Samoyed Club of America

Promoting the well being and future of the Samoyed breed.

The official AKC breed club for the Samoyed since 1923.

Appearance

SIZE

The standard recommends males be 21″ to 23-1/2″ at the shoulder; bitches 19″ to 21″. There is no disqualification of size in this breed. Size varies from 17 inches to 25 inches though these extremes are usually sold as pets and seldom seen in the show ring. The majority of winning Sammies today are at the top of their standard size, rather than at the bottom.

WOOL

The Samoyed has a double coat, the undercoat being wool which when carded and spun can be woven or knitted into beautiful clothing. It is strong and warm. The coat is odorless, the outer coat is coarse, long and the tips have a silver glint. Both coats should stand out from the body — a drooping coat is not typical of the breed. The color is white, cream, or white with biscuit highlights.

The wool is not sheared. Samoyeds shed. The bitches usually shed twice a year, male dogs once (though they can have a slight shed midseason). Once the Samoyed has had a complete shed and the new coat starts to grow in, there is no hair problem as with shorthaired breeds. However, when they do shed, there is a lot of hair around. In some areas where humidity is high, there can be more shedding problems. In summer, when the woolly undercoat is shed, the coarse outer coat seems to act as protection against the sun.