Samoyeds...
- Thread starter sillysally
- Start date
Extensively! What would you like to know?
Zero is 5 years now and I've had a close relationship with his breeder and her dogs since, my friend owns 2 females, my other friend has owned more than 4. Consistently, they're all REALLY SWEET. Very gentle, happy, smart breed, rarely too rambunctious or overwhelming with people.
They need a fair amount of exercise or mental stimulation to prevent boredom. Be afraid of a bored Samoyed. Crafty buggers can figure out how to get into or out of anything if they are bored enough to figure it out. Once came home from work to Zero locked inside the cat cage. He had broken in, managing to keep it locked and intact, to eat cat poop.
Very drivey dogs in my experience prone to inappropriate and roughness with other dogs if not dealt with right away. Can't for the life of me get zero to stop "herding" Pit on walks, getting to a point where he injures him. My friend had similar issues with his males.
Grooming is a literal pain in the neck. Start to finish, Zero takes 4 hours to groom and then it's constant brushing until his next groom as he sheds constantly and all year long. He also has seasonal sheds where even MORE hair comes out. Black clothing is off the menu. Other Samoyeds don't have a coat as bad as Zero usually, but you can still count on constant brushing no matter what coat you end up with.
Smart breed, very fun and rewarding to train. They're not as independent as I'd been led to believe and in my experience are very willing to learn and to please.
That's all I can think up, got any questions?
Zero is 5 years now and I've had a close relationship with his breeder and her dogs since, my friend owns 2 females, my other friend has owned more than 4. Consistently, they're all REALLY SWEET. Very gentle, happy, smart breed, rarely too rambunctious or overwhelming with people.
They need a fair amount of exercise or mental stimulation to prevent boredom. Be afraid of a bored Samoyed. Crafty buggers can figure out how to get into or out of anything if they are bored enough to figure it out. Once came home from work to Zero locked inside the cat cage. He had broken in, managing to keep it locked and intact, to eat cat poop.
Very drivey dogs in my experience prone to inappropriate and roughness with other dogs if not dealt with right away. Can't for the life of me get zero to stop "herding" Pit on walks, getting to a point where he injures him. My friend had similar issues with his males.
Grooming is a literal pain in the neck. Start to finish, Zero takes 4 hours to groom and then it's constant brushing until his next groom as he sheds constantly and all year long. He also has seasonal sheds where even MORE hair comes out. Black clothing is off the menu. Other Samoyeds don't have a coat as bad as Zero usually, but you can still count on constant brushing no matter what coat you end up with.
Smart breed, very fun and rewarding to train. They're not as independent as I'd been led to believe and in my experience are very willing to learn and to please.
That's all I can think up, got any questions?
I've never had one but have been around quite a few on a regular basis and over a long time period. We had several regulars at daycare including 2 intact males. I also have dog sat for Sammys and shown one too. Oh an groomed them as well. We didn't need to do anything special to keep them cool at daycare. Like all the dogs, they hung out in the shade, waded in the pool or laid in front of the fans inside during the hottest part of the day.
I wouldn't say daily brushing is a necessity unless they are shedding. Really, instead of daily brushing, a good monthly bath/blow out/brushing with a bit of as needed brushing in between would keep most in really, really good shape. It also will help their coat be lighter and more "air-y" for hot weather. Now this is with an intact Sammy. Altering can drastically change their coat and make them extremely prone to matting and make them develop extra thick under coat that never totally sheds out. IMO most altered pet Sammys should be given short haircuts because it's better for them and their owner. Not shaved but given shorter, easier to maintain, lighter coats. But I know most people who have them wouldn't agree.
As a breed, they seem to do fine in daycare/dog park type settings. They are generally pretty happy dogs and not really guardy or territorial IME or manly or snarky. They don't seem prone to dog aggression, although like any breed I'm sure there are some exceptions. I know that when I was showing the Sammy last summer the Sammy people ringside were pretty laidback about their dogs. Loose leashes, dogs sniffing each other while owners chatted. The intact boys were not getting too manly with each other and the girls weren't snarky. There was one male at one show who was a bit leash reactive and the other Sammy people seemed pretty appalled by it overall.
We didn't have prey drive issues with them at daycare towards the small dogs and we had all dogs together. They don't strike me as being over the top drivey in any regard, although like a lot of dogs I'm sure many will chase critters if given a chance. They all seem to universally be pretty food motivated. Some liked toys and some didn't. I know they are touted as "Nordic herders" but IME they are far more Nordic than herder. yet, they are extremely different from say Sibes too. Much more easy going and I'd say easier to live with. More personable and affectionate too. Like any good Nordic breed though, they can be noisy LOL My friend showed one years ago and she could not get that dog to be quiet in the ring for anything. If she wasn't constantly feeding him he was woo-wooing and barking at her. Very silly dog. The ones I have been around though don't "talk" as much as Sibes in daily life.
Overall, I think they are really nice dogs. They're a bit too Nordic for me but I can't really say anything bad about them. IME They're happy, silly and overall easy to get along with dogs.
I wouldn't say daily brushing is a necessity unless they are shedding. Really, instead of daily brushing, a good monthly bath/blow out/brushing with a bit of as needed brushing in between would keep most in really, really good shape. It also will help their coat be lighter and more "air-y" for hot weather. Now this is with an intact Sammy. Altering can drastically change their coat and make them extremely prone to matting and make them develop extra thick under coat that never totally sheds out. IMO most altered pet Sammys should be given short haircuts because it's better for them and their owner. Not shaved but given shorter, easier to maintain, lighter coats. But I know most people who have them wouldn't agree.
As a breed, they seem to do fine in daycare/dog park type settings. They are generally pretty happy dogs and not really guardy or territorial IME or manly or snarky. They don't seem prone to dog aggression, although like any breed I'm sure there are some exceptions. I know that when I was showing the Sammy last summer the Sammy people ringside were pretty laidback about their dogs. Loose leashes, dogs sniffing each other while owners chatted. The intact boys were not getting too manly with each other and the girls weren't snarky. There was one male at one show who was a bit leash reactive and the other Sammy people seemed pretty appalled by it overall.
We didn't have prey drive issues with them at daycare towards the small dogs and we had all dogs together. They don't strike me as being over the top drivey in any regard, although like a lot of dogs I'm sure many will chase critters if given a chance. They all seem to universally be pretty food motivated. Some liked toys and some didn't. I know they are touted as "Nordic herders" but IME they are far more Nordic than herder. yet, they are extremely different from say Sibes too. Much more easy going and I'd say easier to live with. More personable and affectionate too. Like any good Nordic breed though, they can be noisy LOL My friend showed one years ago and she could not get that dog to be quiet in the ring for anything. If she wasn't constantly feeding him he was woo-wooing and barking at her. Very silly dog. The ones I have been around though don't "talk" as much as Sibes in daily life.
Overall, I think they are really nice dogs. They're a bit too Nordic for me but I can't really say anything bad about them. IME They're happy, silly and overall easy to get along with dogs.
A question about altering and coats--does it seem to make a difference if the dogs are allowed to reach adulthood before altering, or is it any altered dogs? Also, what special care has to go into the genital/sanitary areas as far as grooming goes on a dog with that much coat?
Also, when you say they are "too Nordic" what do you mean? The only experience I have had with Nordic breeds were my dad's husky, who was an outside only dog and escape artist (eventually hit by a train), his Malamute, who also lived outside and escaped (eventually collected by animal control and dad never bothered to get her back), and a rally instructor who bred and competed with huskies. Her huskies that she brought to class seemed pretty focused and biddable, but I read that this is not normal-lol.
Also, when you say they are "too Nordic" what do you mean? The only experience I have had with Nordic breeds were my dad's husky, who was an outside only dog and escape artist (eventually hit by a train), his Malamute, who also lived outside and escaped (eventually collected by animal control and dad never bothered to get her back), and a rally instructor who bred and competed with huskies. Her huskies that she brought to class seemed pretty focused and biddable, but I read that this is not normal-lol.
Not all dogs develop bad alter coats but I haven't seen age of altering play a big factor in if they do or not.
For the sanitary care, the show dogs they just wipe/no rinse their butts if they get poop stuck to them. For pets, people often give a sanitary trim, thinning out the areas that are likely to gross.
The "too Nordic" comment is simply that they are pretty different from my herding breed dogs. They aren't as high drive, as into working for the sake of working and they don't seem to think like herders. Not that any of that is bad, I just have gotten the idea that some people view them as a Nordic "herding breed" and they are IME different from a true herding breed. They are more of a Nordic breed with some herding traits than the other way around. I would say IME though that they are much less extreme in their Nordic breed-ness than the average Sibe or Malamute. I haven't known Sammys to be the escape artists that I have known Sibes to be. I don't think they are quite as independent minded as most Sibes or Malamutes. To me they seem to be more naturally biddable than those breeds.
Sibes certainly can be focused and most are pretty motivated by food. They can take very well to training using positive methods, especially if they are started young. I think sometimes getting them to a reliable, trial level can take awhile though. I know a Sibe who does agility and has his MXJ and almost has his MX. He is a nice obedience dog too but doesn't compete because his owner's concerned about him doing out of sight stays if there is a toy dog in the ring with him. He displays predatory behavior towards small dogs. Most Sibes I have known have not been real touch-y feel-y sorts of dogs as far as they usually don't seem to care for being hugged and cuddled or lots of hands on attention. And they definitely have a reputation for being escape artists.
For the sanitary care, the show dogs they just wipe/no rinse their butts if they get poop stuck to them. For pets, people often give a sanitary trim, thinning out the areas that are likely to gross.
The "too Nordic" comment is simply that they are pretty different from my herding breed dogs. They aren't as high drive, as into working for the sake of working and they don't seem to think like herders. Not that any of that is bad, I just have gotten the idea that some people view them as a Nordic "herding breed" and they are IME different from a true herding breed. They are more of a Nordic breed with some herding traits than the other way around. I would say IME though that they are much less extreme in their Nordic breed-ness than the average Sibe or Malamute. I haven't known Sammys to be the escape artists that I have known Sibes to be. I don't think they are quite as independent minded as most Sibes or Malamutes. To me they seem to be more naturally biddable than those breeds.
Sibes certainly can be focused and most are pretty motivated by food. They can take very well to training using positive methods, especially if they are started young. I think sometimes getting them to a reliable, trial level can take awhile though. I know a Sibe who does agility and has his MXJ and almost has his MX. He is a nice obedience dog too but doesn't compete because his owner's concerned about him doing out of sight stays if there is a toy dog in the ring with him. He displays predatory behavior towards small dogs. Most Sibes I have known have not been real touch-y feel-y sorts of dogs as far as they usually don't seem to care for being hugged and cuddled or lots of hands on attention. And they definitely have a reputation for being escape artists.