Hi there, i am considering getting an alaskan malamute and would appreciate some advice from owners of this beautiful breed. I have owned boxers in the past, have a decent size well secure garden and i love to walk so can provide lots of exercise. I have read some books on the breed which all say malamutes have a high prey drive which is a concern as i have 2 cats. I have also been looking at some breeders websites.........who are the reputable ones?! any info would be great
Welcome to the forum The prey drive all depends on the individual dog - one of mine has a very high prey drive, the other not so much. Whilst I personally don't have cats, I know of several people who have introduced a Mal to their cats with good results. However whilst they would probably tolerate your own cats, they might not tolerate a strange cat coming into the garden. Ask ten people and you will get ten different answers We all have different types we like (well several of us on here like the same type, but there are a few different types) and you will also get varying answers depending on who you ask because we all have different ideas on what reputable means ;-) . It would be best for you to go to a show and look at the different types. Look into the health and temperament of the dogs - this is very important. A good start might be to look at the AMCUK's website: AMCUK - Alaskan Malamute Club of the United Kingdom Good luck in your search
Ditto what was said above None of mine are overly prey driven and live happily with degus, rats, guinea pig, mice etc Lots of disreputable breeders out there - be very careful.
Agree with Both Visit the club site at the list of breeders. Be prepared to be vetted as reputable breeders would like to know their pups are going to good forever homes and ask as many questions as you like about the dogs etc. ALso be prepared to wait for a puppy. Reputable breeders don't have litters on the ground all the time, and only breed when the time is right and everything is in place and this takes work, so they also have to prepare a puppy list before they breed, so you may have to wait a while. You could get a pup tomorrow from an unreputable one that has litters all the time, but there are no reasons why anyone would possible need pups all the time, unless they are breeding for money Good luck.
thanks for the replies I live in Ayr on the south west coast. i am prepared to wait as long as it takes for the right dog. Going to crufts so will have a look and talk to some breeders there.
On the club website they say... I'm surprised they say jogging speed is not appropriate? If I had Mals I would love to excersize them with the 'springer bike attachment' like I do with my dogs already and that would be / is jogging speed and faster. [obviously with much attention paid to the speed the dogs are doing best with and the distance etc] I can't imagine a Mal wanting to go too much slower especially if most of their excersize is onlead or attached etc, I would have thought jogging speed would be good? Are there any good sites to show the different 'types'?
I find that statement a little baffling too ! I think they mean that they are bred to pull, therefore if you are working them faster than jog, that's fine, but otherwise it must be walking ! That's how I understand it anyway Do you mean the 2 Original strains of Malamutes ? Edited to add : If thats what you meant, have a look here : http://www.alaskanmalamuteinfo.com/ There are some very old pics of both strains of Mals (M'Loot and Kotzebue) on that site. Or I have a couple of pics here of pure M'Loot and Pure Kotzebue dogs that I can scan.
I agree with all that has already been said about breeders. With regards to the "jogging" I take my dogs out using a springer, but we do not go at "fast" speeds we go at the dogs natural gaiting speed, and I don't take them out every day using this manner of exercise, as it is too jolting to their joints specially if on tarmac or asphalt, it is better to run them on a soil type of trail. what is increasingly getting forgotten is that the malamute is a freighting breed not a racing breed and far too many are trying to get their mals to go faster, because of the competitiveness of rallies etc. I would in all honesty be happy to come last in every class I entered my dogs in so long as the dogs actually get round the course hauling me behind. Mo
I agree MO, and hence just another reason I dont enjoy the rallies too much, with the competition to go faster and faster when Mals aren't racing dogs ! I work mine locally, but for exercise, not for competition.
Just cos it is a race ...... you don't have to race I go round rallies at the speed that suits me and mine ..... and we chat with our friends on the way - very social Until some clueless idiot with out of control vicious dogs races along with winning on the brain and no trail manners - that has spoilt a few lately
I've been to rallies, just to socialise, and we've participated, but it's not the only reason, I agree, some people's attitudes toward it is offputting and most are so far away. I love AMWA though although we've missed it for the last 2 years :-( with one thing and another, although hopefully this year we will go again
Malamutes are awesome dogs.........but ask yourself this - Do you love hair on/in everything some may be 3inches long, and in your food (serious) -the constant training because a Mal will take the leadership role as soon as theres weakness -be able to keep them challenged, we dont run but my girl has her backpack with the weights and we go hiking daily -and they love to chew especially wood (my poor bed post) -very expensive to groom, or get used to the nastiest hair globs in your drains -and you have to brush every day when they are blowing thier coat, -and they do have a prey drive, my girl sees a bunny and shes a totally different dog, but she lives indoors with my cat but she was raised with her they actually sleep together -but Mals are a wonderful breed just make sure you don't want one just because they are beautiful and are the most adorable puppies ever, because by 8 mths you will be looking for a new home or the pup will be in a Rescue or Shelter and more then likely have behavioral issues PLEASE do as MUCH RESEARCH as possible! hope that was enough if you have any other questions please ask
Oh yeah! your garden will probably start looking like the surface of the moon, they love to dig and make burrows for themselves weather snow or dirt/flowers -Please dont think im being rude or harsh I give this lecture daily whenever im walking and people stop and say nice "Husky" HA! thats there first mistake then comes the oh they are so pretty and i want one so bad. So anyways ill stop rambiling
I love the..."Oh there's one of those dogs I want!" I then say "what dogs??" Have had so many wrong answers and ONE right..
The AMCA site states that the recommended average speed for freight races is around 7mph (obviously this is with the dogs having to pull extra weight, pure 'race' classes have an average of 9mph). We bike and use the scooter with ours, as well as putting them on the rig and I know several people who use their bikes with a springer. As Mo said though, you don't want to do too much work on tarmac - we bike ours on forest trails Not too sure where the idea that jogging wasn't a good pace for Mals came from :? When I mentioned different types I wasn't merely referring to the two original strains. I was also referring to the different types (lines) you see in this country. Depending on the dogs behind them, you can often identify a particular type and see that the dogs come from similar lines
If you notice the information on the site seems to have come from a quotation Text Copyright Jannat Al-Haddad 1997, I feel some of the remarks are quite outdated personally, including the actual "jogging" comment unless the author was referring to sprinting rather than jogging, put it this way if I was jogging with my dogs they would come to no harm as they could probably walk faster than my jogging lol. Mo
Mine actually laughed at me whe I took them jogging and said we went faster when we walk! Rude dogs! (Malamutes do tend to say what they think and it isn't always what we want to hear!!!)
