Do Samoyeds Get Along With Cats?(with Video)

Can Samoyeds and Cats Get Along?

Can cats and Samoyed’s get along? A fundamental question if you are thinking of adding a Samoyed to your family and have a resident cat. Whether dogs get along with cats will largely depend on what breed of dog you have and their temperament. Samoyeds are a joyous breed that loves people and a good time. But do they like and get along with cats?

The Samoyed is an excellent choice for a dog to keep with a cat. Their happy temperament helps a lot. Friends with people of all kinds and loving social interactions above all, Samoyeds can love cats too. How you train them also matters. Having a dog well socialized and a house set up for a cat, and a dog can make or break the relationship.

It’s important to prepare yourself with the knowledge to know how to train and set up your home for your Samoyed and feline friend. Introducing a dog and cat to each is a large undertaking even with a happy-go-lucky Samoyed.

From dog training, cat training, and house set-up, this article should give you all the knowledge that will best prepare for your cat and dog household.

A History of the Samoyed

The fluffy white Samoyed originated amongst the Samoyed people of Siberia, also inheriting its’ name. In Siberia, you could find ancient Samoyeds hauling sleds, as well as hunting and herding deer.

As explorers of the 19th century began to explore icy arctic territories, the Samoyed was often found to be the ideal choice for the voyage. It was during this time that the Samoyed finally began making its way out of Siberia and becoming known by the larger world.

Samoyeds belong to the Spitz breed of dog and have been grouped by researchers into the most ancient group of dog breeds as a basal breed.

How Big Are Samoyeds?

Samoyeds are not large dogs. They fall into the mid-sized category. With a height standing a little taller than 20 inches and weight in about 50 pounds or so, the Samoyed is in that perfect middle group where they’re not too small nor too big.

Concerning cats, this can be an excellent thing. Sometimes with small dogs, they run the risk of getting bullied by a cat. Possessing sharp claws often allows cats to punch above their weight.

Of course, with big dogs, the opposite is a risk. Some breeds of dogs are even so much larger than a cat that they could hurt the cat without even intending it.

Samoyeds are just big enough that the cat can’t abuse them, but yet not large enough too be a significant risk to the cat.

How to Introduce a Puppy to an Adult Cat

If you already have a cat, and you want to get a new puppy, a Samoyed is an excellent choice. But there are some strategies that would be good to follow to help make sure that they have a good first impression.

Keep the puppy in a cordoned-off area of the house at first. This can be a good idea even without a cat since puppies can get into a lot of trouble without supervision. It’s easier to puppy proof a single room rather than an entire house. This will also allow the cat and puppy to smell each other before they meet, letting them psychologically prepare.

Before you introduce the puppy to the cat, play exuberantly with the puppy. One of the potential flashpoints for a puppy and cat is the puppy high energy. By playing with the puppy beforehand this allows them to burn off some of their energy.

Then when you finally introduce them face to face, let them interact with each other but watch very closely. Do not allow your cat and Samoyed to play with each other unsupervised until you’re sure they are friendly with each other.

If things ever seem to get too tense or the cat gets annoyed, then gently pick the puppy up and end the play session for that time.

This video shows a pretty good introduction- note the leash (which should only be used if they are not a puppy) and owners stay close at hand to monitor their interactions.

Training Your Samoyed

While Samoyeds can naturally get along well with cats, you do need to do some training with them.

It’s essential when training them that you be consistent in your commands and rewards. Without this consistency, it will be tough for your dog to understand what you want from them.

Give Your Samoyed a Command Phrase

A command phrase is a word like “no” or “stop” that will make your dog instantly stop what it’s doing. When having a dog and cat, it is important that you be able to command your dog to stop on a dime.

This way if things starting getting bad between your Samoyed and cat you can quickly stop them.

Setting Your House Up for Success

Along with training your Samoyed, it’s also important that you set up your house and environment to foster peace. Animals do well with order. So create some order in your household

  • Feed your cat in a different place then your dog
  • Give your cat safe areas
  • Provide your cat with cat trees and high up walkways.

Feed Them Separately

An animal’s tendency to protect its food can be a major source of tension if it isn’t managed correctly. It’s easy for a dog and cat to fight over food. They cant really help it. It’s just how nature designed them. Even though there may be plenty of food, a little voice in their head tells them they must protect it cause their life depends upon it.

To manage this issue, feed your cat separately from your Samoyed. It’s best to feed your cat somewhere up high, like on a kitchen counter or a table. Be careful and make sure its a location that doesn’t have any precious objects. Even the nicest cat will have a hard time fighting the temptation of knocking things over.

This way it will be impossible for your dog to steal your cat’s food. Of course, it doesn’t necessarily help with the cat stealing the Samoyeds food. But dogs generally will chow down all their food quickly so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

Make a Cat Room

Give your cat a place of their own. It can be anywhere you want, whatever works for you and your cat. It could be in the laundry room, a bedroom, or even part of a hallway. Whatever place you choose, don’t allow your dog in it.

Samoyeds love interacting with both people and other animals. They almost never get tired of it. They’re just jovial beings like that. But most cats are not the same. They need alone time for at least a small part of the day. Otherwise, they can get very cranky.

You can block off the area with a child-gate. Though not as significant a problem as with bigger dogs, some Samoyeds might knock the gate over or even perhaps jump over it. Strongly discourage this. If you see this happening, chastise your dog, and after a few times, they should get the idea and stop.

Give Your Cat a Cat Tree

Cat trees can be great things for cats. They love being high up, which a cat tree gives them. It’s not as good a real tree of course. But in the absence of the great outdoors it can make a worthy stand-in.

It will also give your cat a productive way of spending their time. Nothing makes a cat as happy as climbing things. And if they don’t have a cat tree to climb then they might end up climbing your drapes.

The most important reason for a cat tree is that it allows your cat to escape your dog. The reason for this escape could because of the dog being aggressive or just the dog being annoying. Either way this way the cat can make a quick dash for their tree and be safe.

If cats feel cornered they can lash out with claws and teeth. But if they have a way out then their far more likely to flee rather than fight.


Cats and dogs can become good friends with a little bit of preparation. Samoyeds are probably one of the better breeds for this friendship. But you will need to do some training for the dog and set up your household to foster positive feelings.

  • Train your dog with a command phrase
  • Introduce a puppy to a cat gradually at first
  • Separate your animals’ feeding areas
  • Give your cat a hideaway
  • Get your cat somethings that it’s okay for them to climb.

While nothing is always guaranteed, good training combined with a friendly breed like a Samoyed should give you an excellent chance of success.

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