The Sami dog (Samoyed) breed standard

The first standard of the Sami huskie / Samoyed was approved in England in 1909. The purpose of breeding was to establish a unified species and work on the best characteristics of the given species.

General impression

Medium sized, elegant and white Arctic dog. This dog exhibits strength, stamina, charm, tenderness, virtue and self-confidence. The look of the so-called “Samoyed smile” is due to the combination of the shape of eyes, their placement and a little upward turned corners of the mouth. The gender must be easily identifiable.

Important constituency matters

The length of body is about 5% more than shoulder height. The depth of the ribcage is a little less than the half of shoulder height. The snout is approximately as long as the skull area.

Character and temperament

This dig is friendly, open, lively and joyful. The Samoyed is neither timid nor is it aggressive and it easily socializes. This is a universal dog with well-defined and exhibited hunting and guarding instincts. It is very active. It likes to work. It has great stamina. It is a huskie – a natural stayer.

Head

Its head is large and wedge-shaped

Scull	The frontal and side views shows very slight bump. Wide between the ears
Stop	Expressive, but not abrupt. Slightly marked furrow between the eyes.
Nasal planum	Well developed, mostly black. During certain times of year the nasal pigmentation goes down, exhibiting “winter” or “snow” nose; however, there should always be a black rim around the nose.
Snout	Strong and deep, approximately as long as the maxillary zone, gradually shortening towards the nose, but neither tipped nor blunt and never square. Back of snout is straight.
Lips	Tight, black and a little bulky. The corners of the mouth are a little curved, shaping the typical “Samoyed smile”.
Jaws/teeth/occlusion	Ideal scissor-shaped occlusion. Strong teeth and strong jaws. Normal teeth.
Eyes	Dark brown, deep set, widely placed, slightly slanting, shaped like almonds. Expression is “smiling”, kind, live and intelligent. Eye outline – black.
Ears	Up straight, very small, thick, triangular and rounded at the edges. They must be flexible and high planted; due to wide skull, must be placed away from each other.

Neck

Strong and average length, proudly curved.

Body

Slightly longer than shoulder height, strong and compact, but agile.

Shoulders	Nicely developed
Back	Average length, muscular and straight; a little longer in females, than in males.
Lumber	Short, developed and very strong
Croup	Wide, strong, muscular, slightly inclined
Rib cage	Long, wide and deep, extended all the way to the elbows. Ribs are hard.

Tail

The tail is pretty high set. The tail remains thrown on the back or the side, when the dog is excited or running. In normal condition the tail might be relaxed, reaching the ankle joints.

Front limbs

Well set, strong and muscular. From a frontal view the front limbs are straight and parallel.

Shoulder blade	Long, strong and curved
Shoulders	Curved and tightly adjoined to the body
Elbow	Nestled to the body
Carpus	Strong and flexible
Front pastern	Slightly curved
Paw	Oval shaped with long toes, flexible and directed straight ahead. The toes are arched and not very close-ended. The soles are hard.

Rear limbs

From a rear view they are straight and parallel and with strong muscles.

Thigh	Average length, pretty wide and muscular
Knee joint	Well defined angle of joint
Heel	Pretty low set, with well-defined joints
Metatarsus	Short, strong, vertical and parallel
Paw	Similar to the front paw. The dewclaw must be removed

Allure

Strong, free and tireless, which is visible in extended stride. It has nice front limb reach and strong rear limb push.

Fur

This dog has lots of thick, flexible and dense “polar” fur. The Samoyed has double fur coat: short, soft and thick lower fur and long, harder and straight outer coat. The fur should create a collar around the neck and shoulders, rimming the head, especially in male dogs. The fur is short and even on the head and front parts of limbs; on the outer surface of ears it is short, upright in relation to ear’s surface and even. The inner surface of ear must be hairy. The fur makes kind of “trousers” on the rear surface of the thigh. There should be protective fur between the toes. The tail must be very hairy. The fur in females is often short and soft, than in males. The healthy fur should always have shine.

The colour

White, cream or off-white (main colour – white with slight tint of biscuit shades). This dog should never have light-brown tint in its colour.

Size

Shoulder height

Gender	Height
Male	57+-3 см
Female	53+-3 см

Shortcomings

Any deviation from the abovementioned indicators must be considered as a shortcoming, which should be evaluated as per the level of the given deviation.

• Clear structural shortcomings
• Light skeleton
• Male dogs with female attributes and female dogs with male attributes
• Pincer bite
• Pale eyes
• Soft ears
• Barrel shaped rib cage
• Rounded tail
• Low on legs
• Improper barrel shaped or cow posture
• All the fur is curly or short, long, soft or lying and hanging down fur
• No contrast

Gross shortcomings

• Absolutely no pigmentation around the eyes or lips

Disqualifying disorders

• Blue eyes or eyes of different colours
• Undershot bite or overshot bite
• Fallen ears
• Fur colour other than the one indicated in the standard
• Timid or aggressive character