Preserve a cultural heritage

Our ancient breeds have developed as a result of long-term adaptation to certain geographical areas, environments and climatic conditions, as well as humans over thousands of generations naturally shaped them for a certain use/function for humans with special physiological requirements. The Samoyed dog is a Siberian cultural heritage whose function and expediency in characteristics and construction constitute a cynological value. Our original breeds (primitive breeds) have developed as a result of long-term adaptation to certain geographical areas, environments and climatic conditions, as well as humans over thousands of generations naturally shaped them for a certain use/function for humans with special physiological requirements. The Samoyed dog is an ancient breed with a history spanning thousands of years. The registered Samoyed dog came about by making use of an existing type of dog within a certain geographical area in Siberia.


A cultural heritage

Cultural heritage is a concept that encompasses the cultural history of a small group, people or an entire nation in a geographical area. Cultural heritage can also include the entire world's cultural history. Often the term cultural heritage is also used for artefacts from different societies or cultures such as objects of use or art, documents, buildings and monuments, etc. The K-label is, for example, intended to protect objects and environments of cultural and historical interest. Legal protection often means that a building may not be demolished or altered in such a way that the cultural-historical value is reduced. Often, it is only in connection with the cultural-historical value being threatened that it becomes clear that it must be protected, for example during a restoration. The K-marking then means that the cultural-historical value can remain and enrich society. We don't usually K-mark dog types, dog breeds, but we can learn from this way of working to manage our ancient dog breeds, the Samoyed dog, and preserve the cultural-historical heritage it carries into the future. To succeed in that, we must also be able to talk openly about the problems the breed is facing.

The Samoyed dog is a breeding result produced by breeding over many thousands of years among the polar people, a legacy from ancient times, a work tool in everyday survival for the Siberian hunters of the time. We have received a heritage from the polar people, a Siberian cultural heritage that we are obliged to manage and preserve in the best possible way. Even the people of the future and breed enthusiasts must be able to be presented with the same image of the Samoyed dog as it was presented to man in the West on the day he arrived from Siberia. Not only in appearance but also with preserved abilitys for work and survival in arctic climate.


One of the oldest breeds

New studies into the breed's age and origin have shown that the Samoyed dog belongs to one of the 14 breeds that have come to be classified as the absolute oldest and closest to the wolf genetically, which should also be seen as another reason to preserve the breed's origin, distinctiveness and the breed's typical original appearance for function.


The breeds genetic survival in Siberia

Historically, the polar people dealt with the genetic variation by not select dogs by color or other appearance details unimportant for the function. The only thing that was relevant was that the dogs could perform their physical tasks and survive on the Siberian tundra and taiga, it was the function that was important, not that the dog was cute to look at, this should still be the primary focus of today's breeders if we want to preserve the breed and not change it. The polar people often bred within small populations (due to geographical reasons) but brought in dogs periodically with new blood from other populations in the surrounding areas when they traveled and met, at markets etc. The dog type survived genetically precisely because you could regularly bringing in new blood from other family groups' dogpopulations, separated by geographical reasons, which allowed the genetic variation to continue.


A genetically small breed

Many dogbreeds have gone through a bottleneck when they had critical periods. Among other things, the world wars were hard on many dogbreeds. For the Samoyed dog, one can initially imagine that apart from the influence of the war years, but the breed already underwent a genetic bottleneck when it was imported to the Western world from Siberia due to the fact that such a small number of dogs were brought in and established the breeds closed pedigrees. From a small number of founders (original dogs), the breed has since spread across the world. Another genetic bottleneck could be the strong inbreeding, so-called line breeding, which dominated the dog breeding methodology for many years and which most likely has led to the loss of large parts of the genetic variation within the breed.

Primitive and unrefined animals are important to preserve. They constitute a valuable gene bank. Through close breeding, the variation in the genetic basis is reduced and the risk of disorders increases. The gene bank preserves the diversity of traits for the future if it is large enough

In the effort to preserve an ancient dog breed/type, one should guard the original variation within the breed, the original variation in appearance, the characteristics for the original work and function in arctic climate, mental and exterior characteristics for survival in arctic climate, etc. Beauty in the show rings should be given secondary importance.


Ancient working breeds 

When we are dealing with ancient working breeds, the breeding theory becomes more complex than with a pure companion breed. In the case of a primitiv and working dog, it is not enough that you only did some standardized health tests and the appearance looks similar to the appearance described by the breed standard (based on your own interpretation and opinions), but it must also have a physiological composition that makes it robust, hardy and durable under long-term physical work in arctic climate. You have to prioritize the dog's function, otherwise it becomes just a shell without the content of characteristics necessary for physical performance. The same applies to the appearance the exterior that changes over time into something completely different, a new look but still registered as Samoyed.

The Samoyed belongs to FCI group 5 spitz and ancient breeds and is found under section 1, sled dogs. The typical characteristic of the Samoyed is its adaptation for survival and physical work in arctic/subarctic climates. According to the breed standard, the breed's area of ​​use is sled and companion dog. Anchored in historical mapping, the Samoyed is a polar working dog. 

To be able to preserve the breed we need to promote the breeding of mentally and physically healthy, useful and functional working polar dogs. We need to preserve and develop the breed's specific characteristics fore work and survive in arctic climate. And we have to keep the older look of the breed, not change them and call it a new approved variant of the breed. There is a natural variation in appearance within the breed but that does not include the modern bred showmodels that differ more or less strongly from the breed's traditional and functional appearance. If the appearancechange  of a breed, its breed name should also be changed as it is not the same breed anymore.



We must have respect for what the dog is intended for and for what heritage it carries!!!

Today we have dogs more as family dogs and for active use mostly for fun, so-called sporting dogs. This makes it difficult for some of the Siberian, polar and subpolar ancient breeds to survive unchanged with their heritage intact. But luckily, our arctic dogs have a natural place even in modern society in outdoor life and come into their right element and can be used for what they are intended for.

The dog as an animal species is not endangered. But even though in many countries we seem to be constantly setting new records in the number of newly registered dogs, the future is uncertain for some of our ancient working spitz dogs from the northern polar and subpolar regions. This largely applies to all our polar breeds, including the Samoyed dog. The Samoyed dog, which has been a hunting dog for all kinds of game, from squirrels to polar bears and draft dogs over endless distances, is due to today's over-typing in show breeding and the neglect of its working qualities, polar qualities and survival character, they have an uncertain future going forward. It is a danger for our working breeds when the breeding criteria within certain lines move more and more towards selection for exhibition or pure companion breeding.

The rescue of the Samoyed dog and his cousins ​​lies in today's increasing interest in running sleddogs on wilderness tours and in competitive form where these breeds come into their own element.


The breed typ

The breed type, the form is defined by the function in the traditional work and original environment. Breed type is constituted by both the physiological requirements of an excellent draft-/sleddog and the requirements of a arctic survival-adapted spitz dog, the dog must both be able to work and survive in the environment they were created for (work hard physically in arctic and sub-arctic climates). Even the reindeer dogs that more recently appeared in Siberia need the same conditions as the work as a reindeer dog is also physically demanding and requires that the dog is an athlete who can move at high speeds and work for several days straight. AS a reindeerdog they need to keep pace with the reindeer herd and catch up with a runaway reindeer i high speed. They can not be built too heavy as they lose the ability to move above slush and snow, if they become too heavy they easily trample through.


Preserving the breed

For the Samoyed dog, the most appropriate thing to do would be to preserve parts of today's population and restore  parts of today's population.

  • Promote the breeding of mentally and physically healthy dogs. The dog must be functionally built for use/work and it should be seen in their appearance that they are athletically built. We need to preserve a whole Samoyed dog, not just parts of it.
  • We should both physically and mentally preserve the Samoyed dog, not change or remake the breed.
  • We need to preserv the arctic and working abilitys of the breed in function, anatomy and mentality = Polar dog.
  • Preserve and restore the specific characteristics of the Samoyed dog. What makes the breed unique and sets it apart from other breeds. Which means the polar characteristics and aptitude for physical work.
  • To preserve the breed-specific mental characteristics.
  • To work for the development of practical use of Samoyed dogs such as draft/sled dogs means preserving the general traits for usability as well as specifically the draft/sled dog traits in the breeding selection.
  • The Samoyed should be a natural choice for the active and outdoor-loving puppy buyer.