East European Laika

The cradle of the breed is located in the northern regions of Russia in the regions of Komi, Udmurtia, Arkhangelsk, Yaroslavl, Tver, and Moscow. The first mention of this northern dog is found in The Album of Northern Sled Dogs – Laika by Alexei Alexandrovich Shirinsky-Shikhmatov in 1895: the dogs mentioned in this work were called Cheremis and Zyryanskiy laikas. In 1947, the various dogs from the regions above were united into a single and same breed: the Russo-European Laika. The official standard is approved in 1952.

The Russo-European Laika is described in the FCI standard as a dog with a sure and balanced temperament.

Medium in size, the Russo-European Laika is a spitz-type dog with dry and medium to strong constitution, with solid bone structure and well-developed musculature. The body fits into a square; however, the body length can be slightly greater than the height at the withers. Sickle-shaped or rolled, the tail is carried on the back or on the back of the thighs. Sexual dimorphism is well pronounced. The head is wedge-shaped. Not very large, the eyes are oval, placed moderately obliquely and dark brown or brown in color. The erect ears are small in size and triangular in shape. The topcoat is hard, straight, with a well-developed undercoat. On the head and ears, the hair is short and well laid. On the neck, withers, and shoulders the hair is longer and forms on the cheeks whiskers and around the neck a collar. The most typical colors are black with white, or white with black. Solid black or solid white are also common.