Does anyone here have a Samoyed? I would be interested in finding out as much as possible about them. Thanks! :-)

Lovely dogs, would have them if they weren't white and didn't have the high pitched bark. :D  they ahve a lot of plus points though.  Good natured,  beautiful, etc etc.

I dont... but i grew up with a lot, owned by friends of parents and we saw a lot of them, borrowed them, minded them etc.

They are a dog i like very much - in some respects less spitzy than other spitz breeds... in other respects every bit as spitzy...

The ones i knew... high pitched bark. Like company, like to dig 'bear traps' (ie massive pits!), liked a LOT of exercise.

Never stayed white, either shades of grey or shades of pink depending on the local soil type..

Disliked intensely small centrally heated houses.

I dont normally say that a house matters that much to a dog but a Samoyed to my mind is best kept in a big airy cool house, lots of tile floors, plenty of outdoors securely fenced space.... dont be surprised if they want to sleep in the snow.

A walk in wetroom is a must and a suitable dryer. Lots and lots and lots of brushing, and liking the look of white hair on everything also necessary. (especially as a side order to your dinner!).

They dont cope well with being left and i dont think they are suitable for very urban living (nor any of the big spitz types really).

I've got Samoyeds and would be glad to answer any questions you might have :)

And scrummy they are too :D

Thankyou!

I am considering a second breed, and love the spitz type dogs, although I doubt they could be more different to the Golden Retriever I already have! I have only done a small amount of reading so far, but initially it seems like we might suit a Samoyed, and they could suit us. Hence I am after some more info. :-)

Obviously one of the most important things is that a new dog would fit in well with our Golden, and probably another Golden later on. I am happy to put plenty of effort into training, but would prefer a dog that can be let off lead (I know a lot will depend on training here!) and love plenty of excercise. My partner goes running, so is this suitable excercise for a Samoyed? Other than that, our current girl usually get 4-5 hours of excercise a day, as she comes to the stables with me to 'help' with my chores! We move into a bigger house in April, sospace won't be a problem, and we will have a large, securely fenced garden, plus be about 300 metres from a beach, and in the middle of nowhere!

The hair thing doesn't bother me really, we have a pet hoover, and several times a day won't kill me! Do they moult all the time, or is it mainly at moulting times? Also, as our Golden can get wet and muddy ina  dry field, we are used ot muck, although I appreciate the coat of the breed means it'll take more effort!

My main concerns would be barking and potential destructiveness. I don't mind a bit of barking, and expect it with this type of breed, but is it possible to train them from pups to keep barking to a minimum? The dog would not really be left alone on a regular basis, although once out of puppyhood may be left occasionally for up to four hours once used to being left.

Well I can vouch that Goldens (lets face it they get on with most dogs) get on great with my crowd of Norwegian Elkhounds, and in my experience the Sammies are not unlike the Elkhounds in temperament.  Both are sociable breeds.  Another breed worth considering might be the Keeshond, little smaller than the Sammie and my breed, but same kind of coat as the Samoyed, but in a dirt hiding colour :D  I very nearly had one, but wanted an easier care coat, and a larger dog as my first dog breed was 24 inches, and going down 8 inches was too much but 4 inches was OK.

I find Elkhounds have a similar bark to collie or similar size dog, Keeshonds a little sharper, but not as ear splitting as the Sammies, or me that is their main downfall, but I do know one or two quiet ones, so training plays a huge part in moderating tendencies.

I live in a suburban end of terrace and cannot allow the girls to be vocal beyond a couple of barks when the door goes, yet other people allow their dogs to bark and bark.

I have never found the Elkhounds over clingy, love company but certainly are self sufficient enough as are the Keeshonds of my acquaintance.  Neither of these two breeds are destructive, nor are the Sammies of my acquaintance.

Samoyeds are very sociable dogs and usually get on very well with other dogs. Mine live with 5 Malamutes so you dont get much more sociable than that!

They do need plenty of exercise and my Sammies are great off-lead, though you will need to put in the training to acheive this ;)

They lose a bit of coat all year round, but generally have full seasonal or hormonal coat blows a few times a year.

As for barking, Sammies do like the sound of their own voice, and can be noisy if allowed, but they can also be quiet dogs if taught that unnessacary barking is not acceptable.

Hi Kirstie :-)

Bit late on here as have been really busy over the festive period. I show my friend's Samoyeds and care for them when they are away, have done for many years so I have quite a lot of experience with them, anything more you need to know I will be happy to answer! I'm very excited as I will be getting my own Sammy in 2008 after several years of waiting for the right one :-)

I largely agree with what the others say, especially with theemx who makes some great points about Sams in general.

You should be fine with your Golden - I know a few people who do have Sams and Goldens together and have no problems. Sammies generally like other dogs, although the males can sometimes be a bit funny with other males, but I think that's a general thing really and I'm sure you wouldn't have a problem with introducing a pup. Are you considering a dog or bitch??

One of my friend's Sammies often stays with me and when out walking, I do let her off the lead and she is generally quite reliable, but she does have quite a strong 'chase' instinct and can disappear for 5-10 minutes sometimes if something catches her eye! I should think a Sam would cope just fine with off-lead running as i've often been for a jog with Honor and she enjoys it. They really do like their exercise.

The bitches drop their coat twice a year - its so true what theemx says about liking white hair, I have a sea of hair in my car from where the Sams have been in!! Don't wear black around them unless you want to be covered in white hair. They do require plenty of grooming - 20mins a day minimum should keep them in good condition. Its best to get them used to grooming from an early age and a grooming table is a must :-)

The ones I look after all seem to love mud and will purposefully walk through puddles as opposed to going round them. Honor also loves paddling in water! I've found the easiest thing is to wait for the mud to dry off and then brush it out.

Samoyeds are probably the most vocal dogs I have ever known - if you ever come along to a breed show, you will experience this first hand!! It is very possible to train them from a young age not to bark unnecessarily though, this is what I intend to do as the barking can get a bit annoying as it's more of a high-pitched yap than a bark.

As for being destructive - every dog is different. The breeder I am getting my pup from said her latest Sam has been a complete nightmare for chewing things, but the one before that was absolutely angelic! I think it just depends really. One of the Sams I look after, Honor, once chewed up the whole of a friend's lino floor, and took a huge liking to the kitchen table legs.

I'm sorry this is so long but hopefully helpful, like I say if you have any more questions let me know, I could talk about Sams all day !!

Alice :-)

I live next door to 2. They are nice friendly dogs, but they bark all the time. It's sometimes so bad, I have to leave the house.

I have a friend with 2, she says it's not as hard to keep them white as you would think. I agree the high pitched barking would annoy me though! :-)