Samoyed care: brushing the double coat, heat and diabetes

Most of a Samoyed's care comes back to three things: a dense white double coat that needs brushing down to the skin, a working dog's need for daily activity, and a small number of health risks worth knowing by name, diabetes above all. The American Kennel Club describes the breed as powerful and tireless, with a thick all-white coat that is impervious to cold. Males weigh 45 to 65 lb (20 to 29 kg), females 35 to 50 lb (16 to 23 kg), and life expectancy is 12 to 14 years.

The double coat

The coat has two layers: a dense, soft undercoat that insulates and a longer, harsher outer coat of guard hairs. Mats start in the undercoat, close to the skin, where surface brushing does not reach them. Behind the ears, under the legs, around the collar, and the backs of the thighs are the usual trouble spots.

• Brush several times a week, and daily when the dog is shedding heavily. Use a slicker brush on the outer coat and an undercoat rake or comb underneath.
• Line brush. Part the coat in sections and work from the skin outward, one layer at a time. Finish by running a metal comb through to the skin; where it catches, there is a tangle.
• Deal with mats early. Small tangles can be teased apart with fingers and a comb. Tight mats pull on the skin and are safer removed by a groomer or with a mat splitter than hacked at with scissors, since it is easy to cut skin hidden in thick fur.
• Bathe when needed, and dry completely. A thick coat left damp at the skin can lead to irritation and skin infection. A high-velocity dryer on a cool or warm setting gets water out of the undercoat far faster than a towel.

Blowing coat

Once or twice a year, most Samoyeds shed the undercoat heavily over a few weeks, often called "blowing coat". Tufts come out in handfuls. Daily raking during this period stops loose undercoat from felting into mats against the skin, and a bath followed by thorough blow-drying loosens a lot of it at once. Hair loss outside these periods, patchy bald areas, or itchy, red or smelly skin are not normal shedding and need a vet.

Clipping

Clipping a Samoyed to the skin is rarely a good idea. Skin that has always been covered by a dense coat can sunburn once exposed. Double coats can also be slow and uneven to grow back, and some dogs develop post-clipping alopecia, with patches that stay thin or bare for months. Whether a full coat actually helps a dog stay cool in hot weather is debated. What helps reliably is removing loose undercoat by brushing, so air can reach the skin, and managing heat directly (see below). A vet may still need to clip an area to treat a skin problem or hot spot.

Exercise

Samoyeds were working dogs in the Arctic, and the adult dog still needs real exercise every day, not just a stroll. There is no measured number of minutes for the breed. A useful guide is a dog that comes home tired enough to settle, with some off-leash running in a secure area several times a week.

• Pulling sports. Canicross, bikejoring, skijoring and carting use the breed's drive to pull. Wait until growth has finished before hard pulling, and use gear designed for the sport.
• Training and puzzles. A bored Samoyed digs, chews and barks. Short daily training sessions and food puzzles give it a job.
• Swimming. Some Samoyeds like water, many do not. A wet coat holds a lot of water and must be dried to the skin afterwards.
• Secure fences and recall. Start recall training young, and keep off-leash running to enclosed areas until recall is reliable.

Heat

A heavy coat and an Arctic background make heat the main seasonal hazard. It is not only a problem on very hot days. UK veterinary records of dogs with heat-related illness show that most cases were triggered by exercise, and the median air temperature on the day was 16.9 °C (62 °F). Older dogs were more likely to die from it.

• Exercise early and late in warm weather, and cut the session short rather than push on.
• Give access to shade, cool floors and fresh water at all times; a cooling mat or a shallow paddling pool helps some dogs.
• Never leave the dog in a parked car.
• Learn the warning signs: heavy panting that does not ease with rest, drooling, bright red or pale gums, weakness, vomiting, stumbling or collapse. Move the dog somewhere cool, wet it with cool water and go straight to a vet.

Health risks in the breed

Diabetes

Samoyeds are among the breeds at highest risk of diabetes. In a study of 1,072 diabetic dogs in the UK Canine Diabetes Register, compared with the general UK dog population, Samoyeds and Tibetan Terriers had the highest odds of adult-onset diabetes. Most affected dogs need insulin injections for life.

• Signs: drinking and urinating more, a bigger appetite with weight loss, tiredness, and cloudy eyes from cataracts in some dogs.
• Act promptly. A Samoyed that suddenly drinks much more water needs a vet visit and a urine or blood glucose test, not a wait-and-see approach. Untreated diabetes can progress to ketoacidosis, which is an emergency.
• Feeding a diabetic dog. Meals of the same food, in the same amount, at the same times each day, matched to the insulin schedule, matter more than any particular ingredient. The vet will advise on the diet itself.
• Unspayed females. Diabetes in intact females can be triggered by the hormonal phase after a season, which is one factor in discussing spaying with the vet.

Samoyed hereditary glomerulopathy

This inherited kidney disease was described in the 1980s in a family of Samoyeds. Pedigree analysis showed an X-linked dominant pattern, so males are hit much harder than females. Serial studies of 44 dogs from that family found that affected males looked healthy for about three months, then lost weight progressively. Protein appeared in their urine at 2 to 3 months, kidney function declined from about 3 months, and they died of kidney failure by 15 months of age. Carrier females also developed protein in the urine but did not go on to kidney failure.

So this is a disease of young puppies, not middle-aged dogs. A Samoyed puppy that fails to thrive, loses weight or drinks and urinates excessively needs a vet to check its urine and kidney values. Kidney disease in an adult Samoyed has many other possible causes. Ask a breeder about kidney disease in their lines.

Hips

Hip dysplasia occurs in the breed, and it is partly inherited. Breeding dogs can be X-rayed and scored, and puppy buyers should ask for both parents' hip results. For the puppy itself, steady growth on a food made for growing dogs, measured meals and a lean body condition lower the load on developing joints.

Feeding

The Merck Veterinary Manual estimates daily energy needs as 70 times body weight in kilograms to the power 0.75, multiplied by 1.4 for a dog that gains weight easily, 1.6 for a neutered adult and 1.8 for an intact adult. For typical Samoyed weights, rounded to the nearest 10 kcal:

A dog that pulls or runs most days needs more, and Merck notes individual needs vary by as much as 30% at the same weight. The coat hides fat well, so feel for the ribs with flat hands rather than judging by eye, and weigh monthly.

A complete and balanced food suits most Samoyeds; the coat does not need a special formula. Keeping the dog lean matters for this breed: excess weight causes insulin resistance, which makes diabetes harder to control if it develops, and it adds load to the hips. Feed measured meals, usually two a day, rather than leaving food out, and count treats in the daily total. Changes in the coat, such as dullness, flaking or thinning, have many causes, including skin disease and hormonal problems, and are a reason for a vet check before a change of food or a supplement.

Temperament and company

Samoyeds are usually sociable with people and other dogs, and most cope poorly with long days alone. A bored or lonely Samoyed tends to bark, howl, dig or chew, so a household out at work all day needs a plan: a dog walker, daycare or a midday visit.

They can be vocal too. Some howl along to music, and a 2026 study in Current Biology used exactly that habit. Samoyeds howling along changed the average pitch of their own howls depending on whether the music had been shifted up or down in pitch. The authors conclude that this kind of pitch control does not require complex vocal learning. For owners, the practical point is simpler: a Samoyed's voice carries, and neighbors will hear it.

• With children: usually patient and playful, but big and bouncy enough to knock over small children, so supervise and teach both sides.
• With other dogs: generally sociable when well socialized as puppies.
• With small animals: some chase cats or small pets, so introductions need care.
• The smile: the upturned corners of the mouth give the breed its famous expression, which says nothing reliable about mood. A stressed Samoyed can look just as cheerful, so read the body, ears and tail instead.

Sources

1. Samoyed dog breed information. American Kennel Club.
2. Risk factors for severe and fatal heat-related illness in UK dogs: a VetCompass study. Veterinary Sciences, 2022.
3. Epidemiology and clinical management of 1072 dogs with diabetes mellitus in a UK diabetes register. Companion Animal Health and Genetics, 2025.
4. Mode of inheritance of Samoyed hereditary glomerulopathy: an animal model for hereditary nephritis in humans. The Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine, 1986.
5. Samoyed hereditary glomerulopathy: serial, clinical and laboratory (urine, serum biochemistry and hematology) studies. Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research, 1987.
6. Nutritional requirements of small animals. Merck Veterinary Manual.
7. An ancient dog breed regulates pitch when howling with music. Current Biology, 2026.