Spend a few hours with a Samoyed, and you know you are in the presence of an ancient working dog. His whole instinct is to herd and pull, and keep close to you. His chief characteristic is his happy, alert expression and amazing smile, hence the nickname. His herding instinct is so strong that he will tend to herd anything in a group, and can often be seen gently rounding up children. Your Sammy will bond powerfully with you, but will be friendly towards everyone in the family and outsiders too. He will be a useful watchdog, as he has a tendency to bark, but won’t make a good guard dog, as he is far too nice to be aggressive.