Samoyed dog: Nutrition, character, training and much more about the Samoyed

By Roland Berger

The first question to ask is which dog best suits the lifestyle of the future owner. For this it is practical not to look for an individual dog character, but for a suitable dog breed. For this, a basic research is needed, because not every dog fits well into families. If you have a desire to have children or if you are very willing to be outside, you should take a closer look at the Samoyed dog breed. These dogs have become true favorites, but have a massive urge to move. They can be kept in small apartments only if it has a large garden or if there is a park nearby.

The contents of the book on over 150 pages are:
- Introduction to the subject
- Samoyed Dog education and training
- Healthcare and nutrition
- Advantages of this breed
- With many pictures and other topics

This former working dog breed loves to be around people and does not like to be alone. It is the perfect dog breed to cuddle and play extensively! Therefore, this book will describe the general handling as well as techniques on how to form an intimate bond with the dog so that the normal hurdles of everyday life can be overcome with ease. Have fun discovering and experiencing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: XinXii
• Release date: May 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9783969319420

Book preview

Introductory

M

he dog has now become man's favorite pet and the numbers increase by several million every year - many people can no longer live without their best friend. Even children are very interested in animals and especially dogs, but fulfilling wishes is not always easy. When acquiring and raising a dog, various problems can arise. For example, many owners are not aware of how much love and time a living creature really needs. In addition, it must be kept in mind that each breed is different and dogs can come to their new homes with trauma experiences. Therefore, every potential owner should do the right research to see which dog character best suits their own lifestyle, because not every breed is suitable for large families, for example.

In relation to this research, the following pages will introduce the dog breed of the Samoyed. This is a favorite in the society, which can be used particularly versatile.

Thus, the Samoyed is very suitable for couples with children or even for large families, because he is a dog that seeks contact with people. Due to its history as a working dog, it is not only used to contact with people, but it also finds it difficult to stay alone for long periods of time. At the same time, this means that these dogs are especially good as medical assistance or companion dogs. It should not be forgotten, however, that the Samoyed has an extremely high urge to move. For this reason, he also fits well with sportsmen, because for the Samoyed there is nothing better than to be allowed to run next to his owner or to go on long hikes.

Should there be a park nearby or a garden, then the medium-sized dog can be kept indoors. He is easily trainable, although he can sometimes react a little stubbornly, as he likes to impose his own head.

Nevertheless, the Samoyed represents an excellent choice if it can be given the right care. Especially important here is coat care. The Samoyed breed is one of the dogs with a double coat. This means that he has an undercoat and an upper coat. The undercoat is very dense and can quickly knot. Not only does this need to be prevented, but the skin of the Samoyed needs to be protected as it is very sensitive and keeps bacteria and pathogens from entering the immune system. The skin, in turn, is protected by the undercoat. It therefore needs daily coat care.

Nevertheless, those who want to take a Samoyed will notice that these dogs are loyal friends, who are loyal to their owners. They are well-balanced and feel comfortable in contact with people, they like to be petted very much, but blind submission is alien to them.

This is a balanced breed, but problems can occur even with balanced dogs, especially if these dogs are not taken in by a breeder, but are adopted from a shelter. These dogs can bring with them trauma that can result from prior events. Because of various factors that can occur, this book was written to establish a basis for living together. It is a guidebook that covers the general education of the dog, so that even the small hurdles of everyday life can be overcome.

The dog breed of Samoyed

Where does it come from?

E

rst time Samoyedes were kept as domestic and farm animals by the Nenets tribe, the Samoyedes people, after whom the wolfhound breed was named. The nomads saw early the potential in the wolfdogs of that time, which is why they quickly became working dogs, which had no problems in the harsh climate of Siberia, even over long distances. Not only were Samoyeds used to pull heavy loads on sleds through freezing cold and snow, but they were especially used to herd reindeer and defend them from bears and wolves. In addition, their warm fur helped keep people warm at night. Therefore, from generation to generation, the Samoyed increasingly became a family dog that liked to be near people.

In northern Russia, wolfhounds were already part of the human family when their potential was first discovered in Europe. The British zoologist Ernest Kilburn Scott brought a few specimens to England in 1889, after spending a three-month stay in Siberia as part of the Samoyed tribes. Thereupon, the Samoyed dog breed was used primarily in research. Only five years later they pulled the sleds of the Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen, who was one of the first people to dare an expedition to the North Pole. In 1894 this had to be broken off, but in his reports he mentioned in detail how frugal and persevering the Samoyeds were as sledge dogs. In the next years it came more and more frequently to scientific employments of the Samoyeds, since now also the potential was recognized by American and European scientists. They were used as companions for various scientific expeditions in the Arctic and Antarctic. The breakthrough came in 1911, when Samoyeds became the first working animals to reach the South Pole with the scientist Roald Amundsen.

From that time on, the four-legged friends became more and more established as family dogs. In 1909, the first breed standard was established. At the same time, the first specimens arrived from Europe to America, where the Samoyed was officially recognized as a dog breed in 1903. At the beginning of the 20's the first breeding club was established under the name Samoyed Club of America. The four-legged dogs became popular especially after the Second World War. Initially, the animals were kept as luxury animals, but through intensive breeding, the prices dropped and soon the Samoyed became a family dog for all income classes. From the 1950s onwards, breeding took place in Germany, England, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Ireland and, despite the tropical weather, also in New Zealand and Australia. Meanwhile the animals are bred as show dogs, this includes the use as a family or house dog. This means that Samoyeds are not hunting dogs, despite their category as wolfhounds. Instead, they are still considered sled dogs today. However, they are rarely used, as there are hardly any sled dog races anymore. In addition, Samoyeds are classified as medium-sized and thus have little chance to participate in races, because for these it needs stronger dogs, such as Malamutes or Huskies.

The Russian sled dog

In northern Siberia sled dogs were used since the beginning of time. Various breeds of dogs, and therefore the Samoyed, have a long tradition with the indigenous peoples behind them. Today there are many breeds of dogs that can be used in the field of sled pulling. Nevertheless, any medium-sized breed can pull a sled, but not every medium-sized dog is made for the cold. So, a few years ago, someone tried to enter a team in a race that consisted of purebred poodles. The team was allowed in the Iditarod race, but after two days of racing it had to be taken out of the race because the poodles could not cope with the weather conditions.

Sled pulling was also used in wars, for example in the First World War. The sled dog races lost interest, instead the dogs were used as performance-oriented working dogs, as their endurance was great enough to send them to war zones. They helped rescue injured people from dangerous situations or transport goods needed for the war. It wasn't until the 1970s that sled dog racing, which had always been popular, began to gain popularity again. This meant that recently renaissances were taking place in Europe. Here the advantages of the bred working lines became apparent.

At the beginning of the 20th century, sled dogs were used in professions. Thus, the story of the famous sled dog Balto shed light on what life was like in the northernmost points of the earth. The snow is so high in these places that no vehicles, not even snowmobiles, can carry cargoes. Airplanes can't be used either, as turbulence makes flying nearly impossible. Instead, it is the sled dogs that not only make mail delivery possible, but also bring freight from larger cities to smaller communities. The story of the famous sled dog Balto took place in 1925. There was a diphtheria epidemic in the Alaskan town of Nome. Diphtheria, also known as strep throat, is a respiratory infection that spreads primarily among children and can lead to death without proper treatment. The disease was neither modern nor new, so the people of the small town of Nome knew very well how to fight it. Every three months they received a new shipment of diphtheria antitoxins, an antidote that could be administered to the children and through which a complete cure could occur. The antitoxins exceeded their expiration date in the summer of 1924, so they had to be disposed of. A new shipment was requested, but it could not arrive in time before the Bering Sea froze over. The only way to have food and medicine delivered was via ships. These regularly dropped anchor, but the sea froze over as early as autumn. In the winter of the same year, there was an epidemic with no cure. In January 1925 the city was quarantined. Another problem arose: there was to be a very strong blizzard in a very short time. This meant that the U.S. Public Health Service could not deliver medicine by vehicle or plane. Medicine was provided at hospitals on the West Coast. The small town of Nome, however, was not left to its own devices; instead, the unanimous decision was made to rely on dog sled teams to travel through the blizzard from Nome in the northeast to Seward in western Alaska to bring back the 1.1 million units of antitoxin.

However, this was easier said than done. Temperatures reached a 20-year low, and the daytime temperature was -45 degrees Celsius. The best mushers and dog teams in the area were lined up to meet the difficult task. In order for the serum to be delivered to Nome, over 1,000 kilometers had to be traveled. The most difficult task was to make it across the Bering Sea unharmed. 68 kilometers of pack ice lay ahead of the country's best mushers. A dog team was set up for this purpose. The serum was to be transported in eight stages, from one small town to the next. Day and night the mushers and dogs worked in icy cold and suffered severe frostbite. In the last days of the relay, the average speeds of the storm reached 105 kilometers per hour and the temperature dropped to -65 degrees Celsius. The dog teams progressed at only 13 kilometers per hour and rested for a maximum of two hours before continuing.

Gunnar Kaasen was the last of the relay team to compete. He waited until 10 p.m. in the evening, hoping for the storm to abate - in vain. The storm grew stronger, but it was no longer possible to wait. In the darkness, Kaasen missed the Safety Point where he should have stopped, but instead of turning around, he continued. The wind speed reached record levels and was so strong that the sled tipped over, whereupon the container with the medicine fell into the snow. To retrieve the serum, Kaasen reached into the snow in the dark without gloves and searched for the container. He contracted severe ice burn on his fingers, but did not turn back. Instead, he made it to the next safety point. There he should have switched with Ed Rohn, but the latter had assumed that the relay had been held up because Kaasen had skipped a Safety Point. Not wanting to lose any time, Kaasen continued on and paced the last 40 kilometers to Nome alone. Time was running out, as the serum could freeze at any moment. With his lead dog Balto, he made it to Nome at 5:30 a.m., seven hours and 30 minutes after setting out. Although the various teams had to cover more than 1085 kilometers, following the postal route from Nenana to Nome and traveling for 127.5 hours, not a single ampoule had broken and the serum had not frozen. The longest distance, three times longer than other mushers, was completed by the relay leader Leonhard Seppala with his lead dog Togo, but it was the lead dog Balto who completed the last kilometers despite exhaustion.

Many dogs died during the relays from hypothermia, while most mushers came to the nearest hospitals with ice burns on their faces and hands, there were collisions with reindeer and incursions into the pack ice of the Bering Sea. This was only the first dog sled relay. A single squadron could not bring all 1.1 million ampoules to Nome, but the 300,000 units from the first shipment were enough for the epidemic to be contained.

In this heroic story competed mainly huskies, which were strong enough to pull the heavy luggage of padded ampoules. Samoyeds are not far behind huskies. Especially since it must be said that the story took place in Alaska. In Russia, on the other hand, Samoyeds are almost exclusively used in sledding, as they are native to that country and are directly descended from the wolves that live there. Similar stories have taken place in Russia, but the story of the Alaskan lead dog Balto is by far the most famous in the field of dog sledding.

Samoyed breed portrait - the profile

The Samoyed breed is an outgoing breed, which is particularly suitable for families, as these dogs like to form close bonds and can be accordingly affectionate. Due to their breeding and their applications in the last centuries, they are very people-oriented. Having slept with primitive people in igloos and camps, they are a very gentle breed. They let very few things upset them, aggression and hustle and bustle are foreign to them. Among other things, this means that they make very good medical assistance dogs for