History Of the Samoyed According to
the Genealogy of the Dog, the Samoyed Breed is one of the very early species
of the Canis Familiaris Intermedius Group said to date back to approximately
6000 B.C The specific area of origin will probably be forever in
conjecture, some authorities assigning it to the territory from the White Sea
to the Yenisey River, others to the tundra region between the White Sea and
the Kara Sea. The Nomadic Samoyede people were a large unit of clans
who lived by hunting and fishing, inter-married, shared hunting rights,
pastures and livestock and for the greater part of the year were scattered
singly or in small groups, coming together in the summer. Their dogs were used mainly for reindeer
herding and Polar bear hunting, were very domesticated and lived closely with
the people. Their moulting coats were
a valuable contribution towards warm clothing and at times they were used to
eke out the food supply. Samoyeds are known to have been used as sled dogs in
Siberia as early at 1870 by Nordenskiold, and on Arctic Expeditions by Nansen
(1893-4), Jackson Harmsworth (1894) and later the Duke of Abruzzi and
others. It is recorded that over 100
miles have been covered in one day by three dogs with full sledge – an
astonishing record when the rough state of the going is considered, for the
snow does not lie like smooth hard icing. Extracts Taken from the
APSA History Souvenir Booklet TABLE OF CONTENT
|
