This can step over into being stubborn at times and not looking to their owner for guidance. These skills all require a certain amount of being able to think for himself and, indeed, independence is one of the Laika’s qualities.
As a working dog, the Laika was trained as a draft animal, to hunt and protect, and to act as a guard dog. To understand the temperament of the East Siberian Laika it helps to think about the work he was expected to do. The breed comes in a range of colours including:
#East siberian laika full#
The hair is generally short on his head, transitioning down to a thicker ruff of fur around his neck and shoulders, and then a full coat over his body. There is no mistaking that thick coat means business in cold weather, with courser outer hairs and a thick soft undercoat that traps the air to keep him warm. However, regardless of head shape, the Laika has triangular prick ears and his tail is carried in a curl over his back. Some have a long, almost pointed muzzle reminiscent of a rough collie, whilst others are much blockier, like a husky. Interestingly, the head shape can vary depending on the region the dog hales from. Indeed, the breed is described as having a square outer silhouette, when speaking of the leg height and back length of the dog. He’s perhaps lighter and longer in the leg than a Husky, but with the same thick coat, prick ears, and alert expression. Think of a dog with looks that are part Spitz, part Husky, and part wolf and you’ll be pretty close to the appearance of an East Siberian Laika. His Russian name is Vostotchno-Sibirskaia Laika. In 1947, the East Siberia was recognised as a separate breed, but is not officially recognised by the UK or US Kennel Clubs. The East Siberian Laika also had an independent nature that made them good herders and drovers, whilst the protective instinct of the wolf made the Laika fiercely protective of those he was loyal to. They were invaluable as draft animals to pull sledges when deep snow made tracks impassable for other means of transport, but their talents didn’t end there. So, why was the breed developed? In the extreme Siberian cold, the Laika, with wolf ancestry contributing to his hardiness, was a rugged character with a thick coat that could cope with the freezing climate. Within the four Laika types, one of the factors that differentiate the East Siberian Laika is his size, and although not a huge dog, he does stand up as the tallest of the Laika types.
To some extent this diversity is still to be found in the breed as we see it today. Indeed, there was even quite a variation in the size of the adult dogs. However, we do know those earlier Laikas varied a lot in appearance with a diversity of different head proportions, ear size, and tail carriage. Indeed, take a look at the East Siberian Laika and it’s not hard to imagine that in some small way their wild ancestor, the wolf, still lurks beneath that thick coat of fur. It’s thought Chinese and Japanese immigrants brought with them the Spitz-type dogs that form one branch of the Laika’s family tree, although exactly how old the breed is and how far back their ancestors go is unclear as no records were made at the time.
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