Hi to all malamute owners!!!!! General Chat

Excellent post Mo

I must admit I was horrified to learn you were using a spray collar on a 13 week old pup Mo has given you some excellent advice on how to train without having to resort to a 'quick fix'. All of mine know the word 'quiet' and I trained this using a method similar to what Mo has described. If they are being noisy, then they are separated and when they are quiet they are rewarded. Mals are a very intelligent breed and quickly pick up what you want from them.

Me too :-(

fact is malamutes are not "barky" type dogs unlike the samoyeds which beleive me I know they like the sound of their own voices if the mal puppy is getting into barking sessions with the sammy the sammy is teaching the pup more than the owner is at the moment, at the end of the day all dogs especially pups get excited and can tend to bark, its when it becomes exessive that it is a problem.


edited to add I am not knocking anyone that is prepared to put the time an effort into training their pup/dog malamutes CAN be trained, there are so many that have hight levels of OB training to prove this, but, there may be the odd time that the selective hearing WILL come into play and the original poster should be aware of this, BUT as far as the collar is concerned this is the type of thing that you get as a LAST option when all else has failed ie good sound training and teaching the positive things you want, to use the collar so early in the game indicates that effort in this training "may" not be forthcoming and immediate response is required training malamutes takes time effort, and ALWAYS being prepared to go back to basics in their training.
Mo

Ahh see I'd thought about that but then thought I might be wrong. I always knew people are funny with dogs with standing up ears etc cuz they are with mine but didn't know other dogs did. I think many dogs have the same issue they have with Mals and body language with my dogs to.

Been nice talking to you all..........for while at least
Bye

Your dogs are gorgeous.

Thanks Lynn. I think they are too, long coat or not. You know what, my dogs are pets and I love them. I don't show them or breed them, so to own a woolly is a wonderful opportunity to give a home to poor woolly that gets scrutinised so much by the mal community. Woollies are lovely and cute and just because some poeple say they shouldn't exist is wrong, cause a dog is to love. I don't care what others think, I love my dogs.......oh and to the lady who thinks it is 'wrong to train out natural characteristics' has not been reading my postings properly, as to have a short fused mal in a park is unacceptible, nor is it acceptible to have a dog run off or disobey you, so yes, I do feel it is good to help shape a dogs future this way, as would anyone do with any other breed. Mal's naturally are food possessive, so should we allow this. No. It is natural for a rotweiller to bite, but do we say this is right or allowed....no, it is not.:?
Also, every dog trainer in this country will tell you that a spay collar is perfectly fine. It is perfectly humane. I am an animal activist and certainly would not use anything cruel on my dogs. I have worked alongside wolf and KC nordic dog trainers for years and have always gone the humane way of training, as you can make a wolf cub avoid you for life if you do not appeal to reason with them. If a mal barks non stop when I am in bed, I cannot help train it out of him, if he does not resond to ignoring tactics (which I did try for 6 months until my hair fell out). My samoyed could go for 5 hour barking stretches at a time and with 2 small kids needing sleep, this was not an option.
Thanks to all the nice postings I've had - most of you have been a pleasure to talk to. and I wish you all the best in the future, but I'll be hopping off this forum for now. Take care xxxx

I think in my post I said "some" characteristics, not all.
If we bred or trained every trait out of every breed, sled-dogs would not pull, labradors would not retrieve and king charles spaniels would not be cuddly - and what would be the point in that

As for the spray collar, I cannot think of one dow owner or dog person that *I* know, that would advocate using one at the age of 13 weeks.

Malamutes are not barkers like Sammies, so why would you need to use such an extreme method of training. My three howled on the first couple of night but now know "Quiet", and that was done by simple puppy training.

No-one is saying a spray collar is cruel - but to use it on a 13 week old puppy in a case that isn't extreme is IMO not right.

Oh, and no matter how much you "train" a malamute to come back when called, instinct always prevails when a bunny hops across the path

As far as the woolly side of things go, woollies may be cute, but I don't know anyone who would actively search for one or breed two together to result in something that is undesirable and damaging to the breed. Why would anyone breed something that is so far from the breed standard?
And breeding from two pets is why so many dogs end up in rescue kennels. How are their hips and eyes?

Personally I would not put at risk my future dog by having a puppy from an un-healthchecked parent.

Maybe you think we are being nasty, but no nastiness on my part was intentional, possibly in a few months/years you will come back and admit that yes you did do all the training, and yes the mal still does a runner on the odd occassion? as far as the collar well I did not say it was cruel, just not appropriate on a 13 week old pup. and as for the coats well I had two woolies in my litter and although not the "accepted" coat for the breed they are lovely pets non the less, but I did not breed specifically for this coat, they are the result of two dogs having the longcoat resessive gene, and as the dam had not been bred before I was unable to say if she carried this gene beforehand, I will never repeat the same mating because of this.

Mo

Hello Anneka,

Nice to see you here. Please dont take what people are saying the wrong way. There are some very experienced Mal people here that can point you in the right direction.

All breeds have positive and negative characteristics and traits.
Traits, negative or otherwise are what make up the dog.
That is why it is so important that owners fully research their chosen breed before buying a pup.

One of the downfalls of buying a breed like a Malamute from a "pet breeder" rather than a reputable breeder is that they are unable to provide you with information regarding the breeds origins,history,behaviour and requirements.

It is the general opinion that Alaskan Malamutes should not be exercised off lead unless in a secure, enclosed area.
Malamutes are an intelligent breed and are capable of recall training, but because of their primitive prey drive, same sex dominance issues and tendency towards selective deafness the safety of your dog and others needs to be carefully considered.
A dog may recall perfectly 99% of the time, but it only takes the one occassion when your dog spots a squirrel/cat/other dog etc across the other side of the park and takes off.
It is likely in this circumstance that all the training in the World will not get your Mal to come back!
Again, these are characteristics of the Alaskan Malamute Breed

My dogs are not, nor have ever been, food possessive. All my dogs will give up their food, treats, toys etc willingly.

Please take all the advice given in the manner it was intended.