The coat of the West Siberian Laika is a double coat of harsh straight guard hairs and thick and soft undercoat. The guard hairs on the neck, around the head and shoulders are particularly long and stiff. Together with a very thick undercoat they form a ruff framing the dog's face. On the tail, the guard hair and undercoat are also longer and thicker than on the rest of the body. In wintertime, dogs living in cold climate grow hair between the toes. Although the coat quality varies individually, dogs raised in countries with cold climates have longer and thicker coats than dogs that live in warm and hot climates or dogs that are kept inside most of the time.