New Malamute Puppy

[ariatgirl]

I'm bringing home my newest family member in about 3 weeks. I'm definitely excited to have her home with us. We've chosen the name Denali for our little ball of fluff. I was just wondering if anyone had any tips for me on raising malamutes? I have a malamute mix and I've had sled dogs so I'm familiar with the characteristics of the breed, just wanted to hear from some malamute owners. Thank you!!!

[brecker]

Beautiful dogs!!!

'm just happy to "hear" that you know the characteristics and high exercise requirements of these dogs!!! Wonderful, I wish every potential dog owner could do this simple task and follow through.

[clm]

Love malamutes. The biggest issues with them are their annimosity to other dogs and their ability to jump very high fences to wander.

We have a fellow on our block who has two. He had to do some fancy talking to get the breeder to let him get a second pup from him because of their issues with other dogs. They also have an 8 foot fence now as their first dog used to scale the 6 foot one all the time and go for walks with DH and our first dog. It wasn't like he didn't get lots of exercise, his owners diligently exercised that dog. You forever saw him walking up the street by himself though, he scaled that fence like it was nothing.

They hate heat, love the winter and love to lean up against you for affection. Fluffy (I know, horrible name for a 140lb male mal), used to appear in my driveway from time to time after scaling his fence and would almost knock me over when he leaned into me for a nice pat.

I would advise obedience training and don't forget lots of exercise. Most important requirement here is pictures....you must post pictures.

clm

[brecker]

Originally Posted by clm

Love malamutes. The biggest issues with them are their annimosity to other dogs and their ability to jump very high fences to wander.

They are more "wolf-like" than most breeds (some lines are scary wolf-like). Definitely want to "over-do" the early dog socialization!!! I will also make the comment that 95% of folks will not be able to exercise these dogs enough to satisfy them and that could lead to negative type behaviors (jumping fences, pulling, darting, aggression even etc)

[brecker]

Sorry, I just want to add...

Try to work with the breeder to pick a pup that shows submissive traits but not timidness (the worst) - avoid the Alpha. It's can be tough, but will pay off when dealing with dog aggression (dominance) and other behaviors.. Actually, this is good advice period for any potential dog owner.

[Gail P]

Another vote here for socialization. Lots and lots of socialization with other dogs. I don't have mals but I've raced against some that wanted to eat my dogs out on the trail. (2 different teams) I don't know if the mals were reacting to my dogs not looking like most of the sled dogs they meet (border collies and mixes), or if it was just the temperments of those particular dogs but they seriously affected my dogs confidence in meeting other teams. I had to do a lot of work to get them over it to be ready for the next race season. I did a lot of training with a friend who has huskies and mals that are very dog friendly and we set up lots of passing opportunities to retrain my guys that not every dog that looks like that wants to have them for dinner.

[ariatgirl]

Thank you all for your input. I will definitely get some pictures on here when I get her, or maybe when I go visit her I'll get a few photos. I've definitely heard about their aggressiveness and their wonderful love of wandering. For exercise I have a few ideas including a doggy back pack weighted down with some water bottles while out for a run. I'm sure it'll be quite a journey getting through the terrible ones. I have a malamute cross and he's prone to wandering or trying to escape the yard. We have fixed our yard so its escape proof..at least for now lol. I'll keep an update going.

[Bailey_]

Glad to hear it! The water bottle trick is awesome. Let us know how it goes!

[Gail P]

When you mentioned packing that reminded me. You should see if there's a group that does that kind of stuff in your area. The Alaskan Malamute Help League has various functions, including fun races and weight pulls, hikes etc. and something they call the pack 'n pull. Here's a link to some info about it: http://www.malamuterescue.com/09pnp.html

[ariatgirl]

I went to visit her yesterday and got a picture to post so everyone can see her. I'll have more when we get her home. Thanks again for the input!!!

[Gail P]

Awwww...very sweet

[ownedbycats]

OOOh! FuzzY! and little pink belly

[clm]

she's adorable. Just look at that beautiful bundle of fur.

clm

[Macomom]

We have a backpack which we weigh down for our Mastiff and it is brilliant.
Good luck with your new puppy, it is absolutely adorable.

[MushkosMom]

I use a pack with my mal and it works wonders! Other than socializing your pup, I would also teach her recall asap. Malamutes are notorious for wandering off. When I first adopted Mushko (my mal), he'd come when called... unless dogs, cats, or other people were around - ugh! It took a lot of long lead training, and some mellowing out with age, but Mushko is finally pretty good with recall. His recall still isn't perfect so I never let him off leash when it wouldn't be safe but he is allowed off leash at the beach and while camping in the woods.

Your pup is absolutely adorable and I wish you the best of luck!!!

[ariatgirl]

My little Denali is now 10 weeks old. She's doing great so far! She's almost completely house broken with a few accidents here and there, she knows how to sit, and we are working on getting her back when we call. She definitely gets distracted by other animals and does the typical mal thing of tuning us out lol. We are careful not to let her out off leash anywhere dangerous. She's definitely sweet and seems to be adjusting to our family and with the other dogs extremely well. She wags her tail at everyone she sees,the only time she barks is when neighbors come close to the house and she's on the front porch or in the yard. I'm including a few pictures of her recently. She's getting soooo big!!!

[mastifflover]

How very cute. Welcome and keep posting pics we love them.

[Galenuit]

She is a beautiful seal and white girl. She looks very much like my Kiva. I see the same attitude in the eye.
I have had a lot of experience with mals - owning them for over 20 years and doing rescue for 10 of them.
My best advice is socialize. Mals, especially females, can be same sex dog aggressive. I had 4 girls at one time and none of them got along. They are independant, but also rely on the pack. Use NILIF - Nothing in Life is Free - at all times. It lays a basic foundation for the pack heirarchy - with you as the alpha. Making her work for everything, no free feeding, etc is really important for these dogs. Start training and NILIF right away. A lot of people don't start training young pups, but starting early makes it so much easier.
Congrats on the new pup. Mals are not the easiest of breeds, but their personality and beauty have me sold on them.

[ariatgirl]

Denali is now 6 months old and she is such a good girl. She never chews things unless they are her toys and bones, has only had two accidents in the house and that was once when we first got her and another time when my fiance wasn't paying attention. She gets along great with other dogs and is only slightly aggressive with her bones, which we are working on. She's learning to heel and doing a good job. She knows how to sit and lay down, her lay down is pretty funny (she throws herself down). When she gets treats she's expected to use a 'nice bite' and does a great job all the time. The only thing that seems to be hard to train her on is the 'come' command. She gets soooo busy and excited she doesn't want to come to you. If you have a treat she'll come if she's paying attention so we're working on that one. Overall she's a great dog and I'm so happy we added her to the family!

[ariatgirl]

Here are some more pics of Denali and the last pics is Denali and my fiance.

[ownedbycats]

She is gorgeous, and looks very strong. Nice to see her as a teeny tiny puppy turning into a big grown-up dog