THE ESSENCE OF THE SAMOYED BREED
Color: Pure White, White and Biscuit, Cream, and All Biscuit. Any other colors are disqualified.
heart and lung room for working on the tundra. As breeders, we also like to feel “elbow pockets,” which are slight inden- tions in the rib cage under the elbows that allow more freedom of movement for the front legs without causing the Samoyed to move out at the elbows. The shoulders should be long and slop- ing with a layback of 45 degrees. Also, check the upper arm, which should be approximately the same length as the shoulder blade. The withers separation, which indicates the lay-in of shoulder, should be 1 – 1-1 ⁄ 2 inches wide, or two to three fingertips apart, depending on the width of your fingers. The lay-in of shoul- der tends to influence how the dog will put its front feet on the ground when in motion, and generally a Samoyed whose shoulders are not laid-in towards the spi- nal column will not converge into a single track when moving. The shoulder angles and lay-in of shoulder contribute to the dog’s endurance while working in the large open spaces of the tundra. Next, run your hand down the front of the chest where you should be able to feel the prosternum. The legs should be parallel and straight to the pastern, and approxi- mately 55 percent of the dog’s height at the withers. Length of leg is important when working in the deep tundra snow. You will need to push the hair back on the chest at the elbow to determine the true length of leg, since this is a double-coated
another for survival on the tundra. For this reason, the Breed Standard reflects the original Arctic explorers’ observations of the tribal people with their dogs in respect to Temperament. The third and final element that the JEC felt characterized the Essence of the Breed was Structure. The neck should be of good length, strong, and well-muscled. The neck should BLEND into the shoul- der and topline with a graceful arch, and any other neck should be depreciated. An arched neck is thicker at the base and has stronger neck ligaments, which offers more power for the dog’s shoulder blades and front assembly while the dog is work- ing. A ewe neck, for example, is positioned upright, perpendicular from the shoulder, and lacks any indication of an arch. This type of neck has weaker neck ligaments, and because of that weakness, has less support for the shoulder blades and front leg muscles. While this type of neckline might appear flashy in the show ring, it does not offer optimal functionality for a Working Dog. The chest should be deep, with the ribs well-sprung from the spine and taper- ing at the sides to allow movement of the shoulders and freedom for the front legs. The chest should be heart-shaped and not barrel-shaped. Perfect depth of the chest should be at the point of the elbow, and the deepest part of the chest should be behind the forelegs, which provides more
tail covering its muzzle and nose, helping to warm its breath while asleep. The tail should be carried forward over the back or side when alert, and 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 stand- ing at attention. A double hook is a fault. A judge should see the tail over the back once when judging. The second breed characteristic that our JEC felt was part of the Essence of the Breed was Temperament. The Samoyed was an Arctic breed that was expected to work off-lead on the vast Russian tundra, herding Reindeer. It had to have sufficient intelligence to make split-second, inde- pendent decisions. For this reason, it was also required to work in harmony with other animals and with man. At night, the dogs sometimes slept in the chooms, or tents, with the tribal people. If a dog was a troublemaker and could not get along with others, it was eliminated, probably ending up in the stew pot or being worn as a fur hat, as nothing was wasted by the tribal people on the tundra. The standard states that the Samoyed should be intel- ligent, gentle, loyal, adaptable, alert, full of action, eager to serve, friendly but con- servative, not distrustful or shy, and not overly aggressive. Unprovoked aggressive- ness is to be severely penalized. The dogs and people were co-dependent on one
240 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, OCTOBER 2021
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