American Eskimo Dog vs Samoyed

An American Eskimo Dog
Photo: Christmas w/a K
A Samoyed
Photo: PeCeT_full

Side by side

American Eskimo Dog
Samoyed
Adult weight
2.7–16 kg (6–35 lb) (breed club figure)1
Males 20–29 kg (45–65 lb); females 16–23 kg (35–50 lb) (breed club figure)2
Height
Males 22.9–48.3 cm; females 22.9–48.3 cm3
Males 53.3–59.7 cm; females 48.3–53.3 cm (breed club figure)2
Lifespan
12–14 years4
Median 13.1 years5
Fully grown
10 months, both sexes6
11 months, both sexes6
Group
Non-sporting (AKC)
Spitz & primitive7
Coat
No sourced figure
Double coat7
Shedding
No sourced figure
Moults most as the seasons change
Grooming
No sourced figure
A brush once a week
Exercise
No sourced figure
Plenty
Class
Companion
Family

Which suits you

Size
The American Eskimo Dog comes in a wide range of sizes, 2.7–16 kg (6–35 lb) as an adult, against 16–29 kg (35–65 lb) for the Samoyed.
Temperament
They differ most on activity (American Eskimo Dog: a good daily walk and play; Samoyed: needs lots of exercise) and on affection (American Eskimo Dog: affectionate on its own terms; Samoyed: a lap or leaning dog).
Alike
Both are rated the same on voice: very vocal.
Neither is the better dog in general. Which suits you depends on your home, your days and the care you can give.
Take the breed matcher

What they're like

American Eskimo Dog
Non-sporting · Small

True to its watchdog ancestry, the breed is alert and quick to raise the alarm, and it tends to be reserved with strangers.

Samoyed
Spitz & primitive · Medium

In temperament the Samoyed is friendly, gentle and sociable. It tends to greet strangers with interest rather than suspicion, so it makes a poor guard dog.

The American Eskimo Dog page →The Samoyed page →

Breed traits

Day to day
American Eskimo Dog
Samoyed
Activity
Differs
A good daily walk and play
Needs lots of exercise
Intelligence
Differs
Needs daily brain work
Learns readily, likes games
Handler demand
Needs steady training
Needs steady training
With people
American Eskimo Dog
Samoyed
Affection
Differs
Affectionate on its own terms
A lap or leaning dog
Loyalty
Differs
Sticks close to its people
Bonded to its family
Independence
Differs
Keen to work with you
Cooperative, with its own ideas
Around the home
American Eskimo Dog
Samoyed
Sensitivity
Average
Average
Voice
Very vocal
Very vocal
Prey drive
Chases; needs managing
Chases; needs managing
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour8. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home9,10.

Puppy growth

Reference curves · both sexes
The Samoyed grows to the heavier adult, about 23 kg against the American Eskimo Dog's 9.3 kg.
American Eskimo Dog
Samoyed
01020302m4m6m9m12m18m
01020302m3m4m6m9m12m18m

More comparisons

Compare the American Eskimo Dog with
Alaskan Malamute vs SamoyedJapanese Spitz vs SamoyedAmerican Eskimo Dog vs Japanese SpitzSamoyed vs Siberian HuskyChow Chow vs SamoyedFinnish Lapphund vs SamoyedAll breed comparisons →

Sources

Parts of this page were written by AI ·