| The Alaskan Malamute The Breed For You? |
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The Alaskan Malamute is a powerful dog of the Spitz group. Their size ranges from 23"- 28" (bitches being the smallest) They were
originally bred by the Mahlemut Inuits and survive to this day pretty much the same as they were bred long ago. They make very
good companion dogs, as long as they are trained well. Training needs to start as soon as the puppy goes into its new home.
Making very cute puppies, potential owners need to be aware that the cute puppy will grow into a confident self willed animal who
will rule the roost given half the chance. Many people have jumped in and bought a puppy and found they have a nightmare on
their hands when the pup turns into an adolescent. We receive many phone calls from people with a 9 month 'teenager' on their
hands that they have no idea what to do with.
They are very intelligent dogs but a lot of people who do not understand the mindset of the malamute say they are difficult to train
and unintelligent. They are neither. Their stubbornness and selective deafness fools the uninitiated. They understand only too
well. But if they see no reason to do something they will not do it.
They do not get along particularly well with dogs of the same sex. Housing two entire males together can eventually lead to trouble,
as can two bitches. Once any pup of either sex reaches adolescence a fall out with the same sex dog may occur..This of course
does not only apply to two malamutes sharing the same house but applies to any breed that is expected to live with a malamute.
We will not sell a same sex malamute to anyone unless they have provisions to separate them and the separating will not cause
one to live a solitary life. If you intend to keep one in one room and another in another and pray they never meet you will need to
find another breeder.
Malamutes shed. Males tend to shed hair once a year and bitches twice either before or after a season. First they lose the
undercoat which will fill a great many refuse sacks and then they lose a lot of their guard hair. The hair will block your vacuum and
find its way into your food They are not the breed for you if you are house-proud obviously. If you are a gardener, your malamute
can destroy your garden within days. Your lawn will become a mud patch and huge holes will litter the ground. We have lost many
a rose tree to an early death thanks to one of our dogs. Eventually you will have to give up replanting it and throw it away. You will
not win. Your garden will have to be securely fenced. We like a six foot fence ourselves. Malamutes tend not to jump but they will
dig under and of course any holes or weaknesses in the fence will be seen as an escape route and used as such.
Malamutes have a high prey drive. They are NOT safe around livestock. If you intend to walk your malamute near sheep you will
need to keep it on a very short lead and keep a tight grip. What about cats? Well if you introduce a puppy to established cats it
should work. Introducing a cat or kitten to existing malamutes will have only one result. Also remember that even with existing cats
accidents can happen, so you need to keep aware of what’s happening. A cat can dart from under a bush and excite the prey
drive in the malamute. Instinct will kick in quicker than the dog will take to evaluate what particular cat it is. We have cats, but they
never meet our dogs. Our cats live quite happily in the barn and spend their days hunting...away from the dogs.
originally bred by the Mahlemut Inuits and survive to this day pretty much the same as they were bred long ago. They make very
good companion dogs, as long as they are trained well. Training needs to start as soon as the puppy goes into its new home.
Making very cute puppies, potential owners need to be aware that the cute puppy will grow into a confident self willed animal who
will rule the roost given half the chance. Many people have jumped in and bought a puppy and found they have a nightmare on
their hands when the pup turns into an adolescent. We receive many phone calls from people with a 9 month 'teenager' on their
hands that they have no idea what to do with.
They are very intelligent dogs but a lot of people who do not understand the mindset of the malamute say they are difficult to train
and unintelligent. They are neither. Their stubbornness and selective deafness fools the uninitiated. They understand only too
well. But if they see no reason to do something they will not do it.
They do not get along particularly well with dogs of the same sex. Housing two entire males together can eventually lead to trouble,
as can two bitches. Once any pup of either sex reaches adolescence a fall out with the same sex dog may occur..This of course
does not only apply to two malamutes sharing the same house but applies to any breed that is expected to live with a malamute.
We will not sell a same sex malamute to anyone unless they have provisions to separate them and the separating will not cause
one to live a solitary life. If you intend to keep one in one room and another in another and pray they never meet you will need to
find another breeder.
Malamutes shed. Males tend to shed hair once a year and bitches twice either before or after a season. First they lose the
undercoat which will fill a great many refuse sacks and then they lose a lot of their guard hair. The hair will block your vacuum and
find its way into your food They are not the breed for you if you are house-proud obviously. If you are a gardener, your malamute
can destroy your garden within days. Your lawn will become a mud patch and huge holes will litter the ground. We have lost many
a rose tree to an early death thanks to one of our dogs. Eventually you will have to give up replanting it and throw it away. You will
not win. Your garden will have to be securely fenced. We like a six foot fence ourselves. Malamutes tend not to jump but they will
dig under and of course any holes or weaknesses in the fence will be seen as an escape route and used as such.
Malamutes have a high prey drive. They are NOT safe around livestock. If you intend to walk your malamute near sheep you will
need to keep it on a very short lead and keep a tight grip. What about cats? Well if you introduce a puppy to established cats it
should work. Introducing a cat or kitten to existing malamutes will have only one result. Also remember that even with existing cats
accidents can happen, so you need to keep aware of what’s happening. A cat can dart from under a bush and excite the prey
drive in the malamute. Instinct will kick in quicker than the dog will take to evaluate what particular cat it is. We have cats, but they
never meet our dogs. Our cats live quite happily in the barn and spend their days hunting...away from the dogs.
An adult malamute will need a lot of exercise, although a puppy has very different needs. It would be very difficult to over exercise a
healthy adult dog. When you are fit to drop they will be able to keep on for many miles. As a rule an adult will benefit from around
4/5 miles a day. Of course if you are able they will love more. They will love a run beside a bicycle, a hike up a hill and a swim in a
pool. Quite often ours go to a hydrotherapy pool for a fun swim.
Do you have neighbours? A single malamute is generally very quiet but several malamutes can be very noisy! A communal howl
can carry for a great distance. When one of our bitches is in season, a male under the influence can make a dreadful noise that will
surprise you in how far it will carry.
Malamutes are odourless so you will not have to put up with that 'doggy' smell pervading the house and their coats shed dirt fairly
easily. The fact that they shed it into your carpets you will have to ignore. Their coats need a good brush through once a week to
prevent matting and when they are shedding you will need to get the brush out daily. We find an undercoat rake ideal for that time.
Their nails will need to be trimmed, little and often, but we find if you walk on tarmac a lot, that job will be dramatically reduced. Their
teeth will need to be kept clean, a job best started as pups so they get used to it. Also a large raw marrow bone will do a very good
job at teeth cleaning. Make sure it is RAW... never cooked.
Your puppy will need to be taken to training classes, obedience for the family pet and also ringcraft for the show dog. Malamute
puppies need plenty of socialisation. They need to see other dogs, people in glasses, people in hats, trains, cars in the day and at
night when the bright lights come bearing down on them. Take them everywhere you can think of, shopping centres, into shops if
you can. If you live in the town this will be fairly easy but if you live in the country you will have to make the effort to get your pup
socialising. You will not regret the work when you have a fully rounded, sociable, trained adult. A dog that is a pleasure to own.
At home you will need to let your pup know its place in your little pack. It will begin eyeing up the pack order fairly quickly, judging
who is at the bottom, usually the children and who is at the top, mom or dad. Your pup will have to find a place in the pack
somewhere. Make sure it is at the bottom. Do not physically chastise your malamute, this will backfire on you in the long run. The
dog needs to respect its owner not be afraid of him. If the only way you can control a dog is through abuse then no dog is for you.
Consistent, caring training will do the trick.
Read as many books on the breed as you can, go to see the breed in the flesh. Talk to breeders. Think about if this is really the
dog for you. Go past their charm and attraction and realise that this is a working breed both physically and mentally. They need
stimulation and something to do. Ours for instance are taken into the kennels each day with us while we work. There are people and
more importantly for them, dogs going to and fro all the time.
A little word of warning, be careful if you do decide on a malamute puppy. Be very aware that there are 'breeders' breeding these
dogs who really shouldn't be. Please make sure that your pups parents (both of them) have been hip scored once and eye tested
each year. Papers should be available to prove this. Eye tests should be returned clear and the hip score should not total a great
deal more than 13. Bitches should not be bred from before they are 2.Malamutes are a slow maturing breed and letting a bitch have
a litter before she is at least two is letting a pup have pups. You may not think that these things apply to you because you only want
'a pet' but all dogs can develop hip displacia , a distressing and expensive condition and the eye test will assure you that your pups
parents do not have Hereditary Cataracts. Be extremely careful on the internet and avoid the free ads. There are many good
breeders out there but there are many more bad ones. Do your home work and make sure you have a healthy happy puppy. Make
sure your breeder is a member of the AMCUK. They have a code of ethics that members have to adhere to. Do not be lured by an
instant puppy. Wanting one now and not being prepared to wait is a sure way of walking into the hands of a bad breeder who
constantly has a supply of pups. Too many times I have heard stories of people who have been advised to wait for a good breeder,
wouldn't and rushed out for a pup only for the pup to develop health or temperament problems. If the pup is lucky the owners will
stick with it. If the pup is not, it will join the ever increasing numbers going through our rescue.
This breed for us, is the only breed to own and love but it is not the breed for everyone. We are honest straight talking breeders
and if we think the malamute is not right for you or right for your circumstances at the moment we will tell you so. We are happy for
people to visit us and meet our dogs (by appointment) and you can see if these dogs are really for you or not. Watching Snow
Dogs, Eight Below etc can spark an interest in sled dogs but its not a good enough reason to go out and buy one without doing
loads of research into what living with these dogs is really like.
healthy adult dog. When you are fit to drop they will be able to keep on for many miles. As a rule an adult will benefit from around
4/5 miles a day. Of course if you are able they will love more. They will love a run beside a bicycle, a hike up a hill and a swim in a
pool. Quite often ours go to a hydrotherapy pool for a fun swim.
Do you have neighbours? A single malamute is generally very quiet but several malamutes can be very noisy! A communal howl
can carry for a great distance. When one of our bitches is in season, a male under the influence can make a dreadful noise that will
surprise you in how far it will carry.
Malamutes are odourless so you will not have to put up with that 'doggy' smell pervading the house and their coats shed dirt fairly
easily. The fact that they shed it into your carpets you will have to ignore. Their coats need a good brush through once a week to
prevent matting and when they are shedding you will need to get the brush out daily. We find an undercoat rake ideal for that time.
Their nails will need to be trimmed, little and often, but we find if you walk on tarmac a lot, that job will be dramatically reduced. Their
teeth will need to be kept clean, a job best started as pups so they get used to it. Also a large raw marrow bone will do a very good
job at teeth cleaning. Make sure it is RAW... never cooked.
Your puppy will need to be taken to training classes, obedience for the family pet and also ringcraft for the show dog. Malamute
puppies need plenty of socialisation. They need to see other dogs, people in glasses, people in hats, trains, cars in the day and at
night when the bright lights come bearing down on them. Take them everywhere you can think of, shopping centres, into shops if
you can. If you live in the town this will be fairly easy but if you live in the country you will have to make the effort to get your pup
socialising. You will not regret the work when you have a fully rounded, sociable, trained adult. A dog that is a pleasure to own.
At home you will need to let your pup know its place in your little pack. It will begin eyeing up the pack order fairly quickly, judging
who is at the bottom, usually the children and who is at the top, mom or dad. Your pup will have to find a place in the pack
somewhere. Make sure it is at the bottom. Do not physically chastise your malamute, this will backfire on you in the long run. The
dog needs to respect its owner not be afraid of him. If the only way you can control a dog is through abuse then no dog is for you.
Consistent, caring training will do the trick.
Read as many books on the breed as you can, go to see the breed in the flesh. Talk to breeders. Think about if this is really the
dog for you. Go past their charm and attraction and realise that this is a working breed both physically and mentally. They need
stimulation and something to do. Ours for instance are taken into the kennels each day with us while we work. There are people and
more importantly for them, dogs going to and fro all the time.
A little word of warning, be careful if you do decide on a malamute puppy. Be very aware that there are 'breeders' breeding these
dogs who really shouldn't be. Please make sure that your pups parents (both of them) have been hip scored once and eye tested
each year. Papers should be available to prove this. Eye tests should be returned clear and the hip score should not total a great
deal more than 13. Bitches should not be bred from before they are 2.Malamutes are a slow maturing breed and letting a bitch have
a litter before she is at least two is letting a pup have pups. You may not think that these things apply to you because you only want
'a pet' but all dogs can develop hip displacia , a distressing and expensive condition and the eye test will assure you that your pups
parents do not have Hereditary Cataracts. Be extremely careful on the internet and avoid the free ads. There are many good
breeders out there but there are many more bad ones. Do your home work and make sure you have a healthy happy puppy. Make
sure your breeder is a member of the AMCUK. They have a code of ethics that members have to adhere to. Do not be lured by an
instant puppy. Wanting one now and not being prepared to wait is a sure way of walking into the hands of a bad breeder who
constantly has a supply of pups. Too many times I have heard stories of people who have been advised to wait for a good breeder,
wouldn't and rushed out for a pup only for the pup to develop health or temperament problems. If the pup is lucky the owners will
stick with it. If the pup is not, it will join the ever increasing numbers going through our rescue.
This breed for us, is the only breed to own and love but it is not the breed for everyone. We are honest straight talking breeders
and if we think the malamute is not right for you or right for your circumstances at the moment we will tell you so. We are happy for
people to visit us and meet our dogs (by appointment) and you can see if these dogs are really for you or not. Watching Snow
Dogs, Eight Below etc can spark an interest in sled dogs but its not a good enough reason to go out and buy one without doing
loads of research into what living with these dogs is really like.
| Copyright of Windberg Alaskan Malamutes. No parts of this website to be reproduced without the permission of the webmaster Alex Hood BA Hons (2006) |