The Samoyed dog (pronounced with the accent on the second syllable) takes its name from an obsolete term for the Nenets people of Siberia. These nomadic reindeer herders bred the fluffy, white, smiling dogs to help with the herding, to pull sleds when they moved, and to keep their owners warm at night by sleeping on top of them. The Samoyed name quickly become obsolete after the Russian Revolution (perceived as derogatory, see Nenets article), but by then Arctic explorers (e.g., Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen) had brought enough of the dogs back to Europe to keep the name and to establish the breed both there and in the U.S. The breed is sometimes nicknamed "The Smiley Dog" because they usually have a permanent smiling look that makes them appear pleased to see everyone.

The dogs are still used to pull sleds, but are seldom used for herding anymore. Their friendly disposition makes them poor protection dogs, but excellent watchdogs and companions, especially for small children or even other dogs. Samoyeds are also known to be at times very stubborn. Perhaps the best known Samoyed was Laika, the first living creature launched into orbit, was a terrier mixed with Samoyed.