Q: what is a labrador/samoyed mix dog like?
I have a 3-month-old lab/samoyed mix. I think he's more lab than samoyed. he has the long tell the golden look on his back and ears like a yellow lab. He likes to play and is very smart. just curious if anybody else has had a dog of the same mix and what was his behavior like. Was he good with kids, good for hunting, is he going to be a good guard dog for when I'm away?
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Answers and Views:
Answer by Jhonson
No good guard dog. It would be a lovable pet though.
Answer by PeggyB1946
You should not expect your Samoyed-Labrador mix to be a good guard dog, however, your dog will bark to let you know someone is there. The police officers that I used to work with thought having a dog that barked was one of the best crime deterrents. I count on it.
I have a young dog who appears to be part Samoyed, part black lab, and part border collie. I see all three traits in her. She wants to chase rabbits and squirrels–what dog doesn't?–loves children, barks to warn me that someone is visiting, and is very very smart. She "herds" my husband, who does not move fast enough to suit her.
She has stubbornness, but it's combined with a desire to please, so she does what I want, but manages to get her way anyway. She is protective and, as has been mentioned, is a lovely companion. She needs lots of exercise and if I don't provide it, she'll invent ways to get it. At the moment, we are playing "fetch," in the house, 24-7.
Enjoy your puppy!!
Answer by Kev
I grew up with a Samoyed-Labrador cross. His name was Sammy-boy of course. I got him as a birthday present when I was 10yo and he lived until I was 25.
This breed likes a lot of activity and is very playful, even as he got older. He thrived in our family of 5 kids. Not sure how he would have gone without kids around? Super intelligent. Seemed to have incredibly high empathy and awareness. For example, he would wait until everyone was clear before shaking himself dry after a bath and he would be very careful if my youngest sister was holding his leash during walks - periodically checking over his shoulder to make sure she was ok.
For older kids and adults, however, the husky-like pulling instinct was so strong I lost count of how many dog leashes he broke. Great fun for being pulled along on our go-carts and bicycles though.
Pros: Very affectionate, very intelligent, very loyal, very playful, obedient, easy to train, beautiful dog, amazing coat.
Cons: molts continuously so white hair everywhere, can be over-protective (unfortunately would occasionally snap at visitor kids he didn't like), hated cats and birds with a passion.
Answer by Shelly
Well, a Labradors temperament is as much a hallmark of the breed as the "otter" tail. The ideal disposition is one of a kindly, outgoing, tractable nature; eager to please and non-aggressive towards man or animal. The Labrador has much that appeals to people; his gentle ways, intelligence, and adaptability make him an ideal dog.
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The Samoyeds' friendly disposition makes them poor guard dogs, but excellent companions, especially for small children or even other dogs, and they remain playful into old age. Samoyeds are also known to be stubborn at times and difficult to train, due to unwillingness rather than lack of intelligence; they must be persuaded to obey commands.
In effect, I expect your dog will be an excellent companion dog who will be willing to play at all times and especially fond of children. Not only will your dog be extra-friendly, I suppose he may be just as good a hunting dog as he ever was but I don't really think it's a good idea to expect him to be a guard dog. Sorry!
Answer by TRISH
I have a Samoyed Labrador mix (cross) and she is a beautiful dog. Very affectionate and very intelligent. And beautiful in appearance too. She loves going for walks but thinks she has a sled to pull! When she was about 6 months old we got another dog and she toilet trained it! She's beautiful.
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Barb says
Hi, I’m not sure when this was posted. We had the most incredible Labrador/Samoyed. He was extremely smart, considerate, very loving with everyone, playful, silly, at times stubborn but easily persuaded, gentle and joyful. I would get another Lab/Samoyed in a heartbeat. May I ask if there were more puppies like your dog for adoption?
RussianDog says
Sorry, Barb, some time has passed since then. Still, the post remains popular because people are interested in this mixed breed.
Kev says
The comment has been moved into the body of the post.
Isaacs Meowmy says
This is why dogs of two different breeds should NEVER be breed together, you never know what youre going to get! A dog develops specific traits from his parents including physical and personality traits. If you know what the parents of your puppy are like then you can get a good idea as to how your puppy will be when hes an adult. If you dont know the parents then the best you can do is guess. More than likely your dog will be a medium to larger sized dog. It is hard to tell right now but at 6 months of age if you double your dogs weight this is supposed to be how much your dog will be full grown. You also will not be able to tell if your dog will have a Samoyed coat or a Lab coat until he is about a year old. Dogs dont develop their adult coats until they are about 6 months to a year so his current coat may change. An intelligent playful pup is a good sign, this means he will be very trainable and has developed good through puppyhood. As for your specfic questions any doy can be good at these things, itsjust what you make of it. All dogs can be good with kids as long as they are brought up around kids, and taught how to behave with children. This also means that children must be taught how to act with dogs, ie no pulling tails or ears no smacking dogs or such. Teaching him now how to behave around children is a good way to create a tolerant well behaved older dog that could otherwise prove impatient. It is hard to say if your dog will be good for hunting, try taking him for walks and see how he is with tracking and start now to teach him to retrieve, I dont know exactly what kind of hunting you do but you can always teach him to perform whatever tasks you want. After all he does have a bit of a sporting breed in him. As for a guard dog I have no clue, guard dogs are as dangerous as a loaded gun. You do not want to teach your dog aggressive behavior towards strangers because you will end up with a big mess on your hands later on. A dog taught to guard aggressively will be a problem for you, guests, the mailman, delivery guys and pretty much anyone else that comes to the door. Instead of teaching your dog this bad behavior invest in a alarm system and teach your dog good manners towards guest, like not jumping on them, not getting excited and other horrible dog behaviors.
bassetnut says
Since it's a mutt, their looks/temperament etc would vary wildly. They could be like a lab, like a sam, or anything in-between.
ginbark says
Since he is a mutt there is no way to know what he will be like when full grown. Labs are hunters and Sammy herders so he could be either or neither. His coat can change from what it looks like now as well. Many mutts are not a mix of 2 breeds but a mix of more. I see many dogs at obed. school and the dog park and people will often tell you their dog is a, for instance, Lab when it is clearly a Lab mix. They say what breed it resembles most so he might be Lab/Sammy/GSD or whatever. Even Labs from field trial stock do not grow up to be good hunters so chances are your dog will not hunt. Not every GSD is good for protection, or a herder either. Dogs that are really a mix of 2 breeds do not come out 50/50, they can vary in the litter from 90/10 to 75/25 and everything in between 100 and 0%. Just as human sibs are not identical, each kid gets a diff mix of genes from each parent so they are different but simular.