KENAI
Yakutian Laika

The breeds · hunting spitz · hunting spitz

AKC Miscellaneous · FCI standard 365

Yakutian Laika.

FCI utilization: sledge and hunting dog; a sled and hunting dog of the aboriginal people of north-east Russia, also helping to hunt, watch the home, herd reindeer and transport goods. Yakutian Laika Club of America (Showsight): traditionally used for transport by sled, hunting of small and large game, and guarding reindeer herds and dwellings; a hunter, watchdog, reindeer herder and transporter of people and goods. AKC Expert Advice: assisted with hunting, herding reindeer and pulling sleds; as a hunting breed it pursued large animals, including arctic foxes..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

0INHeightdogs null, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
40–55LBWeight, all linesbreed 40 to 55 lb.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 21 to 23.5 in · bitches 20.5 to 23 in

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2019

Low and high span the AKC page header, the club and FCI (FCI converted from cm). No ideal is printed.

Weight

40 to 55 lb

Breed clubAKC

Single source (AKC page header).

Coat

FCI: thick, glossy, straight, coarse, medium-length coat with a very developed thick dense undercoat; a mane on the neck, especially in males; feathering on the back of the legs; white and any patching (bicolour or tricolour); solid colours except white and short smooth hair disqualify. Showsight (YLCA): double coat with heavy feathering in the forelegs and trousers and a mane.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2019

Shedding

Shedding 4 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

2 of 5 · Thick, coarse double coat with a very developed dense undercoat and a mane, built for severe Arctic conditions (FCI)

DerivedFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2019

Derived from the coat description (heavy double = 2). No measured data.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Energy

AKC breed page: Energy Level 5 of 5, Mental Stimulation Needs 5, Trainability 3, Barking Level 4, Affectionate With Family 5, Good With Young Children 5, Openness to Strangers 1, Watchdog/Protective Nature 5. AKC page header lists Life Expectancy 10 to 12 years (the AKC's own figure, not a study).

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands, not measured. Life-expectancy header kept as text only.

Grooming load

2 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming

AKC breed page: Coat Grooming Frequency 2 of 5, Shedding Level 4, Drooling Level 3.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

FCI utilization: sledge and hunting dog; a sled and hunting dog of the aboriginal people of north-east Russia, also helping to hunt, watch the home, herd reindeer and transport goods. Yakutian Laika Club of America (Showsight): traditionally used for transport by sled, hunting of small and large game, and guarding reindeer herds and dwellings; a hunter, watchdog, reindeer herder and transporter of people and goods. AKC Expert Advice: assisted with hunting, herding reindeer and pulling sleds; as a hunting breed it pursued large animals, including arctic foxes.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2019

Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Primary game

Yakutian Laika Club of America: small and large game. AKC Expert Advice: large animals, arctic foxes named. FCI names hunting but no species.

Breed clubShowsight

No species list in the FCI standard. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Also used on

Yakutian Laika Club of America: sled transport, reindeer herding and guarding. AKC Expert Advice: pulling sleds, herding reindeer, mail and long-distance travel; in the US, conformation, coursing ability, sledding and herding. FCI: sled, herding, hunting and watching the home.

Breed clubShowsight

Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Cold water

4 of 5 · Coat 'sufficient for living and working in severe Arctic conditions' (FCI)

DerivedFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2019

Derived from coat and the FCI Arctic description. No measured data; no water-work source read.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

13% · OFA all-data: 131 evaluations, 13.0% dysplastic (mild 12.2, moderate 0.8, severe 0); excellent 11.5, good 55.0, fair 16.8.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA submissions are breeding-stock skewed; small n (131); period undated. The US population is about 200 dogs per the Yakutian Laika Club of America (AKC Expert Advice).

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 5; Mental Stimulation Needs 5; Trainability Level 3; Barking Level 4; Watchdog/Protective Nature 5; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 1; Good With Other Dogs 4; Shedding Level 4; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 3; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 4; Adaptability Level 4.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

No KENAI kennel lists the Yakutian Laika yet. If you breed them, list your kennel free: it shows on this page and in the hunting dog breed finder, under every handler whose answers land on the breed.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 4 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Yakut, Yakutskaya Laika

Every breed, read the same way.

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