Breed Standard
Samoyed Breed Standard
Working Group
General Conformation
(a) General Appearance - The Samoyed, being essentially a working
dog, should present a picture of beauty, alertness and strength,
with agility, dignity and grace. As his work lies in cold climates,
his coat should be heavy and weather-resistant, well groomed, and of
good quality rather then quantity. The male carries more of a "ruff"
than the female. He should not be long in the back as a weak back
would make him practically useless for his legitimate work, but at
the same time, a close-coupled body would also place him at a great
disadvantage as a draft dog. Breeders should aim for the happy
medium, a body not long but muscular, allowing liberty, with a deep
chest and well-sprung ribs, strong neck, straight front and
especially strong loins. Males should be masculine in appearance and
deportment without unwarranted aggressiveness; bitches feminine
without weakness of structure or apparent softness of temperament.
Bitches may be slightly longer in back than males. They should both
give the appearance of being capable of great endurance but be free
from coarseness. Because of the depth of chest required, the legs
should be moderately long. A very short-legged dog is to be
deprecated. Hindquarters should be particularly well developed,
stifles well bent and any suggestion of unsound stifles or cowhocks
severely penalized. General appearance should include movement and
general conformation, indicating balance and good substance. (b)
Substance - Substance is that sufficiency of bone and muscle which
rounds out a balance with the frame. The bone is heavier than would
be expected in a dog of this size but not so massive as to prevent
the speed and agility most desirable in a Samoyed. In all builds,
bone should be in proportion to body size. The Samoyed should never
be so heavy as to appear clumsy nor so light as to appear racy. The
weight should be in proportion to the height.
(c) Height - Males--21 to 23½ inches; females--19 to 21 inches at
the withers. An oversized or undersized Samoyed is to be penalized
according to the extent of the deviation.
(d) Coat (Texture and Condition) - The Samoyed is a doublecoated
dog. The body should be well covered with an undercoat of soft,
short, thick, close wool with longer and harsh hair growing through
it to form the outer coat, which stands straight out from the body
and should be free from curl. The coat should form a ruff around the
neck and shoulders, framing the head (more on males than on
females). Quality of coat should be weather resistant and considered
more than quantity. A droopy coat is undesirable. The coat should
glisten with a silver sheen. The female does not usually carry as
long a coat as most males and it is softer in texture.
(e) Color - Samoyeds should be pure white, white and biscuit, cream,
or all biscuit. Any other colors disqualify.
Movement
(a) Gait - The Samoyed should trot, not pace. He should move with a
quick agile stride that is well timed. The gait should be free,
balanced and vigorous, with good reach in the forequarters and good
driving power in the hindquarters. When trotting, there should be a
strong rear action drive. Moving at a slow walk or trot, they will
not single-track, but as speed increases the legs gradually angle
inward until the pads are finally falling on a line directly under
the longitudinal center of the body. As the pad marks converge the
forelegs and hind legs are carried straight forward in traveling,
the stifles not turned in nor out. The back should remain strong,
firm and level. A choppy or stilted gait should be penalized.
(b) Rear End - Upper thighs should be well developed. Stifles well
bent-approximately 45 degrees to the ground. Hocks should be well
developed, sharply defined and set at approximately 30 percent of
hip height. The hind legs should be parallel when viewed from the
rear in a natural stance, strong, well developed, turning neither in
nor out. Straight stifles are objectionable. Double-jointedness or
cowhocks are a fault. Cowhocks should only be determined if the dog
has had an opportunity to move properly.
(c) Front End - Legs should be parallel and straight to the
pasterns. The pasterns should be strong, sturdy and straight, but
flexible with some spring for proper let-down of feet. Because of
depth of chest, legs should be moderately long. Length of leg from
the ground to the elbow should be approximately 55 per cent of the
total height at the withers-a very short-legged dog is to be
deprecated. Shoulders should be long and sloping, with a layback of
45 degrees and be firmly set. Out at the shoulders or out at the
elbows should be penalized. The withers separation should be
approximately 1-1½ inches.
(d) Feet - Large, long, flattish-a hare-foot, slightly spread but
not splayed; toes arched; pads thick and tough, with protective
growth of hair between the toes. Feet should turn neither in nor out
in a natural stance but may turn in slightly in the act of pulling.
Turning out, pigeon-toed, round or cat-footed or splayed are faults.
Feathers on feet are not too essential but are more profuse on
females than on males
Head
(a) Conformation - Skull is wedge-shaped, broad, slightly crowned,
not round or apple-headed, and should form an equilateral triangle
on lines between the inner base of the ears and the central point of
the stop. Muzzle--Muzzle of medium length and medium width, neither
coarse nor snipy; should taper toward the nose and be in proportion
to the size of the dog and the width of skull. The muzzle must have
depth. Whiskers are not to be removed. Stop--Not too abrupt,
nevertheless well defined. Lips--Should be black for preference and
slightly curved up at the corners of the mouth, giving the "Samoyed
smile." Lip lines should not have the appearance of being coarse nor
should the flews drop predominately at corners of the mouth.
Ears--Strong and thick, erect, triangular and slightly rounded at
the tips; should not be large or pointed, nor should they be small
and "bear-eared." Ears should conform to head size and the size of
the dog; they should be set well apart but be within the border of
the outer edge of the head; they should be mobile and well covered
inside with hair; hair full and stand-off before the ears. Length of
ear should be the same measurement as the distance from inner base
of ear to outer corner of eye. Eyes--Should be dark for preference;
should be placed well apart and deep-set; almond shaped with lower
lid slanting toward an imaginary point approximately the base of
ears. Dark eye rims for preference. Round or protruding eyes
penalized. Blue eyes disqualifying. Nose--Black for preference but
brown, liver, or Dudley nose not penalized. Color of nose sometimes
changes with age and weather. Jaws and Teeth--Strong, well-set
teeth, snugly overlapping with scissors bite. Undershot or overshot
should be penalized.
(b) Expression - The expression, referred to as "Samoyed
expression," is very important and is indicated by sparkle of the
eyes, animation and lighting up of the face when alert or intent on
anything. Expression is made up of a combination of eyes, ears and
mouth. The ears should be erect when alert; the mouth should be
slightly curved up at the corners to form the "Samoyed smile."
Torso
(a) Neck - Strong, well muscled, carried proudly erect, set on
sloping shoulders to carry head with dignity when at attention. Neck
should blend into shoulders with a graceful arch.
(b) Chest - Should be deep, with ribs well sprung out from the spine
and flattened at the sides to allow proper movement of the shoulders
and freedom for the front legs. Should not be barrel-chested.
Perfect depth of chest approximates the point of elbows, and the
deepest part of the chest should be back of the forelegs-near the
ninth rib. Heart and lung room are secured more by body depth than
width.
(c) Loin and Back - The withers forms the highest part of the back.
Loins strong and slightly arched. The back should be straight to the
loin, medium in length, very muscular and neither long nor
short-coupled. The dog should be "just off square"--the length being
approximately 5 per cent more than the height. Females allowed to be
slightly longer than males. The belly should be well shaped and
tightly muscled and, with the rear of the thorax, should swing up in
a pleasing curve (tuck-up). Croup must be full, slightly sloping,
and must continue imperceptibly to the tail root.
Tail
- The tail should be moderately long with the tail bone terminating
approximately at the hock when down. It should be profusely covered
with long hair and carried forward over the back or side when alert,
but sometimes dropped when at rest. It should not be high or low set
and should be mobile and loose -- not tight over the back. A double
hook is a fault. A judge should see the tail over the back once when
judging.
Disposition
- Intelligent, gentle, loyal, adaptable, alert, full of action,
eager to serve, friendly but conservative, not distrustful or shy,
not overly aggressive. Unprovoked aggressiveness is to be severely
penalized.
Disqualification
Any color other than pure white, cream, biscuit, or white and
biscuit.
Blue eyes.
Approved
August 10, 1993
Effective September 29, 1993