Having a hard time deciding over Samoyed or Alaskan Mal...questions answered as followed: Whether you have had dogs previously I've had a Cavelier King Charles Spaniel and my husbands had Rotties when he lived with his parents and we look after whilst they are on holidays. Your circumstances - do you work etc? I work full time but my hubby works from home so he is there 24/7 which will also be great company for him throughout the day. How much time you have for exercise I have the weekends and evenings, but obviously my husband has his lunch hours in the week days. Whether you have children, other pets etc Don't have children YET, but will be planning n the next 2yrs and also would like to get chickens in the next year. We also have young nieces and nephews which visit regularly. Would like a breed to be child friendly. What characteristics you are looking for Friendly, loyal, calm and just generally a family dog. What breeds you have already looked at and your thoughts on them Its a hard decision between Samoyed & Alaskan Mal. I have no idea which one. I like them both equally. My husband wants a medium to large, we just love big fluffy dogs. Anything else you think might be relevant or important With good training would a Mal be ok off lead? I just don't want an aggressive dog, however, I always say its how the dog is trained and brought up: but obviously some tempraments are different in breeds. My heart is more drawn to the Mal over the Samoyed... Also I am 5" and need to be able to handle the dog, through good obidience.
two very different breeds there!! no mal should be offlead in unenclosed spaces,sammys are herders so no reason why not,outa the two the mal is calmer but may or may not be able to live with chooks,no reason why a sammy couldnt,oh and grooming for a sammy is an everyday thing. and sammys arnt that big ;-)
I would think long and hard before getting a Malamute. They are stunning dogs but they are very big, very strong, and recall can be a massive issue. Out of the two I would suggest a Samoyed. I have been reading up about this breed as it is right at the top of my 'wish list' along with a GSD. I think a Samoyed from a good breeder OR a rescue, is a good bet as they are usually very friendly, sociable dogs. You could train a recall and then the dog could be off leash in parks etc. You should also be able to walk a Samoyed nicely whereas a Malamute might be more inclined to pull... I've met a few people with Malamutes recently. The dogs are beautiful and I can certainly see the appeal. However, I personally feel this breed needs owners that are experienced with dogs and with this breed, ideally. Just a personal opinion RE SIZE A male Samoyed will of course be bigger than a female. There is a Samoyed in the street next to mine and he is HUGE.
LOL, maybe it's just this one They're about the size of a Lab normally, aren't they....? Maybe a bit smaller?
Also bear in mind (and yes I know there are the exceptions that prove the rule) Sammies can be EXTEMELY vocal!!!! As long as you do not have a huge wardrobe of LBDs, you may be allright. Your size COULD be an issue with a Malamute (a lot depends on your training) however as said before if you want a dog that you can let off the lead safely anywhere then this is NOT the breed for you.
Definitely a samoyed of the two. Malamutes are very large and powerful. I have a dog of a similar size and I'm a good 6 inches taller than you. It's no joke controlling a dog that large. Malamutes are bred to pull and really shouldn't be allowed offlead as recall is not their stroing point. Training can only negate those instincts to a certain extent. They also tend to have a high prey drive and the males especially can be dog aggressive and dominant. They are beautiful dogs, but think with your head not your heart for the sake of everybody, including the dog. I know your husband is about to handle to dog, but you both need to get along and bond with this dog and they may as well be a different species to a cavalier. If he's round all the time there is a very good chance the dog will only have eyes for him, so whatever breed you choose make sure you do things like feeding and having a little one to one time together every day so 'mummy' gives all the good things in life to counter dad spending all the time with the dog. I'd also say they are a world away from rotties in their mindset too as they are far more independent. Maybe get a sammy this time and in the future consider a malamute when you have racked up a little spitz experience.
Really the best place to start when considering a breed is the relevant breed club. Of course Discover Dogs is on at Earls Court in November, where all breeds are representated and owners will give a warts and all view! http://www.british-samoyed-club.co.uk/index.php?name=Character http://www.british-samoyed-club.co.uk/index.php?name=Training http://www.alaskanmalamute.org.uk/breed standard.htm http://www.discoverdogs.org.uk/
Wow many thanks for all your kind helpful responses. We have decided that the Samoyed is the one for us - it ticks all our boxes. I will consider attending the Discover Dogs day too - so many thanks for that info I don't mind the Samoyed being vocal and its a good job I like brushing hahaha!! Thanks again
I lost my Samoyed this year, she was 14 years old and I can honestly say was the best dog I have ever met, owned, or am likely to ever own. Grooming is like painting the forth bridge and is continuous, many groomers will not take one on. You will need to learn how to strip the undercoat yourself and when they blow their coat OH BOY you know it! Selkie was always perfect with small animals and was off lead on walks all of her life. She was the most perfect dog with children. Her only vices were eating things she shouldn't like remote controls, socks, mobile phones, wallets... not chewing.. EATING and she was a singer But we loved that about her... Towards the end of her life she went deaf however and no longer had any volume control leading to regular complaints from the neighbours. I now own a Husky/Malamute cross and she is NOTHING like Selkie. I would recommend a Samoyed without hesitation. But I would not do the same for Husky or Malamute Selkie was also big for the breed and was an absolute monster compared with the show dogs I met at crufts! I think there is quite a bit of scope in size in the more 'working' lines outside of the show ring. But there are others far more knowledgable than me on this forum
I just wanted to say that you have made the right choice. I am the happy owner of a samoyed, now two years old. She is a total clown with personality plus and loves people. Everyone who meets her wants to take her home. She does bark, but its not too loud, and I don't think she has any idea what shes barking at, just loves the sound of her own voice. She is intelligent and I have trained her (just about) to round up our chickens. Sammies are alos good at agility and can do obediance. They are just great dogs.
Like many trainers we've seen a dramatic rise in big spitz "husky" type dogs turning up at our classes. It's obvious to me that many people are buying them as puppies with no concept of the size, strength and energy of the dogs. As ever there is no right or wrong answer to the question as long as you do your homework and make sure the dog is suitable for you.
