Page 162 - Showsight March 2013

THE SAMOYED TODAY...
A Reflection of Ancient Times
By Carol Hjort
SCA Judges Education Committee Ajudge once remarked
to me that she could
always tell where the
Sammy ring was by
following the barking!
Little did she know that
this is a long-standing characteristic of the
breed. The Russians often referred to the
breed as “The Nenets deer herding laika”,
with “laika” meaning “barker” in Russian.
I love the fact that after thousands of years,
the Samoyed still remains a natural breed
and reflects the characteristics of its ancient
ancestors! Let us take a look at the Samo-
yed history and then see how that history
is reflected in the Samoyed of today.
The Samoyed is one of the world’s 14
most ancient breeds of dogs, as classified
in 2004 using modern DNA testing. The
earliest discovered proto-Samoyed remains
date around the time of the Copper Age,
taking the origin of the Samoyed breed
back more than 5000 years. Of all modern
breeds, the Samoyed is most nearly akin to
the primitive dog.
As the last Ice Age disappeared, wild
reindeer became key food for the people
across northern Eurasia. For thousands
of years, they hunted reindeer. Across the
Arctic from Scandinavia to Chukotka,
natives such as the Sami and Nenets adopt-
ed domestic reindeer herding and breeding
and became known as the reindeer people.
In this vast frozen wasteland of the
Russian tundra, the Nenets (also known
as Samoyeds) made their home with their
wonderful, aboriginal dogs, and here
through the centuries the Samoyed dog
“Самоедская собака” bred true.
The Nenets were a nomadic people who
were hunters as well as reindeer herdsman.
Their prized dogs could be counted upon
to keep the large reindeer herds intact
and to guard the herds by “sounding the
alarm” in wild abandon if there was a per-
ceived threat. They helped to hunt wild
animals, including the Polar Bear, for food
and clothing, and they would also fill in as
sled dogs when the reindeer could not be
used because of icy conditions.
The Nenets seemed to have a close rela-
tionship with their dogs. Family members
would take the dogs into the tents they
lived in, called chooms, which were cov-
ered with reindeer hides or bark, and let
the dogs sleep with them at night to pro-
vide extra warmth. The dog’s undercoats
could also be spun like sheep wool and
used for clothing, so the Samoyed was a
multi-purpose dog, and had to fill a num-
ber of jobs within the family circle.
The Nenets moved with the seasons and
with the movement of their large herds,
consisting of hundreds of reindeer, around
the tundra. The herds would migrate in a
600- to 700-mile migration pattern, in
search of their favorite food, lichen (a type
of moss). The reindeer were independent
creatures, and it required very vigilant and
alert dogs to keep the large herds intact!
During the late nineteenth century,
the Samoyed became known to the out-
side world due to exploration of the North
and South Poles. Most of the Samoyed
strains in England and in the United
States are related to veteran sledge dogs of
these expeditions.
When the men returned to their home-
lands, many brought the dogs with them.
It is speculated that there were only twelve
dogs that constituted the original breeding
stock outside of Russia. The first Samo-
yed brought into England in 1889 by Mr.
Kilburn Scott, a member of the Royal
Zoological Society, was a brown Samoyed
named Sabarka, that was put on display in
the zoo, generating interest in the breed.
His wife, Ms. Clara Kilburn-Scott, was
very instrumental in establishing the breed
in England with her selective breeding of
Samoyeds. It was around this time that the
black and brown colors were eliminated
from breeding, although pictures remain
of Peter the Great, a black Samoyed, and
his offspring (some were black) who com-
peted successfully in the conformation
ring in England. The first official standard
for the breed was adopted in England in
1909, and the first official American stan-
dard was adopted on May 15, 1923.
To examine how these ancient dogs are
reflected in the Samoyed of today, we must
first turn to the work of Sir Francis Gal-
ton F.R.S.. In a nutshell, Galton studied
the inheritance of continuous characteris-
tics…height in humans, intelligence, etc..
Black Samoyed “Peter the Great” owned by
Mrs. McLaren Morrison, c. 1902.
Photo by J.R. Clarke, Thirsk
“It is speculated that there were only
TwElvE DOgS THAT cOnSTiTuTED
THE ORiginAl bREEDing STOck
OuTSiDE Of RuSSiA.”
162 • ShowSight Magazine, March 2013