I'm about to adopt a 2 and a half to 3 year old samoyed from a shelter. He was neglected and when his neighbours took him to the shleter his fur was matted so they had to cut out all the tangles (he isn't bald he just has fairly short fur). I was just wondering if there could be any health issues with having the short coat, like could he get sunburnt? Will he get too hot or too cold? And I was also wondering if his coat would grow back the same as a normal samoyed. I actually don't mind how he looks now so would keeping his fur short be a problem?

We also have an older cat at home, about 10 years old. He is fairly skittish, runs away from strangers and hasn't had much contact with dogs. How should we go about introducing the dog to the cat and making sure the dog doesn't try to hurt him?

Samoyeds are double coated breeds, meaning they have a soft, fluffy layer of hair close to the skin and then above that the hair is coarser and not as dense.
The undercoat works as insulation, it helps keep them cooler in summer and warmer in winter so shaving a double coated breed is generally a no-no, in this case though it was unavoidable.

I would just let it grow back and make sure you brush every second day to get out the dead hair, it won't take more than 5 minutes and by doing it often you not only get the dog used to being brushed, but it means you won't have to spend a solid hour at the end of the week getting out matts.

White dogs can get sunburnt so if he has any patches of skin showing I would apply sunscreen if he is going to be outdoors for any length of time.
You can buy dog sunscreen at pet stores or you can just use baby sunscreen (not regular adult ones).
Most important place to apply is the tips of the ears and the belly/inside of legs.


As for introducing to a cat it is a very slow process.
I would start just by bringing the dog into the house on a leash and letting the cat come up to him at it's own pace.
You could also try crating the dog somewhere like the living room and allowing the cat free-run so it gets used to the dog.

Has the dog been temperament tested with cats at the shelter? Are you sure the dog isn't going to think the cat is lunch?

Thanks for the reply.
When we first saw him the lady working at the shelter walked him past the cat cages and got him to sniff a cat through the bars, He sniffed but never tried to bite. When we brought him home he saw the cat running into the garden so he wanted to chase it but what dog isn't going to chase a running cat. So far the cat has gone up to the dog but I had to hold the dog still and the cat ran out when he got close to the dog. The dog would be used to the cat's scent by now but they haven't had much contact and the cat is now constantly hiding behind my bed

Keep the cat on the other side of a door from the dog always. This may take a week or two. The dog and cat can sniff under the door and meet noses there but can't hurt each other. One day, put the cat in the carrier and show the dog & cat to each other then put the cat in another room. Give the cat some loving pets and when you feel it is safe, bring the cat in the carrier again, let them meet. After about half hour slowly let the cat out of the carrier.