Samoyed Australian Shepherd Mix: The Wild and Hairy Truth About This Hybrid Breed

The Samoyed Australian Shepherd mix is going to be a striking dog no matter which way you slice it.

These dogs will also have personality in spades and the energy level to match.

But as a hybrid dog breed, it can be hard to know exactly what your puppy will look and act like. This is what we will look at in this article.

Samoyed Australian Shepherd Mix

The Samoyed Australian Shepherd mix dog is a hybrid dog breed – this means a breed that is still in the early stages of development.

Because of this, studying the parent dog breeds is the best way to learn what your puppy might grow up to be like.

See a Samoyed and an Australian Shepherd Playing Together

In this short but heart-warming YouTube video, you can watch a Samoyed playing and tussling with an Australian Shepherd.

Samoyed Australian Shepherd Mix: Dog Breeds History

Whenever you choose a hybrid dog breed there can be more uncertainty about every aspect of life together.

But you can do a lot to prepare by learning more about the history of each parent dog breed.

Samoyed history

The Samoyed dog breed was developed to work alongside people in Siberia.

As the Samoyed Dog Club of America points out, the Samoyed breed is now thought to be one of the 14th oldest dog breeds on the planet!

It has plenty of crossbreeds.

Australian Shepherd history

Australian Shepherd dogs may be named for Australia, but these dogs actually hail from Europe. They are also thought to be an ancient dog breed line dating back to the Basque people of France and Spain.

From the earliest days of the breed development, Australian Shepherds worked as herding and livestock guarding dogs.

As their people moved about in search of the ideal sheep pasture, they colonized Australia and then America.

Americans thought the dogs were Australian, so they were given the name Australian Shepherd and it stuck – even though, as the Australian Shepherd Dog Club of America points out, these dogs are about as all-American as a dog can get!

Samoyed Australian Shepherd mix history

As you can see, you are going to get a hybrid puppy that comes from true working dog stock on both sides.

So prepare for your dog to herd you, your family, and perhaps the other family pets – and to need a lot of together-time with you!

Samoyed Australian Shepherd Mix Personality & Temperament

Learning more about the personality and temperament of each parent dog is another great way to prepare for life with your hybrid Samoyed Australian Shepherd puppy.

Samoyed personality and temperament

The Samoyed may look like wild wolves and share a very close genetic link to the modern dog’s ancient wolf ancestors, but they are gentle on the inside and live to be with their people.

The Samoyed breed has evolved to work and live side by side with people and cannot be left alone or in the company of another canine.

Australian Shepherd personality and temperament

The Australian Shepherd has a lively, exuberant temperament and a high energy drive that can be overwhelming for people used to more sedentary dog breeds.

These dogs are intensely smart and can be aggressive if not trained and socialized well from puppyhood.

Samoyed Australian Shepherd mix personality and temperament

This is the area where you may see the most diversity in early hybrid puppy litters since the Samoyed and the Australian Shepherd dog personalities are quite different.

Samoyed Australian Shepherd Mix: Size, Height, and Weight

Luckily, there are as many sizes and shapes of dogs as there are people who love dogs.

But it is always harder to predict a hybrid puppy’s adult height, size, and weight because there is no accurate way to predict how the parent dogs’ genes will interact during mating.

In early hybrid litters (F1, f1b), two puppies from the same litter can end up looking very different depending on which parent dog has the most genetic influence!

What does this mean for you when you are trying to plan for how much room you will need in your home, your car, and your life for your grown hybrid Samoyed Australian Shepherd?

It means that meeting the parent dogs can help a lot more than any generic guesstimate to predict how big your puppy will grow up to be.

Here is an overview of the general size, height, and weight of the Samoyed and Australian Shepherd so you can start to get a picture of what is possible.

If you really need your dog to be below a certain height or weight, working with a later generation (F2, F3, or later) hybrid dog breeder is the best way to control for adult dog size.

Samoyed size, height, and weight

The American Kennel Club (AKC) states that the Samoyed dog breed generally weighs between 35 and 65 pounds. On average, adult female dogs weigh about 10 pounds less than adult male dogs.

In terms of height, a Samoyed usually stands between 19 and 23.5 inches tall (measured from paw pad base to shoulder top). Here again, adult males generally stand up to two inches taller than adult females.

This might be surprising to hear, given that these dogs often look really big!

But as you saw in the short YouTube video you watched in an earlier section here, it is an illusion caused by the Samoyed dog’s thick, woolly coat.

Australian Shepherd size, height, and weight

The Australian Shepherd is considered to be a medium-size dog breed. As the American Kennel Club (AKC) explains, the Aussie Shepherd typically weighs between 40 and 65 pounds.

Female dogs typically weigh about 10 pounds less than male dogs in adulthood.

Height-wise, a female Australian Shepherd typically stands 18 to 21 inches tall (paw pad base to shoulder top) and a male Aussie Shepherd stands around 21 to 23 inches tall.

Samoyed Australian Shepherd size, height, and weight

As you can now see, there isn’t going to be a lot of weight, size, and height variance to expect with a Samoyed Australian Shepherd puppy growing up.

Unlike with many other popular hybrid dog breeds, both parent dogs are actually quite similar in height, weight, and adult size.

The one big difference, which can affect adult appearance if not actual dog size, is what coat type your hybrid puppy inherits. We will talk more about that uncertainty in another section here.

Samoyed Australian Shepherd Mix: Training and Exercise Needs

One of the most important considerations when choosing a companion canine is your time availability and lifestyle and whether that is a match for the dog breed you are choosing.

Samoyed training and exercise needs

The Samoyed has a strong work ethic and naturally high energy, just like most working dog breeds.

In adulthood, once the growth plates have closed, it is safe to engage in vigorous exercise, which is something these dogs need and crave.

Australian Shepherd training and exercise needs

The Australian Shepherd’s natural energy level and enthusiasm for athletic activity is often described as “off the charts.”

Samoyed Australian Shepherd training and exercise needs

Regardless of which parent dog your hybrid puppy most favors, you can expect your dog to crave and expect to have lots of daily exercise and activity.

Samoyed Australian Shepherd Mix: Coat Care, Shedding & Grooming

If there is one aspect of owning a dog that can really take up a lot of your time, it is coat care.

This is especially true with long-haired and bushy-coated dogs – dogs like the Samoyed and the Australian Shepherd breeds.

Neglecting coat care can lead to some truly hairy issues including tangles and mats that lead to skin infections and worse.

In this section, we take a look at each parent dog’s coat and imagine what type of coat care you might expect with a hybrid Samoyed Australian Shepherd dog.

Samoyed coat care, shedding, and grooming

The Samoyed’s coat is so big and bushy it almost announces itself before the dog!

While the fluffy white coat makes the Samoyed look like a show ring dandy, the truth is that the coat is a working dog coat with important protective properties.

As you learned in the earlier section here on dog breed history, the Samoyed breed originated in Siberia, which is quite literally one of the coldest places on Earth.

So that thick bushy coat is a winter coat in every sense of the word.

This type of coat is prone to tangles and mats as well as intense shedding. You will need to brush your dog daily to keep shed hair and tangles under control.

And then twice per year, expect event owners call a “coat blow” – it is like a snowstorm but with dog hair. This happens when the undercoat sheds out.

Australian Shepherd coat care, shedding, and grooming

The Australian Shepherd also has a working dog coat – a thick, double layer coat that is designed with inbuilt protective properties to keep the dog warm and dry.

But the Australian Shepherd’s coat is long-haired rather than bushy, so it is harder to tell just how much hair this dog breed has.

Nevertheless, Aussie Shepherd owners soon discover the answer to this question is “a lot.” These dogs also are prone to tangles and mats and will shed their undercoat seasonally.

So here again, expect a lot of brushing and grooming daily.

Samoyed Australian Shepherd mix coat care, shedding, and grooming

Regardless of whether your Samoyed Australian Shepherd mix puppy grows up to sport a bushy thick white coat from the Samoyed parent dog, a flat long-hair coat from the Australian Shepherd parent dog, or a hybrid coat type, you will have a lot of work to do.

Your dog is going to need daily brushing and grooming to prevent tangles and mats and deal with the constant outflow of the shed, dead dog hair.

This will never be truer than during the seasonal coat blows when the undercoat sheds out.

Samoyed Australian Shepherd Mix: Longevity & Health Issues

Learning about the health of each parent dog breed is the best way to avoid choosing a hybrid puppy that has inherited any serious preventable health issues.

Samoyed longevity and health issues

According to the Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) database, the Samoyed dog breed may potentially pass along these heritable health issues if bred without pre-testing:

• Eye health issues.
• Hip dysplasia (ball and socket abnormality).
• Cardiac issues.
• Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA).
• Retinal Dysplasia/Oculoskeletal Dysplasia (RD/OSD collagen disorder, dwarfism).

The Samoyed has a typical life expectancy of 12 to 14 years.

Australian Shepherd longevity and health issues

Based on the latest data from the Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) database, the Australian Shepherd dog can potentially transmit these genetic health conditions if bred:

• Eye health issues.
• Hip and elbow dysplasia (ball and socket joint malformation).
• Eye anomalies.
• Autoimmune thyroiditis.
• Sensitivity to drugs (including anesthetic).

The Australian Shepherd dog generally lives between 12 to 15 years.

Samoyed Australian Shepherd mix: longevity and health issues

As you can clearly see, the two-parent dog breeds do share a propensity for certain genetic health issues such as hip dysplasia and eye health issues.

This makes it especially critical to ask your breeder for results of pre-breeding health screening tests for all of the health issues you just read about here.

Samoyed Australian Shepherd Mix: Is This the Right Dog For You?

For the right owner who has time to care for the coat and provide an active daily lifestyle, there is no more loving and loyal dog than the Samoyed Australian Shepherd mix.

Related Reading: Can Australian Shepherds Sleep Outside?