Samoyed Weight: Growth Curve and Average Weights

If you’ve never had a Samoyed before and just got one recently, you’re likely still in a research mode to get to know all about this ancient breed with their trademark “Sammy Smile” and shining white-ish or creamy fur.

One of the most important things for you to know about Samoyeds is their growth curve and average weights.

The American Kennel Club has two standard weights for the Samoyed breed. The male Samoyed’s weight is from 45 to 65 pounds. Meanwhile, the female Samoyed’s weight is from 35 to 50 pounds.

Read on to learn about the ideal weights of the Samoyed breed from their formative months to their full-grown age – something you should look out for to ensure your Sammy is healthy and living their best life.

Samoyed Typical Growth Curve (Weight vs. Age)

Tracking your Sammy’s weight from their puppyhood to their full-grown size is one measure that their growth is normal and healthy.

Making an effort to do this diligently will alert you to any irregularities in your Sammy’s weight which might be an indication of an underlying health condition.

Catching possible health issues early on can help you and your vet administer interventions and solutions that can save your puppy a lot of pain later or even save their life.

The table below shows the ideal weight ranges of the male Samoyeds and the female Samoyeds at different stages of their puppy life up to their full-grown size.

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At What Age Do Samoyeds Stop Growing?

The Samoyed’s growth typically slows down at around seven months and they usually stop growing at 16 months. According to the Samoyed Club of America, the Samoyed matures when they reach somewhere from two and a half to three or even four years of age.

Because Samoyeds were originally bred to hunt, herd reindeer, and pull sleds in the very cold temperatures of Siberia, they are highly energetic, powerful, and tireless. This means they need vigorous exercise on a daily basis.

Being very active dogs, Samoyeds are not prone to weight gain and obesity. However, if they don’t get the right amount of exercise they need and/or you overfeed them, they might grow obese and develop some health and behavioral problems.

As a Samoyed keeper, you have to be sure you’re giving your Sammy the correct amount of physical activity throughout their formative months and beyond. Doing so will help them maintain their ideal weight in puppyhood and when they stop growing.

Length and Height of a Samoyed

AKC’s breed standard for the Samoyed states that they should be “medium in length, very muscular and neither long nor short-coupled.” It also specifies the Samoyed’s length as about 5% more than its height.

AKC’s standard allows female Samoyeds to be a bit longer than the males. This length measurement is for Samoyed’s torso and back. Remember this when you’re measuring your Sammie.

For the Samoyed’s height, AKC’s measurements depend on whether the Samoyed is male or female. For male Sammies, they should be somewhere from 21 to 23.5 inches. While female Sammies should measure 19 to 21 inches.

Take note that these height measurements are inches at the withers or measurements from the highest point of the dog’s shoulder blades to the ground.

Let me give you an example of how to compute for a Samoyed’s ideal length given its height. A male Samoyed with a withers height of 22.5 inches should be about 23.6 inches long.

You can arrive at 23.6 inches by multiplying the height 22.5 inches by 1.05 (that’s 105% in decimal form). Try computing the length of your Samoyed and see if it’s up to par with the standard!

Obese and Overgrown Samoyed

It’s every dog owner’s struggle not to overfeed their dog. It’s understandable why you often couldn’t say no – your dog’s pleading eyes and small noises begging for some treat or a piece of the tasty chicken you’re eating. Yes, the struggle is real.

However, you have to learn to not give in all the time to your dog’s cuteness. Regulating their food intake is for their own good. And I know you only want what’s good for your Sammie.

You’d want your Samoyed to have a healthy weight and to not be obese. Obesity can put a lot of strain on your Sammie’s bones and organs and can trigger a host of health conditions such as the following:

• Hip dysplasia: A skeletal condition affecting the development of the hip joint wherein the ball and socket of the hips do not fit properly. If your Samoyed is obese and develops or has hip dysplasia, it will worsen this health condition and cause your Sammie more pain.
• Diabetes: Samoyeds with diabetes are usually diagnosed at 4 to 10 years old. This autoimmune disease destroys the cells in the body that produce insulin, an anabolic hormone that turns glucose or blood sugar into energy. Diabetes plus obesity is a very bad combination of health issues in your Samoyed.
• Other autoimmune diseases: For the most part, autoimmune diseases are still a mystery to science. It’s still unknown what causes or triggers their development. An obese Samoyed may have a higher chance of developing autoimmune diseases such as hypothyroidism or VKH (Uveodermatologic Syndrome).

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How to Tell If Your Samoyed Overweight or Underweight?

One big benefit of religiously maintaining your Samoyed’s ideal weight is the possibility of extending your pet’s life for two more years. Adversely, there’s a real and grave impact on your dog’s lifespan and quality of life when they are overweight or underweight.

The Body Condition System, developed by Nestlé Purina Pet Care Center, makes it easy for dog lovers to assess the weight of their dog by simply looking at and feeling parts of its body.

However, since Samoyeds have thick coats, it can be more difficult to assess your Sammie’s body condition by sight alone or in a matter of seconds.

Below I give you more concrete tips on how to discern your Sammie’s body condition.

Underweight Samoyed

Feel for your Sammie’s ribcage. If you can instantly feel its ribs, as if they’re just right under the skin, then your Sammie is underweight.

Look at your Samoyed from above and from the side. If your Sammie doesn’t seem to have any body fat or very small muscle mass for its size and age, then your pet is underweight.

View your Sammie from the side. If you can see its waist and abdomen tucked way up and so much narrower than its ribcage, then your dog falls behind the ideal weight.

Aside from these physical signs, if your Sammie also displays weakness and lethargy, he or she is underweight.

Being underweight can be a symptom of an underlying health problem, so when you notice that your Sammie is under the ideal weight, make sure to visit and consult your vet about it.

Poor nutrition can also cause your dog to be underweight. And this can lead to developing cataracts which is an eye condition that can progress to blindness.

Ideal Weight Samoyed

Your Sammie has an ideal weight if there is some fat (but not excessive) covering its ribs. You can still feel its rib cage but you can also feel a layer of fat before it.

Look at your Sammie from above. You should be able to see its waist behind its ribs. Now look at your Sammie from the side. You should be able to see its abdomen tucked up.

Overweight Samoyed

Check your Sammie from above. Your dog is overweight if you can’t see its waist. View your Samoyed from the side. If its abdomen is distended or saggy, then it needs to lose some weight.

Get a feel of your Sammie’s entire body. If you can’t feel your Sammie’s ribs easily or if you have to really push hard to feel them, then your pet is overweight.

If your Sammie has huge fat deposits on its neck, its spine, and the base of its tail, then your dog is over the ideal weight.

Watch this video to see how a vet checks a dog’s body condition score, that is, whether a dog is underweight, ideal weight, or overweight. (Note though that the vet in this video uses a different scoring system from Nestlé Purina’s Body Condition System.)

Overweight Samoyed: How to Help Your Samoyed Lose Weight?

So what do you do if your Sammie is overweight? I always recommend that you consult your vet to check that its weight gain is not a symptom of a serious health condition. Your vet can also give you advice on how you can help your Samoyed lose weight.

Watch this vet give advice on what you can do to help your dog lose weight (from 10:11):

Here’s a summary of the vet’s advice. You can, of course, tailor these tips to fit your Sammie’s needs and personality.

• Feed lower calorie treats such as baby carrots, green beans, or small pieces of apple.
• Feed low fat meats such as tuna fish or lean pieces of meat.
• Dilute kibble with low fat chicken broth or mix kibble with green beans.
• Consider just feeding your dog with canned food instead of kibble.
• Walk your dog or play ball with it.
• If interested, you can also do home cooking for your dog.

Underweight Samoyed: How to Help Your Samoyed Gain Weight?

If your Samoyed is underweight, I advise you to have your vet look at your dog just to be sure that there is also no serious medical issue behind it.

If all is well, the easiest thing you can do to help your Samoyed gain weight is to add more calories to its diet.

Choose high-quality dog food or even consider making your own dog food to really control the calorie intake of your pet. Remember to consult your vet about this and do your research first.

Another way of adding pounds to your Samoyed is by spreading its meal times throughout the day. You can feed your Sammie in small portions but more often. This way your Sammie always has the energy to burn and some more calories to store and reach its ideal weight.

You can also try supplemental meals and snacks for your Sammie aside from its usual meals. Try to find out which foods your Sammie likes the best to encourage your dog to eat well.

Keep your Samoyed physically and mentally happy by giving it the daily exercise it needs and your love and attention. A well-loved dog is more likely to eat well and live happily.

Tips for Weighing and Measuring Your Samoyed

Since a Samoyed is a medium-sized dog, you might find it difficult to use a human weighing scale to get its weight especially if it’s already or close to its full-grown size.

If you’re strong enough or if your Sammie is still in its puppyhood, you can do the following steps:

1. Weigh yourself. Take note of your weight.
2. Lift your dog and get on the weighing scale. Take note of the weight.
3. Subtract the weight you recorded in 2 from that in 1. Now you have your Sammie’s weight!

You can also train your dog to do a tight sit on a bathroom weighing scale as demonstrated in this video:

To measure your Sammie’s height, you need a cardboard taped on a flat wall, tape measures, and a pen or pencil. Watch this tutorial video on how to use these common tools to get your dog’s height.

Commonly Asked Questions

Can You Weigh Your Samoyed on a Human Scale?

Yes, it’s possible to weigh your Samoyed on a human scale provided you can train it to sit still on the scale long enough for you to see its weight.

How to Determine Your Samoyed’s Ideal Weight?

A Samoyed’s ideal weight depends on two things – whether it’s a male or a female and its age. Look at the table I provided above to see the ideal weight range of male and female Samoyeds in different stages of their lives.

If your Samoyed falls below or above this ideal weight range at a particular age, don’t panic. First, talk to your breeder and find out about the growth curve of your Sammie’s parents. Not all Samoyeds have the same growth curve and some are actually slow to develop.

And as always, if you have some doubts, consult your vet.

At What Age Is a Samoyed No Longer a Puppy?

A Samoyed is considered a full-grown dog and no longer a puppy at 14 months for males and 16 months for females. They reach their maturity at two and a half to three or four years of age.

Does Neutering or Spaying Affect the Growth and Development of a Samoyed?

No, neutering and spaying do not affect the growth and development of your Samoyed. However, a study shows that neutering poses an increased risk of hip and elbow dysplasia, which the Samoyed breed is predisposed to.

On the other hand, neutering and spaying also have a lot of benefits such as less bad behavior and sexual urges, improving your Sammie’s longevity, and fewer risks of developing certain kinds of cancer.

Talk to your vet to weigh the pros and cons of and the most opportune timing in neutering and spaying your Samoyed.

Final Thoughts

Keeping track of your Samoyed’s growth curve in the various stages of its life and maintaining its ideal weight requires you to pay attention to your Sammie’s diet, physical and mental well-being.

This means you, as a pet parent, need to invest a considerable amount of effort, time and money to ensure your Sammie will always have its adorable and happy smile.

Learning as much as you can about your Samoyed, as shown by your reading this article, tells me that you only want the best for your fluffy and friendly pet. At the end of the day, all your effort and investment will be rewarded as you’ve got yourself a best friend for life.