Malamutes as pets Questions

Hi, we've been wanting a second dog for a while but myself and OH can't agree. Looked at loads of breeds but keep coming back to Malamutes. I know they aint easy and we have experience of northern breeds. I am also a dog walker and have worked with large powerful dogs.
We have two kids (both dog savvy - they just LEAVE THEM ALONE!) and two cats plus our Elkhound Loki who is 2. I live next door but one to my Mum who has a 2 year old Border Collie bitch. Mum's dog walks with us daily and comes for her hols once a year, so new dog would have to be fine with both a dog and a bitch.
A Malamute site I visited said they should be kept with the opposite sex because they can be dog aggressive. So what sex should I be thinking of? Obviously we haven't even found a potential breeder yet so it's early days but it's on my mind.

loki is dog friendly but prefers bitches, but I think that may be due to his age. He's still a bit adolescent at times. Mum's dog Lottie is a definite top dog. She's not aggressive but aloof and all the other dogs seem to worship and follow her!

Should I be thinking of a dog or a bitch?

Please share your thoughts....

I am an hour away from you and you would be welcome to visiti my two Malamutes. They make fabulous companions.
Many do not like dogs of the same sex but tend to be very happy with opposite sex, I am lucky and my mixed pack is fine - I have two males and between two and four females here. Many tend to be accepting of their family.

Most people do not let them off the lead - if this would be an issue for you?

They are very intelligent and easy to train and enjoy learning new things, but can claim to be totally brainless at times!!!

They will take as much exercise as you offer - but if circumstances are awkward sometimes, they will happily flop about and watch TV instead

Breeders are a minefield - lots and lots of bad breeders about

Is your mum's BC spayed? To be honest, since the Mal will regularly be mixing with one of each sex then it is really up to you what sex you go for. If males disagree then there is more of a chance of them getting on again afterwards than if bitches fall out, however I do know of a couple of families where the males have to be separated at all times (however saying that I also know of people who keep 8 Mals together (4 of each sex, all entire) without a problem). The most important thing is to find a breeder who breeds for temperament as well as for type and health. I currently have 3 Mals and an Aussie here - one spayed bitch and 3 entire dogs.

As Julie has mentioned - will the off-lead issue be a problem for you? One of mine goes off lead at Agility but is on lead the rest of the time (unless it is a fully enclosed area) and another is only allowed off on the beach and in fully enclosed areas. However we regularly take them out on the bike/rig/scooter during the winter months and take them to hydrotherapy etc during the summer months.

I would meet as many mals as you can and have a chat with various owners. As Julie said, breeders can be a minefield - there are lots of unreputable breeders around unfortunately

i have one of each, and neither are dog aggressive, if on leads, they can tend to bark at other dogs, but more of a 'i'm here' kinda thing.
they are hard work, but they are SO worth it.
and as Muddiwarx said- lots of bad breeders out there, so make sure you do your homework

Do you keep them on lead as they will run off, or would they just come back in their own sweet time?
I only ask because a couple of Elkhound breeders said that Elkies cannot go off lead, and all the ones I've met on walks don't go off lead, but mine does, in the right environment. I know where I can let him off and where I can't. It's just about being sensible. Are Malamutes like this?

Can't answer for Malamutes, but Samoyeds and Husky/Malamute crosses are... They do tend to do their own thing and aren't the fastest recalls in the world, but like you I know when I can trust them and when it's safer to have the extendy lead on hand!

I was also looking for either a Husky or a Malamute when I ended up with Kismet who has turned out to be a delightful and perfect mix of the two. I had pretty much decided on Malamute as the more laid back of the two breeds and the one most likely to fit in with my household, but I struggled to find a breeder I was happy with. Kismet as a Husky/Malamute cross, just happened to come at just the right time, (hence her name) and has been absolutely perfect in every way.

Obviously I would not recommend seeking out a breeder of 'Huskamutes' for all the 'designer dog' horror stories that you no doubt know and have read here, but I would say, if you are not planning to show the dog, don't rule out the possibility of a Malamute crossbreed if one should come up.

In my experience, they will come back in their own time - however that is not acceptable to most (it can be hours later), they can go across roads and be killed, they often have a high prey drive and could kill small furries (including cats) etc. It all depends on whether you deem that an appropriate risk and many responsible owners don't (I am certainly not saying you are an irresponsible owner, it is more of a general 'you' ).

Don't get me wrong, I do let mine off lead but only in appropriate areas and it also depends on the individual dogs. My oldest goes off at agility (as mentioned above) even if this isn't in an enclosed area and is fine, however they can not be trusted in unenclosed areas although they have extremely good recall in most situations. The next oldest has a bit more lee-way, they are let off lead on beaches and in other semi enclosed areas, although this isn't common and these two are normally attached to 30ft or 60ft lunge lines so they can run about but not disappear My youngest is currently off lead whilst he is recall training with our Australian Shepherd, but even he is going on lead more now. Generally pups are very good, it is when they get a bit older they have selective deafness. My first was fine off lead up until about a year old.

As you say it is all about being sensible and knowing your own dog. If your dog is extremely dog friendly and you are in an area where they could come to no harm then you could let them off at your own discretion. However if they aren't particularly dog friendly or in a suitable area then it would be folly to let them off as you couldn't guarantee a 100% recall if something more interesting catches their eye.

i have 3 bitchs 3/4 utonagan a huskymute and a rhodesian ridgback and they all get on together .the field were we walk them has a fence all the way round so there is no way the huskymute can get out.she does what ever she wants when you get in the field and then she comes back, but i wouldent let her run free any were else.

my 2 go off lead everyday, but it on a big beach, and only when kids etc are not too close- cos parents dont like big dogs trotting over to lick their kids faces!!
they wont go too far if i tell them not to, but at other times when its quite, i will let them go a fair distance away, and their recall is good- unless they ve found something to eat!
its a matter of knowing your dog , being cautious and sensible

Sounds same as an Elkhound. I let him off lead on the beach unless there are kids about (he pees up sandcastles and pinches ice creams)

I know a mal who is lovely and well behaved but he does wander a bit and can take a while to come back.

I've got 2 malamutes one of each, I was told by my breeder that it's best to only have one male at a time, but that's her opinion, some people don't think there's a problem with have 2 of the same sex. I wouldn't let mine off lead unless it was in an enclosed area. If they get distracted there's no way will they come back when called, and if you go after them they think it's a game and just run on further, I think it's far to risky.

We have a 7 month old female. She is a fantastic dog, with a brilliant temperment and so lovable. We have a 4 year old nephew who she sees quite a lot and she is great with him. She is our first dog together, although we have had dogs all our lives growing up with parents. Before we got her we did extensive homework on the breed and I don't know if it's because she is our first dog and we don't know any different, but to us she has been quite easy so far. Don't get me wrong she can be a stubborn mare at times and can be quite a handful, but then can't all dog's? We would not swap her for anything.

I think a lot is to do with the temperament of the lines, I would consider keeping two from certain lines but not others

At 7 months she is still very much a baby (our youngest is currently 7 months old too ).

At 7 months she is still very much a baby (our youngest is currently 7 months old too ).[/QUOTE]

Ha ha! I did say the so far she has been easy bit very loosely. There have been times she has been threatened with the dog's home ha ha! She can be a right royal pain in the bum sometimes.

Kismet is 7 months and off and on a hooligan... I have described it as being like having an 13yr old know it all diva in the house sometimes... She can get a right strop on! If she could, she'd stomp up stairs and slam the door, and of course then there's the fact she loves guests more than us and wants to live with everyone else on the field but us. But then, now I look over and there's my little puppy angel all cuddled up on the arm chair and she was just adorable with the bull terrier puppy we met yesterday and hid behind my legs when he got all boisterous. She's all hormones and ears and paws right now... Good job I love her

This is the exact same phrase I used about my boy earlier after his antics yesterday

I thought that was quite funny too

I have 5 malamutes, 3 bitches and 2 males, they all live in the house together, and the only time seperated is if the girls are in season, then I will also seperate the boys if I am not there, reason is my boys have had two scraps in the past but they were season related both times, the rest of the time they get on fantastic, I would say that this is definately not a breed for everyone, all too often now we are seeing more and more malamutes go through the breed rescue, and also other rescues around the country, there also seems to be an increase in human aggressive dogs, these seem to stem from unscrouplous breeders who just dont give a damn that they are breeding from dogs with temperment problems, these dogs also get sold to whoever wants one and because these people have done no research end up frustrated when the dog behave like a malamute and has selective deafness, is stubborn, is distructive in the house because it needs that bit more exercise or is bored, I love the malamute breed after having samoyeds for about 20 years I found similarities between the two breeds, but with the malamutes I found that anything a sammy would do or could do, the malamutes would do it tenfold lol at the moment I have a 6 month old bitch, our latest addition from a litter I bred, she has given me more grey hairs since she came along than any other dog I have ever owned, she is as sweet as can be, totally well behaved when in training, gets along fine with other dogs, has brilliant recall(expected at this age) but she is a thief!!!!! at 12 weeks she stole a rag toy and ate it, sugery to remove it, a month ago ate a FULL tea towel (luckily that came up a few hours later) and only 2 weeks ago managed to eat a dish cloth that had to be surgically removed again, so now we are on CONSTANT watch, even the other dogs seem to be keeping an eye on her. life will never be boring with a malamute thats for sure.

Mo

We have two mals, one of each sex and are looking into our third, I would echo the other mal owners on here, the right lines is everything.

I am not worried about the sex of the next pup as neither of my dogs are particularly dog aggressive and will readily accept pups into the "pack" what I need to make sure is that I don't bring in a mal which exhibits undesriable traits towards them as they get older.

Be aware that even a great pedigree does not neccesarily mean a great temperement. I would take Muddiwarxs up on her offer to meet her dogs and let her steer you in the right direction. ;-)