[mizu]

Hey all!

I am in contact with a breeder of Samoyeds, which are a breed I have taken a liking to. My beloved Yuki is now over a year old, I was thinking to get another dog to be both my companion as well as her friend.

Let me give you some info on my Jap Spitz:

Yuki is a wonderful dog, she has a few minor issues which are mainly attribute to her unfortunate experiences with untrained and aggressive large dogs during our walks (there are so many untrained and unruly dogs in this area, it's bewildering...) These issues are her being rather wary of new dogs, to the point if they are trying to play with her excessively and she is afraid, she will growl and bare her teeth at them. Otherwise, she generally tries to avoid larger dogs and if they respect her wishes to be left alone, she doesn't exhibit any aggressive behavior. When I got Yuki, we began our socializing process immediately, and I would go out with her 3-4 times a day just to get her used to new sights and smells, sounds, and let her see other people and dogs. Unfortunately this is also when she was lunged at for no apparent reason, by a few different dogs on different occasions, she did not get harmed as I did not allow her to actually get right up next to another dog, sadly this occurred when she was extremely small and completely indifferent to them otherwise. This unexpected and overly-aggressive behavior has caused her this paranoia. I am hoping to cure this, because this is her only issue whatsoever. Otherwise she is a completely wonderful little pup and adores people though she is shy at first, which is a characteristic of her breed.​

I have been considering a co-ownership with a Samoyed female, who is 3.5 months old, I am going to meet the Samoyed pup today in the evening, and the breeder as well, and afterwards both me and the breeder will decide if we wish to work together and want to move forward with this plan.

Now this is where I wish to get some feedback, I have read that skiddish dogs can be "cured" by having another dog living with them, the fact the samoyed is about 2.5 times her size, is one aspect of it I hoped might help cure her fear of larger dogs, because not all large dogs want to randomly attack her-and I want her to start enjoying the wonderful world of dog friendships, not just human friendships. Has anyone else had a smaller dog breed living among a medium breed, where the smaller one was fearful of larger dogs and the fears were cured?

Also, as for the Samoyed breed in general, I have been reading a lot of people expressing their Samoyeds to exhibit negative behavioral traits, such as excessive barking etc. I live in an apartment at this time, and this kind of behavior would be troublesome. I am wondering if it is an ingrained trait, or could it be more so a side effect of being improperly trained and cared for?

My training methods are very much along the lines of positive reinforcement, and the only punishment so to speak is ignoring. I never yell, or touch my Yuki in a harmful or aggressive way. There is no need. Yuki understands my expressions and I merely have to say her name in a certain tone to express my dislike of what she is doing, and she immediately stops. I crate trained her, and she loves her crate and chooses to go there whenever she wants to sleep and feel safe, I will of course do the same with this upcoming puppy as well (if I choose to get her).
I enjoy training and do not mind spending lengthy times outside with my pup to get them slowly accustomed to things, or leash walking, etc, I offer them plenty of healthy treats as incentives for good behavior, and plenty of praise as well. Bad behavior is met with stern looks, deep tone of voice, or simply ignoring. I do not isolate my dog, grab their necks, or any part of them (I do hold their bottom jaw briefly if they are biting excessively as a pup and do not respond to NO, or ignoring) etc.
​

That being said, I want to keep to this training method because Yuki despite her one fear, is an absolutely wonderful dog and every time I bring her to meet new people or to visit relatives, everyone takes turns cuddling her and telling me her she is the most unique and wonderful dog they have ever met, and even some tell me"I didn't like dogs till I met Yuki"

I do not want to compromise Yuki's happiness, or make her feel uncomfortable in her own home or cause her fears to get worse by bringing a new dog into the home, so any advice on how to prevent that would be much appreciated. Also, has anyone had both a Samoyed and Jap Spitz living happily alongside each other? And, about the Samoyeds common behavioral issues, are these easily prevented and would my training methods work effectively? I must say I am not open to any training methods that would incorporate harsher methods, etc, and if the breed is one of the breeds that may require a more "stern" leader, I would like to know this. In my opinion, respect is gained, and I like to gain the respect of my dog through fairness and love, the rules are made and I expect them to be followed, so do not take me as someone who over-dotes on their pup to the point it makes the dogs & owners lives more difficult, encouraging negative behavior!

Quite a lengthy post but I have quite a few questions and thought to place them all in one place, haha. Hope to hear back from any of you soon!

-Misu & Yuki

 

[lil_fuzzy]

I recently had a samoyed staying with me. He was very pretty, and a very cool dog, but OMG the barking.

I believe it's very much a genetic trait of the breed, and if barking is an issue, definitely don't get a samoyed. My experience with the breed is limited, but the one who stayed with me barked when he was excited, when he was frustrated, and otherwise every few minutes "just because". And it was a *very* loud bark. I liked everything about the dog, but the barking would be an absolute deal breaker. It was terrible, and he was only with me for a few days.

I believe you could probably reduce the amount of barking through training, but a barky dog is always going to be barky.

 

[TSTrainer]

Yeah if you don't want to disturb the neighbors I'd hold off on a samoyed. I live with a similar breed, keeshonds, and the barking is no joke. They're great dogs but bark for every emotion. If they're happy to see you, if they want your help with something, if they're bored, if they're frustrated, if they want to play with each other, if they want attention... The list goes on. I probably won't own this type of breed myself after my experiences, but it should be noted that barking is really their only flaw, and it's a big one.

 

[Hiraeth]

Every Samoyed I've ever met (about 8-9 when working at dog daycare) was incredibly loud.

Beyond that, simply adding another dog to the home is NOT going to magically cure your Spitz's issues. In fact, it could just compound them. Suddenly his home will be invaded by something that he is very scared of and he will have no way to escape.

You say you're willing to spend lots of time training, but then you're looking for a magical solution to your dog's significant fears of other dogs. The only way to overcome your dog's fear is to spend tons of time working on proper socializing and interactions with dogs you know. I've never dealt with a fearful dog, only aggressive ones, so hopefully some other people with experience in that department will come along to give you some advice about how to begin working on Yuki's problems.

In short, adding a 3.5 month old Samoyed to a home that contains a small, fearful dog, could be a recipe for disaster. Between that and your living situation not allowing barking, I think both the timing and the Samoyed breed are wrong for you.

 

[mizu]

Thanks all for the replies,
I did meet with the breeder yesterday and the puppy alongside her mother and the rest of her pack.
I was surprised to see the breeder lived in an apartment complex, one where there are yards for the apartments, more so a duplex? I am actually not sure what the proper english word is for such places!
I was also surprised to see the puppies (there are two there still, both females.) were very quiet, and also exhibited no naughty behaviors, they were friendly, inquisitive, affectionate, and quiet.
The other samoyeds were rather quiet, except for when we arrived they had a barking fest briefly, and one liked to howl a bit while looking at us, the eldest barked (the grandmother of the pups) but she has some hearing issues, the breeder said she is louder because of that, but the grandmother also responded to the breeder telling her to stop and then went to lay down silently.

Overall, I saw that yes they are vocal dogs, but they are also responsive to being told to stop, and the breeder lived in a place where the samoyeds could not bark to their hearts content, thus she has trained them all to be rather quiet compared to what I have heard about the breed.

I do agree that this wouldn't be a quick fix, and I am also wary of possible repercussions, I am considering this carefully.
The breeder herself was a very wonderful person, and we got engaged in a lengthy conversation that made my "quick visit" almost 2 hours long.
With the co-ownership we both would have to be in regular contact, and she encouraged me to take an interest in the dog shows the pup would attend during the co-ownership time, and also to try and present the dog myself at the shows.
As for the breeder and me having this kind of relationship, to me it seems very nice, because the breeder and me seem to get along nicely and having a friend to open my eyes to the dog showing world, the local kennel club and breeding etc, would be great for me personally.
As for Yuki, I will have to consider what is best for her. She is the love of my life so to speak, and compromising her happiness would break my heart, though I am hopeful to help her overcome her fears, they aren't absolutely severe, there are some large dogs she has even found interest and tries to play with, but a lot of others who she wants nothing to do with.

I appreciate the honest answers regardless, and still hope to hear more feedback.