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The Working Samoyed History
The reality is quite different. The breed is named after a remnant of one of the earliest tribes of Central Asia. After many thousands of years of migration, the people we now call the Samoyedes, along with their faithful dogs, eventually settled in the vast arctic regions of North Western Siberia and Northern Russia more than 2,000 years ago.
Despite domestication, the reindeer and the Samoyede people still needed to travel the traditional migration routes in search of the main food source for the herds, a lichen known as Reindeer Moss. Vast tracts of land were grazed and the people had to move camp often. The biannual treks - north to the tundras for summer, and south to the forests for winter - could easily cover 1,000 kilometres or more. It would not have been possible for men on foot to control and muster the herds without the Samoyed Dog. The dogs were sometimes used for draught work, particularly for hauling small boats along river banks when the annual thaw created an immense network of rivers and streams. Generally, however, with the pulling power of herds of reindeer at their disposal, the people used the deer for the job of hauling their possessions. A dog able to herd deer would be wasted in harness, and in any case, the original mobile home, a structure of wood and reindeer hide, known as a choom, was far too heavy for a dog team. The dogs herded, guarded, fought off wolves, caught fish and hunted bears. They occasionally hauled, but reindeer did this more efficiently. The Working Samoyed | Working Events | Working Awards | Xmas Sled |
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Somewhere along the way, they learned to domesticate the wild caribou that they had previously hunted - the animal we now know as the reindeer. In the bleak Arctic tundra, their former agricultural skills were of no use and the tribe regressed to a primitive lifestyle revolving around their reindeer. The deer supplied most of the essentials of life. As well as providing a source of food, their hides were used for clothing, shelter, beds and rugs. Vast herds of reindeer were required to support this lifestyle.