ORIGIN
: Northern Russia and Siberia.
PATRONAGE
: Nordic Kennel Union (NKU).
DATE
OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID
STANDARD
: 22.07.1997.
UTILIZATION
: Sledge- and companion dog.
CLASSIFICATION F.C.I.
: Group 5 Spitz and primitive types.
Section 1 Nordic sledge dogs
GENERAL APPEARANCE
: Medium in size, elegant, a white Arctic
Spitz. In appearence gives the impression of
power,
endurance, charm, suppleness, dignity and
self-confidence. The expression, the so
called « Samoyed Smile »,
is made up of a combination of eye shape and
position, and the slightly curved up corners
of the mouth.
The sex should be clearly stamped.
IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS
: The length of the body is approximately 5%
more than the height at
the withers. The depth of the body is
slightly less than the half of the height at
the withers.
The muzzle is approximately as long as the
skull.
BEHAVIOUR AND TEMPERAMENT
: Friendly, open, alert and lively.
The hunting instinct is very slight. Never
shy nor aggressive. Very social and cannot
be used as guard dog.
HEAD
: Powerful and wedge-shaped.
CRANIAL REGION
:
Skull : viewed from the front and in profile
only slightly convex. Broadest between the
ears.
Slightly visible furrow between the eyes.
Stop : Clearly defined but not too prominent.
FACIAL REGION
:
Nose : Well developed, preferably black.
During some periods of the year the pigment
of the nose
can fade to a so called « winter nose » ;
there must however always be dark pigment at
the edges of the nose.
Muzzle : Strong and deep, approximately as
long as the skull, gradually tapering
towards the nose,
neither snipey nor heavy and square. The
bridge of the nose is straight.
Lips : Close fitting, black and rather full.
The corners of the mouth are slightly curved
forming the
characteristic « Samoyed Smile ».
Jaws/Teeth : Regular and complete scissor
bite. The teeth and the jaws are strong.
Normal dentition.
Eyes : Dark brown in colour, well-set in the
sockets, placed rather apart, somewhat
slanting and
almond-shaped. The expression is « smiling
», kind, alert and intelligent. The eyerims
are black.
Ears : Erect, rather small, thick,
triangular and slightly rounded at the tips.
They should be mobile, set high ; due to the
broad skull well apart.
NECK
: Strong and of medium length with a proud
carriage.
BODY
: Slightly longer than the height at the
withers, deep and compact but supple.
Withers : Clearly defined.
Back : Of medium length, muscular and
straight ; in females slightly longer than
in males.
Loin : Short, very strong and defined.
Croup : Full, strong, muscular and slightly
sloping.
Chest : Broad, deep and long, reaching
almost to the elbows. The ribs are well
sprung.
Underline : Moderate tuck-up.
TAIL
: Set rather high. When the dog is alert and
in motion the tail is carried bent from the
root forward
over the back or side, but may be hanging at
rest, then reaching to the hocks.
LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS
:
General appearance : Well placed and
muscular with strong bones. Viewed from the
front straight and parallel.
Shoulder : Long, firm and sloping.
Upper arm : Oblique and close to the body.
Approximately as long as the shoulder.
Elbow : Close to the body.
Carpus : Strong but supple.
Metacarpus (Pastern) : Slightly oblique.
Fore Feet : Oval with long toes, flexible
and pointing straight forward.
Toes arched and not too tightly knit.
Elastics pads.
HINDQUARTERS :
General appearance : Viewed from behind
straight and parallel with very strong
muscles.
Upper thigh : Of medium length, rather broad
and muscular.
Stifle : Well angulated.
Hocks : Rather low and well angulated.
Metatarsus : Short, strong, vertical and
parallel.
Hindfeet : As front feet. The dewclaws
should be removed.
GAIT
: Powerful, free and tireless in appearance
with long stride. Good reach in the
forequarters
and good driving power in the hindquarters.
COAT
HAIR
: Profuse, thick, flexible and dense polar
coat. The Samoyed is a double coated dog
with short, soft and
dense undercoat and longer, more harsh and
straight outer coat. The coat should form a
ruff around the neck
and shoulders framing the head, especially
in males. On head and on front of legs, hair
is short and smooth ;
on outside of ears short, standing off and
smooth. Inside the ears should be well
furred. On back of the thighs
the hair forms trousers. There should be a
protective growth of hair between the toes.
The tail should be profusely
covered with hair. The coat of the female is
often shorter and softer in texture than
that of the male. The correct
coat texture should always have a special
glistening sheen.
COLOUR : Pure white, cream or white with
biscuit. (The basic colour to be white with
a biscuit markings.)
Should never give the impression of being
pale brown.
SIZE
:
Height at withers : Ideal height : male 57
cm with a tolerance of
±
3 cm and females 53 cm with a tolerance of
±
3 cm.
FAULTS
:
Any departure from the foregoing points
should be considered a fault and the
seriousness with
which the fault should be regarded should be
in exact proportion to its degree.
•
Visible faults in structure.
•
Light
bone.
•
Males
not masculine and females not feminine.
•
Pincer bite.
•
Yellow eyes.
•
Soft
ears.
•
Barrel ribcage.
•
Double twisted tail.
•
Low
on the legs.
•
Badly
bow-legged or cow hocked.
•
Wavy
or short coated throughout, long, soft or
coat hanging down.
•
Aloofness.
SERIOUS FAULTS
:
•
Clearly unpigmented areas on eyerims or lips.
ELIMINATING FAULTS
:
•
Eyes
blue or of different colours.
•
Overshot or undershot bite.
•
Ears
not erect.
•
Coat
colour other than permitted in the standard.
•
Shy
or aggressive disposition.
N.B.
: Male animals should have two apparently
normal testicles fully descended into the
scrotum.