The name Samoyed comes from the Samoyedic people (also Samodeic people), a semi-nomadic people from Asia who migrated to Siberia a thousand years ago, of the family of Sayantsi. They bred dogs for hard work in the coldest habitable places on earth. (In the Siberian town of Oymyakon, for instance, temperatures of minus-60 degrees are common.) The Samoyede people lived in tents and huddled for warmth with their dog packs during the Arctic nights. This type of human-canine cooperation for mutual survival forged a tight bond between Samoyed dogs and people. When not sledging heavy loads across vast expanses of Siberia, Samoyed dogs earned their feed as watchdogs and hunters. The Samoyede depended on reindeer as a vital source of food, fur, and leather. At first, they used their dogs to hunt reindeer. But in time Samoyede culture shifted from hunting reindeer to herding them. The bold white hunting dogs and haulers found a new role as stock dogs, moving and protecting the herds.

In the late 18th century, Arctic explorers returning to England introduced the Samoyed to British dog lovers. Queen Alexandra was an admirer who did much to promote the breed as a companion and show dog. In America, a sparkling white dog named Moustan of Argenteau made history in 1906 as the first of the breed (then known as the Samoyede) registered by the AKC. American and European mushers of the early 20th century knew the Samoyed as an enthusiastic hauler of supplies, capable of sledging one and a half times their own weight. Scott, Shackleton, and Amundsen are a few of the era’s famous explorers who rode behind Sammies through frozen expanses. Source www.akc.org/dog-breed/samoyed