Information About Malamutes

Malamutes are beautiful and wonderful dogs.  Most of them  are very intelligent, too intelligent sometimes.  If you are reading these pages, then I assume that you are considering purchasing, already own or just interested in malamutes.  If you already own a mal., then most of this will sound familiar.  If you are considering the purchase of a mal., then this information will be very important.  There are too many people, that just buy a pretty puppy without learning about the breed that they are purchasing.  Then, often they find, that there are things about the dog that doesn’t fit their lifestyles.  There are far too many dogs left at shelters every year.  It is our duty, as kennel owners and breeders to inform, those who are interested in our breed, about our breed.

These are big, powerful dogs.  If not trained properly they can be a real problem.  They love people and will do anything to be close to them, including jumping to greet guests and tackling you if you go into their yard. (all in the name of fun, for them!!!)  You should stop jumping at the very secondit starts.  A puppy that jumps is cute, but a 100 lb. dog barreling into you with little or no warning is painful.  I haven’t had much luck myself with the tackling part.  I have just learned to be quick in moving out of their way.  Leash training should be started either with the breeder or immediately after purchasing one.  This is crucial !!!  As I said before, these are powerful dogs, and it would take nothing for one of them to pull you wherever they wanted, while you dangled at the end of a leash. These are sledge dogs after all and pulling is what they know!!
They are a very pack orientated breed and enjoy being house dogs. This makes them feel included and part of the pack.  By this I mean, that when you own a malamute they consider you part of their pack.  They can be protective especially of children in your family.   But, don’t expect them to be a great guard dog.  They generally like people and would probably think of a burglar  as someone new to get attention from. Malamutes are working dogs and love to feel useful.  If they become bored they will chew whatever they can, dig holes to china in your yard and howl till your neighbors call the cops.  Occasionally they will do all of the above just to get your attention.  After all if they are digging craters in your yard, you will tend to bring them in where you are.  That would be their goal.  They do not do well without interaction with people.  If you are never home then a Malamute would not be the breed for you!!  When you are at work, it is a good idea to have things for them to chew and play with.  This will help them pass the time till you get home.  I like to see Malamutes placed in homes with fenced in yards.  That way they can get out there and run till their heart's content.  If someone doesn’t have a fenced yard, then at very least, they must like to walk, jog, bike or what ever it takes to keep their dog in good condition.  There is always weight pulling, sledding and skijoring, too.
Malamutes can be same sex aggressive.  This means that two males or two females may not get along well together.  I find that if you are firm and they know you mean business then it can be done.  But, even then I would never trust them unless I was right there to stop any possible fights. I would never want to see a novice with two of the same sex.  Malamutes can also be dog aggressive, with any dog that isn't in their pack.  I have one malamute that absolutely hates miniature pinchers.  Probably because of the way they yap at him at the dog shows.  They can take off after another dog in a flash if they feel provoked.  They can't tolerate being growled at or repetively barked at.  It is very important to have your puppy well socialized with other dogs at a very early age.  Also, puppy kindergarten is very helpful to help with training and socializing.  Growling at people or other dogs should never be tolerated, and must be reprimanded immediately.  If raised from puppy hood with other animals they are usually fine.  Many malamutes have grown up with cats and really love them.  I wouldn't suggest that a cat be introduced in the home of a mature malamute that has never been around one before, as they love to chase down small fuzzy critters and kill them.  With mine anything that comes in the yard when they are out is fair game.  I don't even let my pug out at the same time that they are all out.  Although, my male, Frodo, was raised with Noble (my pug) and he loves to play outside with her .  So the key is, to already have whatever other pet you would like before you purchase a malamute puppy.
They are very independent by nature.  This is something that has been bred into them because of the conditions of their survival in the arctic.  They can be very stubborn and seem to enjoy making the decisions for themselves, especially when it comes to the word "come".  They have a strange way of not hearing you when you say that word.  I usually train the command, come, by giving treats, but not all the time.  Sometimes I just pat them on the head and say, "good boy" or "good girl."  That way they don't always expect a treat but they know that there is a possibly that they might get one.  These dogs are not particularly great at obedience.  Not that they can't do it, but that they decide when they want to do it.  Like I said they are extremely intelligent and they have a mind of their own. Since I brought up treats, I might as well take this time to let you know that malamutes are definitely food orientated dogs.  I mean that they will do just about anything for a scrap of food.  Anything that you want to teach them they will probably do as long as you have a treat to give them.  This does not mean that after they learn it they will continue to do it if you do not have a treat.  The old, saying "the way to a mans heart is through his stomach" I think they meant malamute not man!!!  If you have something that's good, a malamute is always starving.  If they smell food they will go to it, even if it’s your neighbor's cookout. (another reason for a fence)  They will scavenge and steal whatever they can.  Including, but not limited to, food on the table, on the counter out of the garbage or out of the hand of a child (or adult if they aren’t paying attention). They can be taught not to do these things, but occasionally they will still slip up.  I find that putting up the garbage if I'm going to be out of the house works the best.  I also put up the bathroom garbage because they love to rummage in the tissues and leave them at the door to greet me when I get home.  They will also sit and stare at you when you're eating as if to taste every bite you put in your mouth.  They will lie patiently and wait till dinner is over, then check under my six year old son to make sure he didn't drop anything (usually they hit the jackpot there).  As much as they love food, it really doesn't take a lot of a premium dog food to keep them in nice condition.  It is very easy to over feed a malamute.  Most of them will eat and eat and eat as much as you give them.  It's best to discuss feeding and nutrition with the breeder you purchase the puppy from, because different breeders find best results with different foods and schedules of feeding for the lines they breed.
Malamutes are generally good with children, if the children are well behaved.  It has been my experience that they just love to play, lay beside, watch and even crawl into bed with children.  As long as the child isn't rough or nasty then it should be a match made in heaven.  Mals. tend to want to please children, to the point of learning tricks from the child and only performing them for that child.  They love to be hugged by children, as long as it's not too rough. There will be times that all you feel like you do is run the vacuum.  Shedding is part of life for malamutes.  Twice yearly for females and once yearly for males is the rule of thumb.  It will take a lot of brushing and vacuuming.  I usually give a bath when they start to blow their coat and this helps to expedite the shedding process.  Even though I do all of this my husband and children still leave the house wearing dog hair.  I never volunteer to cook anything for picnics  or family reunions during a major shed, for obvious reasons.  Just when you think you can't take it anymore you notice that they have stopped shedding and started growing it all back in.  They usually look sparse for about 4 to 6 weeks.  Then they begin to again look like the beautiful majestic dog you had before.  Even though they go through seasonal shed's malamutes are not particularly dirty dogs.  Dirt doesn't seem to stick to their hair.  Even their white doesn't seem to get very dirty.  If they get a little muddy, and it dries, it seems to brush right off.  They also don't have an odor like a lot of dogs do.  If you own a malamute and you get company they won't know you have a dog till they see one.
When buying a puppy you should make sure that the breeder has the proper health clearances for the parents and knows of any problems within the breeding lines.  All breeds have their own genetic problems.  With Alaskan Malamutes they should have their hips OFA’ed clear of hip dysplasia with a good or excellent rating before breeding.  Eyes CERF’ed clear  of heritable cataracts and other eye abnormalities.  They should also have been cleared of CHD (chondrodydplasia) or dwarfism.  There are other heritable diseases, such as bloat (gastric dilatation and Torsion) - The inability to pass food through the stomach into the small intestines. Epilepsy - a functional disorder of the brain that results in convulsions, hysteria, and unusual behaviors.  Hemeralopia (day blindness) - may bump into objects and be uncertain of distances through daylight hours and see fine at night.  Progressive Retinal Atrophy - gradual loss of vision.  These are just some of the heritable diseases within this breed. Although any good breeder will be willing to discuss any problems that have come up in their lines of breeding in the past and what they have done to avoid the reoccurrence.
This is a wonderful breed of dog.  Many people who have owned malamutes in the past say they will never be without one.  It's hard to imagine a day without a woo-wooo to greet me in the morning or when I get home.  I love the way they talk to you by grumbling and wooing.  Many people think they are growling when they do this but soon they realize that it is just their way of talking.  Most people just love the kind of communication they seem to have with people.  I know I will never be without a malamute in my home as a companion and a friend.

 

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