Breed Page
No public dogs on record yet for this breed.
The Samoyed is an ancient spitz-type breed developed by the Samoyedic peoples of northwestern Siberia, where the dogs worked as reindeer herders, hunting companions, sled dogs, and tent-warmers for nomadic families. British and Norwegian polar expeditions in the late 1800s and early 1900s brought the dogs to Europe, where a breed standard was drawn up in England in 1909. The modern worldwide population traces to a small number of dogs exported from the Arctic in that window, giving the breed a narrow founder base despite its long pre-registry history. Numbers grew steadily through the 20th century, and the white, smiling Arctic look that defines the modern dog has stayed remarkably consistent worldwide.
Hereditary glomerulopathy (Samoyed hereditary nephritis, X-linked), progressive retinal atrophy, hip dysplasia, and hypothyroidism are the main concerns. Diabetes mellitus, subaortic stenosis, and autoimmune skin disease also show up at higher-than-average rates. DNA tests are available for several of these, including the X-linked nephritis variant and PRA.
VGL has reported Samoyeds carrying an average of around 6.45 alleles across the 33 STR loci, with an effective allele count near 3.25. Those numbers fall in the middle of what tested breeds show - not as tight as the most bottlenecked populations, but narrower than breeds like Border Collie or Golden Retriever. The usual pattern applies: a handful of common alleles dominate, and the rarer ones are the ones worth hunting down and keeping in the gene pool. Samoyeds trace back to a small number of dogs exported out of the Arctic in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and the breed carries the marks of that narrow founder base. VGL testing has found expected heterozygosity around 0.64, which is modest - lower than breeds with broader origins. Individual IR values cover a wide range, and breeders have room to pull the breed toward less related pairings to help close the gap.
A 3D genetic map of enrolled Samoyed dogs in the BetterBred database, based on allele-sharing distance across 33 STR loci. This is not a complete picture of the breed — it reflects only dogs whose owners have enrolled them. Drag to rotate · scroll to zoom · hover for dog names (public profiles only).
Historical founders — oldest 25% of enrolled dogs
Current gene pool — most recent 50% of enrolled dogs
Building plot… this may take a minute for larger breeds.
The Canine Diversity Test from UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory is the foundation of BetterBred’s breed management tools. Testing your dog adds to the breed database and gives you access to the full suite of breeding analysis tools.