Page 174 - Showsight March 2013

stand off guard hair and a thick wooly
undercoat. The coat should not be so long
as to hide the shape of the body. Sibe-
rian Huskies, Malamutes and most other
northern breeds were developed for the
same bitter cold climate that formed the
Samoyed. The guard coat must be weather
resistant. That dog that gets wet from snow
packing into a soft coat will die in arctic
winter weather.
Samoyeds were developed to spend long
days working in a harsh environment. The
feet and legs must be strong and straight,
elbows must set next to the body. The true
test of a correct Samoyed is in its efficient,
clean movement. When trotting down and
back, the legs must tend to a single track
front and rear. There should be no twisting
in any of the joints. Wasted motion would
be life threatening to a dog that must live
on minimum food in a harsh environment
and work all day. The ideal is that light
graceful movement that gives the impres-
sion the dog could go all day long and
come home happy and in
good health.
We all love the sweet
happy face of a baiting
Samoyed. They usually
look like they are ready for
mischief and play. But do
not expect a Samoyed to
stand and bait for a long
time, they should be intelli-
gent and interested in what
is going on around them.
The ears will flick back and
forth to get all the “news”.
The tail will go up while
they are gaiting, but may
wag in glee while stand-
ing or the dog may be so
interested in what is going
on around that the tail
drops down. As long as the
dog does not look spooky,
please do not penalize that
one that drops its tail while
standing in line.
Many years ago, a
student in a judges edu-
cation seminar made a
comment that I feel is
one of the most impor-
tant when judging our
breed. “The Samoyed is a breed to be
preserved, not a breed to be developed
and improved.” Please keep this in mind
and help us to preserve the wonderful
breed that nature developed for us.
BIO
Judy Mears purchased her first Samo-
yed in 1970. She has bred or owned over
55 Champions with a very limited breed-
ing program that is always owner/handled.
Since then, Judy has bred 11 dogs/bitches
with multiple group placements, always
owner/handled; 3 Best in Show dogs, own-
er/handled; 2 Champion/UD bitches; 3
Champion/MACH bitches; 4 dogs that have
worked on racing sled teams, including one
lead dog; and 3 dogs exhibited to CD.
Judy has been a member of the Samo-
yed Club of America since 1971. She is
the past President of SCA and has spent
many years on the Board of Governors
of SCA. She was the Ad Hoc Commit-
tee Secretary and Trophy Chair for the
1984 National, Show Chair for the 1991
National and Trophy Chair for the 2001
National. She was the Chief Ring Stew-
ard and Judges Hospitality Chair for the
2011 National and the Show Chair for
Evergreen Colorado Kennel Club, an
all-breed club.
Judy has judged at the SCA’s Nation-
al Specialty on four different occasions
and she has been an AKC licensed judge
since 1999.
A past business owner and associate edi-
tor, for the past 20 years Judy has been and
continues to work as a fingerprint techni-
cian. This includes analyzing fine detail
and patterns in ridge skin to identify
people for Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office
in Colorado.
“‘THE SAMOYED IS A brEED TO bE prESErvED,
NOT A brEED TO bE DEvElOpED AND IMprOvED.
Please keep this in mind and help us to preserve
the wonderful breed nature developed for us.’”
174 • ShowSight Magazine, March 2013