Malamute Books General Chat

are these two books any good?
we are looking into getting a malamute, doing lots of research at the moment and just wondered if both of these are good books, in describing mals, their needs (i.e. grooming, feeding, exercise,) etc.

Alaskan Malamutes (A Complete Pet Owner's Manual) (Paperback)
by Betsy Sikora Siino

Alaskan Malamute (Pet Love) (Hardcover)
by Thomas Stockman

If not what books are good??

Thanks

If you want "the best" mally book get, The alaskan malamute: yesterday & today

http://www.buybooks.me.uk/isbn/0931866960/

Thanks kanikula

will look into getting that

Hi there,

I have several malamute books and like Kanikula said, The Alaskan Malamute: Yesterday and Today really is the best one to get.

Good luck in your research! If you want any questions answered there are a few Malamute owners on here who will be more than happy to help

Thanks

do you do rig pulling with your dogs??
is it something that most mals need(for exercise/fun) or would they be happy doing agility??
i will post a thread later with any questions i can think of, most i have already found the answers to, but cant seem to find much on rig pulling on the net:?

My Mals LOVE agility however many are not suited to it as they are not safe off lead ... they do love pulling rigs but equally love fun long walks.

The one major issue with a Mal is that you can't assume that it will either be OK with other dogs or be safe off lead ... mine are as are many others but it is the norm to be grumpy and unreliabe off lead!!!

my mally girl also adores agility and even does a little flyball

I think we will be training it off lead, i.e. doing everything offlead and just teach it to walk nice on a lead, like shona does with the rotts... and shona might be kind enough to lets us meet her at the walled garden with the rotts once its had all its vaccs( between classes, during the socilisation period) so it is use to running around and playing with other dogs,,, cos non of the rotts would hurt it but would correct it if it was being nasty or annoying, and take it out as soon as its safe to walk around so it can meet the local dogs

thats good to know, as i was looking into flyball too but not as much as agility...

Also we'd be doing agility and whatnot for fun, not competion... so it would just be the dogs at whatever agility class we go to and by the time we get the pup, rose will probs have started agility so we could probs take the pup once its had its vaccs so it gets use to the sounds, sights and other dogs

Ahh that just gives it away..

Hi Doll
Give those 3 a huggle from me;-)

I do both with mine

They do need a lot of exercise and most can't be let of lead, so taking them out on a rig is an excellent way of exercising them (I was up at 6am this morning to take mine for a 5 mile run ). I also do agility with my bitch who took to it amazingly well!

sorry can I but in I have a question,,,,?? when people say most cant be let off lead, is it due to aggression or recall or a mix of both,,, eg... mal sees a dog and its off looking for a grumble hence no recall, or is it mal is let off and thinks Im off and often runs into a bit of trouble (another dog) its just both seemed to be mentioned, if its both, can the dog be let off in an area where you know there will be no other dogs? if mals are walked with dogs eg the rotts who dont want to go off and have 99.9% recall, the other 00.01% I reserve just incase an alien appears then who knows if they would come back, will they then just pod along with the others and stay in the pack or do they go off alone,,,,

From what ive read so far i think most of it depends on the training and socilisation, but i think sometimes regardless of socilisation they can still be iffy with dogs of the same sex, however if you think about it their 'job' is to work as a team pulling a sled and they couldnt be a team or part of it if they were aggresive towards other dogs.... I think the recall just depends on the dog and the training you put into it and also how you train the recall

Of course this is just what ive seen and read on peoples sites about mals...so correct me if im wrong

With mine it is primarily their recall - I am happy to let them OTL at agility and obedience, where they are in enclosed areas - but not in open spaces. They often go on long lines and are frequently around other dogs, however I wouldn't let them OTL (even in an enclosed area) with dogs I didn't know, or thought might be even slightly aggressive (or very dominant) because even though they would be unlikely to start anything, they wouldn't back down if something had a go at them either.

I agree with Greyhawk..

Cruiser wouldn't start anything however if he felt threatened or was set upon.. He woulnd't think twice about defending himself..
Lola "barks" at other dogs and can seem quite scary and aggressive.. but she has never damaged another dog.. On Saturday she was surrounded by 2 off lead Jack Russels and she was barking at them.. I honestly don't know if she would "start" anything.. but she ain't never getting the chance..(she did escape a few weeks ago and met up with 2 labs and she just sniffed them and then ran back into the garden..

Not all Mals are aggressive.. personally I think its down to the breeding first and how you continue that when you get the pup home..
And not all are same sex agressive.. I know MANY people who have same sex and opposite sex and they all live together in the house quite happily..
I myself have 2 boys (granted not both mals but both boys) and 1 girl.. and they get along fine..

As a good friend often says "you only get out.. what you put in"

Thanks greyhawk. Thanks Louise
I Rose did get a male, would having him castrated quite young help with the dominant side of things, or is it just who they are? when talking to mal owners I have found that many things are similar with rotts and mals, eg, they will do something twice but by the third time the attitude is been there done that bored now sort of thing, there are quite a few things that I think that could be a rott they are talking about,
Has anyone on the forum had experiance of both breeds? if so would you say they have similar traites and personalitys?

Most breeders will (if pup is sold as a pet) have a neuter clause in their contract..
And most advise around 18 months as they are slow maturing breed its better to let them mature as they would and then neuter.. Cruiser will be done at around 18 months

If you do them at 18 months does that not just stop ability to produce, but not the behaviours, which by then are in place so will remain even after the other bits are now gone? most vets say its of little use to castrate for calmer behaviour once the dog is mature, that said they seem to be changing there mind on alot of things now, eg best to spay before your bitch has a season now and before it used to be let her have one then spay,,,,

I would rather have a dog be what it is going to be when it matures.. and deal with the behaviour the proper way..Than to have it neutered early.. If they are brought up properly then there is no need to neuter early Just my opinion of course..
Seiko was entire upto about 6 months ago..(age of 7) and Lola was spayed in rescue..

Edited to add.. I have seen dogs neutered early.. (before 12 months) and they haven't matured properly in the head and body and are also dog agressive anyway..

I completely agree with this - certain lines are known to produce dogs with extremely good tolerance towards other dogs, it is down to the breeding as well as the upbringing. I also know several people who keep same sex dogs and they all get on fine.

I personally am not in favour of castrating a young dog. I prefer to wait until they are fully mature - I know dogs who have been castrated at 6 months of age and are still very dog aggressive. Castrating young can in some cases reduce the occurance of dog aggression but it can also lead to growth and behaviour issues. It really is down to the individual to do their research and decide what is best for them in their situation.

I haven't enough experience of Rotts to compare the two - sorry.

I am not really up on castration myself, that is why I asked, as I show my dogs they are all/ as god intended so to speak dogs and bitches, wasn't trying to be funny with the question, just many vets say if your going to do it do it when the dog is young, it may reduce, aggression, wandering, scent marking that sort of thing, if you leave it untill the dog is mature it wll make little or no diff to the dog, except he cant produce,
What sort of growth issues does it cause if done young? eg can it cause joint problems and the like?
I have only had one castrated male and he was a rescue who had been done prior to me getting him as he had been in and out of rescue a few times,,,, its not a subject I know much about to be honest, recently little misty at the club was spayed and I was quite shocked as she is only about 5/6 months old and Im sure they used to advise one season before spaying, now it seems they are doing it before a season ??? Its all changed I think, I know with a rotty bitch they kinda say " you see what your getting after the third season, eg body shape, head, size and so on,