured temperament follows these dogs even today. Their ancestral heritage remains in both knowledge and demand.

Like the other polar breeds, the Samoyed is among the world's oldest dog breeds, and among those most similar to their wolf ancestors. Because the breed is so old, it is difficult to determine exactly when it originated. But we can probably give the origin of these dogs a number of thousands of years.

The questions surrounding this breed and its origin are many. How long had the Samoyed people had their dogs and did they breed directly from the Archan wolf? Were they used as sled dogs? What were the first imports? Which kennels are behind the start of the breed in the western world? Were these early dogs only all white? What were the early standards and who wrote them? These questions and many more I have tried to answer during my studies of the breed.