CKC Samoyed BREED STANDARD / Year of Recognition: 1925

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The Samoyed, being essentially a working dog, should present a picture of beauty, alertness and strength, with agility, dignity, and grace. As their work lies in the cold climate, their coat should be heavy and weather resistant, and of good quality rather than quantity. The male carries more of a “ruff ” than the female. 

They should not be long in the back as a weak back would make them

practically useless for their legitimate work, but at the same time a close­coupled body would also place them at a great disadvantage as a draught dog. Breeders should aim for the happy medium, a body not long but muscular, allowing liberty, with a deep chest and well­sprung ribs, strong arched 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. 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.

Height: Dogs: 53-60 cm (21-23 ½ in) at the withers; bitches:48-55 cm (19 to 21 ½ in) at the withers.

An oversized or undersized Samoyed is to be penalized according to the extent of the deviation.

Weight: in proportion to size.

Substance: The bone is heavier than would be expected in a dog this size but not so massive as to prevent the speed and agility most desirable in a Samoyed. In all builds, the bone should be in proportion to body size. The Samoyed should never be so heavy to appear clumsy nor so light as to appear racy.

Height: Dogs: 53-60 cm (21-23 ½ in) at the withers; bitches:48-55 cm (19 to 21 ½ in) at the withers.

An oversized or undersized Samoyed is to be penalized according to the extent of the deviation.

Weight: in proportion to size.

Substance: The bone is heavier than would be expected in a dog this size but not so massive as to prevent the speed and agility most desirable in a Samoyed. In all builds, the bone should be in proportion to body size. The Samoyed should never be so heavy to appear clumsy nor so light as to appear racy.

The Samoyed is a double­coated dog. The body should be well covered with an undercoat of soft, short, thick closed wool with longer, harsher hair growing through it to form the outer coat, which stands straight out from the body and should be free from curl in the adult dog. The coat should form a ruff around the neck and shoulders, framing the head (more on the males than on the females). Quality of coat should be weather resistant and consid­ ered more important than quantity. A droopy coat is undesirable. Length of coat is un­important when compared to type of coat and texture. The coat should glisten with a silver sheen. The female does not usually carry as long a coat as most males and it may be slightly softer in texture.

They must be white, white and biscuit, white cream, cream or all biscuit. All of these colours

should be considered equal. Any other colours disqualify. Faults: Curly, wavy, flat, droopy, soft or silky

outercoat is extremely undesirable. Excessive coat length should be viewed as an exaggeration of type

and is a fault. Extremely short, smooth coats are not typical. Lack of undercoat (with seasonal

consideration). Coat parting down back.

Skull: The skull is wedge­shaped, broad, flat, not round or apple­headed, and should form an equilateral triangle on lines between the inner base of the ears and the centre point of the stop. The stop should not be too abrupt, nevertheless well defined. In profile the topline of skull should parallel

the topline of muzzle. 

Muzzle: Muzzle of medium length and medium width, neither course nor snipy; should taper toward the nose and be proportion to the size of the dog and width of skull. Length of muzzle should be slightly shorter than length of skull. The muzzle must have depth with a strong underjaw. Whiskers should not be removed.

Nose: Black for preference, but brown, liver or snow­nose not penalized. Colour of nose sometimes changes with age and weather. 

Mouth: 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 the corners of the mouth. The teeth should be strong, well­set, and snugly overlapping in a scissors bite. Overshot or undershot should be penalized. 

Eyes: Should be placed well apart and deep­set; almond shaped rims set with lower lid slanting toward an imaginary point approximating the outer base of the ear. Both eye rims and eye colour should be dark. Round or protruding eyes penalized. Blue eyes disqualify. 

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 mobile and well covered inside with hair; hair full and stand­off before the ears. Length of ear should be same mea­ surement as the distance from the inner base of the ear to the outer corner of the eye..

Shoulder: Shoulders should be long and sloping, with the shoulder blade well laid back at an IDEAL angle of 45o to the ground. In the correctly constructed and balanced front assembly, the forelimbs are placed well back on the ribcage, with the point of the sternum (breastbone) well ahead of the front of

the shoulder joint (point of shoulder). The length of the shoulder blade is approximately 1/3 the height at the tip of the withers. 

Upper Arm: The upper arm (humerus) angles backwards from point of shoulder to elbow, ideally forming a 90o angle with the shoulder blade, and is never perpendicular to the ground. The measurement from tip of shoulder blade to point of shoulder should equal measurement from point of shoulder to elbow. 

Lower Arm (Radius & Ulna): When standing and viewed from the front, the legs are moderately spaced, parallel and straight, with elbows close to the body and turned neither in nor out. The angle at the elbow joint should be approximately 135o. Because of depth of chest, legs should be moderately long. Length of lower arm should be 1 to 2 inches longer than length of scapula. Length of leg from ground to elbow should be approximately 55% of the total height at the withers. 

Pasterns: Should be strong, sturdy and flexible. The pastern slopes at approximately 15o from the vertical, allowing for spring and agility, and should be not more the 1/3 the length of the shoulder blade. Feet: Large, long, flattish, a hare­foot, slightly spread but not splayed; toes arched, pads thick and tough, with protective growth of hair between the toes. In natural stance, feet may be turned very slightly out but excessive turn­out, pigeon­toed, round or cat­footed or splayed are faults.

Topline: The withers forms the highest part of the back. The back should appear level to the loin,

medium in length, very muscular, neither long nor short coupled. The ideal length of the Samoyed

from tip of sternum (breastbone) to end of pelvis is 10% more than the height at the withers.

Chest: Should be deep, with well sprung ribs and flattened at the sides to allow proper movement of the shoulders and freedom for the front legs. Should not be barrel­chested. The deepest part of the chest should be near the 9th rib. Heart and lung room are secured more by body depth than width. 

Loin: The loin is strong and slightly arched. 

Croup: Must be full, slightly sloping and must continue

imperceptibly to the root of the tail. 

Abdomen: The abdomen should be well shaped and tightly

muscled and with the rear of the thorax, should swing up in a pleasing curve (tuck­up).

Hipbone: The pelvis is set at 30o to the horizontal and the length of the pelvis is equal to the length

of the shoulder blade measurement. 

Upper Thigh: The femur or thigh joins the pelvis at the hip

socket, ideally forming a 90o angle. The measurement of the femur is equal to the length of the pelvis.

Muscle attachments must be very powerful, broad and evenly distributed. 

Lower Thigh: The lower

thigh, comprised of the tibia and fibula, is ideally set at 90o to the femur or upper thigh and is

approximately 1/3 longer than the pelvis. This length is very important to the gait. Hocks: Should be

well developed, sharply defined and set at approximately 30% of hip height. The rear pasterns should

be parallel, and perpendicular to the ground in natural stance and forms an angle of about 120o with

the lower thigh or fibula and tibia. 

Stifle Bend: Stifles are well bent, approximately 45o to the ground.

Feet: A hare­foot, same as the front feet, although may be slightly longer and narrower than the front.

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 and draped to

either side when alert but sometimes dropped when at rest. It should not be set high or low, and

should be mobile and loose, not tight over the back. A very tight, immobile tail or a double hooked tail

is a fault. A judge should see the tail over the back once when judging.

The Samoyed’s characteristic gait is smooth and seemingly effortless. They are quick and light on their

feet and when on a loose lead at a moderately fast trot, exhibit good reach in the forequarter and

powerful drive in the hindquarters, allowing them to cover the most ground with the fewest number of

steps, expending the least amount of energy to perform the job for which they were bred. Side gait is

extremely important in assessing the desired reach and drive in the Samoyed. When viewed from the

front or rear, when moving at a walk or slow trot, they will not single­track, but as speed increases, the

legs gradually angle inward until the pads are falling on a line directly under the longitudinal centre of

the body. As the pad marks converge, the forelegs and hindlegs are carried straight forward, with

neither elbows nor stifles turned out. The back should remain strong, firm, and level, with very little

lateral or vertical displacement. A choppy or stilted or restricted gait should be penalized.