Samoyeds

Most of the time, grooming your Samoyed is pretty straight forward. Your main challenge is to not become complacent and just groom the outer coat. That’s easy. Instead, you need to use a rake or other long-toothed comb or brush to reach down into and through the undercoat, all the way to the skin. Otherwise it can form a solid mat between the outer coat and the skin. When this happens, the mat can start to pinch the skin as the hair gets wet, shrinks, and pulls in on itself. Such cases need professional grooming to carefully shave the dog down to the skin. This is a special danger during shedding season. However, as long as you continue to groom by reaching down to the skin, and by pulling out any hair ready to be shed during regular brushing, there are no special grooming challenges except keeping up during shedding season. While you can skip several days throughout the rest of the year, you can’t skip days when your Samoyed is shedding. Be prepared to comb out bags of hair from your dog from their double-layer coats. Some people even save it and make it into yarn, and then sweaters. You will also want to bathe your Samoyed periodically. Doing so during shedding season will hasten loose hair to fall out, especially if you use warm water. Cut their nails when they get long, check their ears for debris, and brush their teeth daily.

Although Samoyeds weren’t specifically bred to be long-distance sled pullers, they nonetheless can be sled dogs if asked. Their job as a herder and guardian of herds of reindeer meant that they had to be alert and active for long hours. Don’t expect to put your Samoyed in a kennel and have them act calmly when you finally let them out, they can be high-energy dogs. The Samoyed breed needs a good deal of exercise, more than a walk around the block. They make good jogging partners in cooler weather. Some owners even have sleds or carts for their Samoyeds to pull. Most Samoyeds prefer to just run rather than fetch, but some will also play fetch games. Some but not all enjoy swimming, and hiking is also a favorite activity. They like nothing better than a frigid day with snow on the ground. This is not really an ideal breed for hot or warmer climates, as their need for exercise can be difficult to mix with their tendency to get hot due to their thick double coat. Given a snow day, expect your Samoyed to want to spend the entire day outside in it. Mental exercise will sometimes tire them faster than physical exercise, so be sure to include training and puzzles into your exercise regime. These active dogs are not known as great agility dogs or obedience dogs, although some have excelled at these sports.

Samoyeds are large enough to qualify for large breed dog foods. These foods are balanced in calories, calcium, and phosphorus. They are especially critical for puppies because they allow them to grow at a healthy, steady rate. Many studies have shown that growing too fast increases the chance of many developmental joint diseases to which Samoyeds are already susceptible, including hip dysplasia. You should feed high-quality food in several small meals over the course of a day, starting with three-four meals as a little puppy, then two meals at about four months of age, transitioning to an adult diet at around 9 months. Obesity makes joint disease worse, so always keep your Samoyed trim. You should be able to feel the ribs with gentle probing, and there should be a definite indication of a waist, with no dimple over the tail or roll of fat over the withers. Always consult with your veterinarian if your dog has a particular health problem. Many specialized diets are available that are scientifically formulated for a variety of conditions.