The Breed

The Yakutian Laika dog comes from Russia, in particular from the Russian region of Yakutia, from which it took its name.

The Italian register of dog breeds ENCI has recognized this breed only quite recently. This is one of the reasons why, particularly in our country, Yakutian Laikas are still almost entirely unknown, and tend to sound like a new breed to people.

This breed belongs to group 5, Spitz and primitive dogs, section 1: Nordic sledge dogs.

The very first references to these dogs can be traced back as far as 1635.

In his book "The Survey of the Economic Condition and the Statistics of Russian Empire", published in 1849, Professor Ivan Gorlov described the ways to keep Yakutian Laika dogs and their functions: ‘Yakutians use the dogs for sledding and carrying heavy loads. All year round dogs stay in the open air, in the summer digging a hole in the ground to cool themselves or lie in water because of mosquitoes. In winter they look for a shelter in deep snow pits curling up and covering muzzle with a furry tail’.

What makes the Yakutian Laika stand out among other primitive working breeds, is the versatility they have demonstrated over time, both in Russia and in many other Nordic countries. For many centuries, these dogs have accompanied the northern people in their daily life, helping them with various tasks: from hunting, passing by guarding their homes to herding reindeers; and above all, transporting people and goods in the extremely difficult conditions of the far north.

The YLs are medium-sized dogs, their appearance is very similar to the Huskies, and just like the Huskies’ eyes theirs can be black, blue, brown, or one of one color and one of another! Or even, they can have an eye of two different colors at the same time!

They are sled dogs and you can see it in their gait and their movement, which are very different from my beloved Australian or the Italian Maremmano-Abruzzese sheepdog that I have owned for years now and I now know by heart. The YLs typical gaits are brisk trot and gallop. Their movement must be fast, agile and elastic.

YLs have erect ears (or half-pricked at most), covered with thick hair. Tail set high, covered with a thick furry coat, curled up as semicircle on the dog’s back; thick coat with a dense undercoat that allows them to face harsh arctic temperatures. Well-muscled, with a deep and long chest, strong and compact legs, with muscled toes covered with thick hair, a proud and cheerful look… and hypnotic!

Sexual dimorphism is quite pronounced. The male is larger, with stronger bones, a wider chest and a larger head, and usually their coat is more pronounced.

Males’ size ranges between 55 and 59 cm, while females range between 53 and 57 cm.

Colour can range from full white to almost full black. Full black and merle are not allowed. Their most common colour is black and white.

Ever since I own these dogs, people have been asking very often – and exactly because these dogs are not yet very well known - how is their typical behaviour, their temperament?

There is one answer that is certainly the most appropriate: they cling on people!! They love being totally, irremediably close to me, at all times. And if by any chance they finally decide to be on their own, they just need to share a casual glance to rush back at full speed by my side, ready to receive cuddles!!! You know, Bostick glue? Super attack glue? Well, there you go - Are you doing something? Here they are!

As they meet strangers, they may show some initial wariness and may bark a couple of times, but then, should the strangers prove to be friendly and calm, suddenly they’ll glue to them to get cuddles all around! And if you don't cuddle them… they roll on the ground, they give you their paw, they push you with their muzzle! In short, they are just telling you "ohhh, how long will it take for you to finally give me those freaking cuddles?!!!"

They are cheerful dogs, with a strong prey drive (... Dune caught a poor mockingbird while it was flying! I was completely blown away by it…), they are impressively chatty (ohhhh yes !! You can engage in plenty of witty repartees where certainly you don’t feel stupid talking to yourself they are playful, perfect with children and they have such a gentleness I would not have anticipated.

They are smart, and eager to please their owner. Ready for play and have fun.

When they are well trained, they respect the rules thoroughly and very easily. You just need to be firm so that they understand your rules, and then that's it!

They have amazing dog-to-dog communication skills, most likely since they are pack dogs, so they must be able to talk to each other very well. They flaunt the whole repertoire of dogs’ communication signals! You can check, they perform all of them by the book!

They have lots of respect for people. And they are suitable for pet therapy as well, right because of the sweetness they show towards people, matched with their intelligence with learning commands.

They are active dogs who are also respectful of moments of peace and quiet. They absolutely need to unleash their energies, both physical (after all, they were born to run long distances pulling a sled!) and also mental! So an active and/or a sports person with whom they can share runs, sports and long walks is certainly a perfect match for them. But they also need human contact (and here we wind back to the Bostick thing I mentioned above!), so they need people who will devote some time to them and can spend some time together.

They are certainly not suitable as "couch dogs". They have lots of energy to spare!

When trained in a sport, they are dogs that can give lots of satisfaction to their owners, obviously if learning times of both their breed and the individual are respected!