Beauty and brains, Samoyeds have it all. Initially bred to work in the world’s absolute chilliest places like Siberia, these pups have done everything from transporting heavy loads across frozen landscapes, to herding and protecting reindeer, to curling up on the couch next to their favorite modern-day humans.
Blessed with a beautiful smile (seriously, their ends of their mouths are adorably upturned) and an incredibly luxurious white coat, Samoyed dogs, or “Sammies” are social and smart. And if you’re firm with their training and establish yourself as the one in charge early on, they’ll make a delightful addition to the family. Just don’t leave them in the backyard for long periods of time and not expect them to get mischievous and destructive—they love to be around their people.
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Some potential Samoyed owners are a little intimidated by their locks, assuming that having a Sammy is too stressful. But never fear, we’re here to help you with the whole hair maintenance issue with some Samoyed grooming tips unique to this breed.
Basic Grooming Advice
Keeping your Samoyed looking incredible is all about tending to their fluffy tresses. They don’t need endless trips to the groomers, but they do need some serious upkeep on your part to prevent mats and keep them looking tidy. Here are some tips:
- Sammies have a thick double coat with longer, rough hair on the outside, and a soft wooly undercoat. This means there’s a lot of shedding, which is best dealt with by brushing their coat frequently. A combination of slicker brushes and metal combs seem to work best on their fur type.
- Don’t forget to brush their head and legs. These areas are sometimes neglected, but really need help when it comes to preventing shedding.
- Be prepared for “shedding season” which hits twice times a year and means some extra fluff floating around your house. Give your pup’s coat extra attention during this time—it’ll be over soon!
- Trim those nails. You don’t want overgrown nails to get infected or irritate your pet, so check on them at least every few weeks.
- Take a few minutes to also trim the fur between the paw pads.
- Dog Monthly had some good advice about taking your Samoyed to a professional groomer for a wash and dry with a high-velocity dryer. They don’t need to be bathed too often, but it’s very important that they’re thoroughly dried to prevent hot spots on their skin. You can use a dog-safe hairdryer at home if you ever need to get them dried off after rainy day adventures.
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Why Shaving Your Samoyed Is a Bad Idea
While discussing grooming tips for this breed, it’s essential to emphasize that shaving your Samoyed is definitely not recommended. There are a number of reasons why, but here are a few of the most important ones we want to mention:
- By removing the double-coat that protects your Samoyed from both the heat and cold, you could be disrupting their ability to regulate their body temperature, which can be dangerous.
- The coat may not grow back correctly once it has been shaved.
- Without their fur, Samoyeds can easily get sunburned or overheat, so it’s best to leave them some fur for protection.
Top Samoyed Hairstyles:
1. The Classic Samoyed Look
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2. The Sammy Cottonball
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The only other hairstyle for Sammies makes their bodies look more like cottony puffballs. According to Dog-Learn, you should trim the feathering on the rear legs, trim the hair on the tail underside, and even trim the tops and bottoms of the feet.
However you decide to groom your Samoyed, they’re going to look dignified, fluffy and oh-so-sweet—and you’ll be happy once you find the right style that fits in with your family (and budget, and free time).
Just remember to always pay attention to the cues that your dog is giving you, and if something is causing them stress, then it may be time to find a different approach/hairstyle/groomer/etc. We hope these hairstyle ideas and grooming tips have been useful for jazzing up your pup’s coif. Happy grooming!
