American Staffordshire Terrier vs Samoyed — Side by Side

	American Staffordshire Terrier	Samoyed
Lifespan	10-15 years	12-14 years
Size	Medium	Medium
Weight	40-70 lb	35-65 lb
Energy	High	Very high
Grooming	Low	High
Shedding	Moderate	High
With kids	With supervision	Good with kids

What actually separates them

Less hair on the sofa with the American Staffordshire Terrier. More with the Samoyed.
Less brushing with the American Staffordshire Terrier. More with the Samoyed.
Calmer of the two is the American Staffordshire Terrier. The one that needs more exercise is the Samoyed.
American Staffordshire Terrier tends to live longer — 10-15 years against 12-14 years.
With young children, Samoyed is the safer default — American Staffordshire Terrier is listed as "With supervision".

The honest downside of each

American Staffordshire Terrier

This breed carries some of the most restrictive breed-specific legislation of any dog worldwide — outright bans or ownership conditions exist in multiple countries and in various US cities and counties — and many landlords and home-insurance policies exclude the breed by name regardless of an individual dog's temperament or training.

Samoyed

That famous 'Sammy smile' comes with real costs sellers rarely mention: this breed's odds of developing diabetes are roughly 30 times higher than the average dog's according to UK and North American veterinary data, and its dense Arctic coat means it can genuinely overheat in weather most dogs handle fine.

Read the full pages

American Staffordshire Terrier · Samoyed
Health problems, origin and what living with each is actually like.