Owners Tell It Like It Is
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From Case Davis on May 1, 2001
I have a 2 year old mal that weighs around 140 lbs. We live in the
small,
old mining town of Eldora, co at approximately 9000 feet. His name is
Elias and I would be lost without him. He definitely likes to do his own
thing. I let him wander around town because everyone in town just loves him.
He visits many small children by wandering in through dog doors or being
invited in by the parents. He lets children jump all over him and he
just lays down on the ground when little dogs want to play. I lived in
Alaska for a while and fell in love with the breed and decided when I could I
would have to have one. It was the best decision I think I could have
possibly made. I want 2 or 3 more! (Webmaster's note: AMCA does not
recommend allowing your malamute to wander at large)
From Mike Glover on January 15, 1998
Our Malamute is a "rescued" dog, and after
reading some of the comments of mal owners, I truly
appreciate what a gift Preston is. At roughly two years old,
he displays none of the negative traits that can be so
maddening. He recognized me as the Alpha male from day one,
and wants to spend as much time as possible with me.
Fortunately, we live in Lake Tahoe, well above snow level,
and that suits him just fine. I keep him inside during the
day, but let him out everyday at lunch, and take him to work
with me whenever possible. He loves to run around the
backyard, but as one owner noted, he would like nothing
better than to "fly, be free". He does have
selective hearing at times, but overall, he is gentle, loving
and a mellow mal. We love him dearly. For not having the
chance to do much research about mals beforehand, I know that
we were very lucky. He is the best dog I can imagine.
From Perri Herried on January 10, 1998
Kodi is really our "first child". He is so
much like a perpetual 3 year old. I can't ( and prefer not
to) imagine life without him. I have read and heard many
"Mal puppy horror stories", the fact is, Kodi was
an extremely low key, wonderfully tempered, always smiley
puppy that only chewed on the dry-wall once or twice. His
love for "cookies" is only surpassed by his love
for smoked salmon. For both foods he shakes, drools, and
bounces around the room. Ever seen a 120lb fluffy bear-like
creature bounce around the room with excited anticipation?
It's both scary and hilarious! That saying " the trick
is to be smarter than the dog" must have originally been
said by a Mal owner... since that's exactly how it works! (
He has snuck spaghetti off my plate, while I had the plate in
my hands and he constantly sneaks cookies away from our other
dogs.) Yet he is so gentle with his kitties and little kids.
Our lives without a Mal would be, well, unimagineably boring!
From Cheri Show on January 9, 1998
Being the mother of a two year old and the owner of a
four month old Mal puppy sure is a lot of work. But I enjoy
it! KENO was rescued from a life of being on the streets when
he was five weeks old. He has been through a lot suffering
from the beginnings of mange when we rescued him and is now
all healed. And is a healthy, beautiful, playful puppy. He is
very attached to us and is protective over my daughter
following her wherever she may go.
KENO has been on many sled rides this year. He gets
along well with the family cats, and is mothered by our mama
cat they tend to curl up together when the weather gets cold.
Lady our other dog has also taken an interest in him! She is
older by a few years and tends to discipline him when he gets
in trouble such as chewing on things that are not supposed to
be chewed on. He has a great respect for each of us and the
other animals.
From K8andK9@msn.com on December 8, 1997
Having owned large dogs (GSD and Husky) for a number
of years, I thought the noisy little Mal pup in the Animal
Aid crate needed our care. Was I in for the surprise of my
life! The 'normal' difficulties of food aggression and
parasites were easy to overcome.
The emotional need which spanned 24 hours of every day
was amazing. Crate train THIS dog? Ha! He would howl and
woooo from dark until 2 a.m. when we (and our wonderful
neighbors) could no longer endure the plaintive cries. He was
f-i-n-e so long as he was in the house with the pack
(although Dakota was outside with him). The desire to love
and be touched, to play and to share everything from a meal,
a toy (or a notebook that LOOKED like a toy) to a bed,
blanket and cozy fire make Chance Oh!Malley the treasure that
he is.
High energy has not worn down (his, not ours) at the
21/2 year mark. Obedience title was easy as a pup --- but the
elusive CD will take longer (why should I stay in one place
for so long, Mom, when you are going over there...I can't
miss the adventure!). My vet promises the front row in heaven
is reserved for Malamute owners, and I'm counting on that!
We've survived intact through some very expensive
landscape excavations (his, after we'd spent months on the
project), siding on which he teethed, trailer wiring x 3 for
the boat trailer (just toooooo much fun to pass up), and
zillions of ankle holes throughout the yard. My birthday
present from my husband was a buried fence so that Chance
would learn the boundaries of his areas from my rose gardens!
We can get very aggravated quickly with a 93 lb. Mal
who loves to chase 3 kitties through the house and who
remains convinced that everything in the kitchen is destined
for his mouth. But, the frustration lasts only moments. Life
without Chance is unthinkable. And, of course, our home is
truly HIS.
From Susan Leffler on October 10, 1997
I totally agree with Kathy Ferguson about Mals. We've
had neighborhood people come to our door to ask us about
because they thought she was beautiful. We, also, tell people
the lessons we learned, and what life with a Mal is like. We
both had owned dogs before, but were not totally prepared for
life with our Tessa. She was 16lbs at 8 weeks, beautiful, 4
ribbons in a puppy show at 6 months, but lost the trophy to
her brother because she got bored and "mouthed off"
to the judge! When I told of "horror stories" at
work - such as eating the drywall and the couch, stealing
food off the counter, selective hearing, etc., everyone said
"remember, she's just a puppy! Large dogs take at least
2-3 yrs to calm down." They couldn't believe this sweet,
lovable, innocent looking, bundle of fur could get into so
much mischief. She passed obedience with flying colors, we
got used to her ways and she got used to ours, she became a
joy to be around and the child we'll never have.
She recognized my husband as the Alpha Male the first
day we brought her home. She recognized me as Alpha Female,
but still challenged my authority every once in a while. But,
when she doesn't feel well and we take her to the vet, she
comes to "Mom" for comfort. She's calmer with me
than my husband, and at home will crawl on the couch and put
her head in my lap.
If you're looking for an intelligent, loving, gentle,
active, strong, at times comical, hole-digging, back-talking,
fur-flying, challenging dog that will impress some people it
meets and scare the stuffing out of most, then a Mal is what
you want. If you don't like dog hair, want a protector, one
to hang on your every word-don't get a Mal.
She's very gentle and protective with babies - loves
to sniff them from head to toe and give kisses. She loves
most everyone, and if your not a dog lover, she will pester
you to death just for grins. Curiosity is another one of
their traits. You MUST show them what's in the bag. We came
home from Christmas shopping, unloaded the car, and went back
out. When we came home, she had either torn open the bags or
dragged everything out of the bags just to see what was in
them. She stuck her head in a grocery bag, pulled out the
bunch of carrots, and had herself a snack in the back of the
station wagon!
Will we get another one after she's gone? Yes, in a
heartbeat!
From George D. Wolf on August 25, 1997
I got Bandit 2 yrs ago in July of 95. I wanted a dog
for my still unborn child (now a happy and healthy 21
months), and I loved the idea of a working breed dog that was
well adapted to the out doors and was friendly with lots of
energy.
Let me say first off - I LOVE my dog - she is my
daughters best friend, and travels with me everywhere.
However, there I things I have learned that have I would like
to pass along. Bandit gets bored easily, and she requires
constant attention. I take her to work with me every day, and
she travels with me on short hops in the car. It was the only
way I could continue the bond that we developed early on, and
I think it is best for the dog to keep her happy. However,
for obvious reasons, this is not the solution for everyone.
In the begining we caged trained her, which worked nicely.
But once house broken I thought we could leave her in the
house all day. WRONG! She got bored and began damaging the
house. So we left her in the yard. I think she joined the
local excavation union, because the holes she dug were
amazing. Hence, she goes to work with me every day. On days I
can't take her, she begs and cries (it breaks my heart!).
She is great with every kid in the area - plays with
them all and is amazingly gentle. She knows her strength and
size, and she's very careful. She also as a real dislike for
other female dogs, and I can no longer run her in the woods
for fear of her attacking other females (oddly, it is a very
rare occurrence, but swift and violent). This in spite of my
having her play every weekend with every dog I could find for
the first year. She will also display aggression when on the
lease, although to a lesser extent.
Training has reminded me of the negotiations with the
North Vietnamese - We have compromised (sit/stay/heel/down -
most of the time), but she is very independent and smart.
There is no fooling her, and she listens because she respects
and loves me, not because I trained her. She also has
established an Alpha Female relationship with my wife (who is
now the beta female!).
In the end, we all love her, but the breed requires a
special person to love and be a family with. I would
carefully warn anyone considering a Malamute that they are
not for everybody.
From Noa & Eric Towner on July 29, 1997
Our 4 malamutes are wonderful and loving. They can be
the best stress relievers from all the hugs and kisses and
they also can be the cause of stress. I really, really
encourage new mal owners to really look at responsible
breeders. Back yard breeders usually need a lot more
education on breeding Alaskan Malamutes. We have two mals
that we bought from back yard breeders and really wish we
would have gone with someone that really was involved with
AKC and malamute clubs. These kind of people can supply you
with so much more help and they are always there when you
have a medical problem or question, they can usually always
help you and if they can't believe me they will find out and
get back to you. I really encourage anyone who is looking
into the breed to go through the check lists that this web
page offers. You will not be sorry. If you are going to pay
out a lot of money, get a puppy and breeder that will be
there for you through everything you encounter. Please
support the breeders that are there for the breed to better
the breed and not to the ones who prostitute their dogs for
money.
From Kathy Ferguson on March 7, 1997
Our malamute was enormous, fluffy, gentle yet
boisterous, loving, energetic, independent and he had a
wicked sense of humor. He was a joy in our lives but some
days more a nightmare. Winston was our first dog and we
didn't know what we were getting into when we got a malamute.
Our experience affected him more seriously than us but we
made many mistakes in his upbringing with good intentions but
lots of ignorance. Now we spend a lot of time educating
friends who loved our malamute and talk about getting one. If
we tell them everything negative about the breed that we can
think of and they still want one than a Malamute is the dog
for them.
No one should ever buy an Alaskan Malamute without
detailed research first. If everyone did that, there would be
fewer mistreated dogs and fewer dogs in rescue with serious
behavior problems and no chance of adoption.
Thinking of buying an Alaskan
Malamute?
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