Alaskan Malamute aka Mallys
Meet Zosia aged 2
Mallys were originally breed to pull heavy freight and sleds due to their strength and ability to travel long distances in sub zero temperatures. They are such a loyal dog with an extremely quirky personality. Zosia makes the family roar with laughter every day without fail.
Keywords: Loyal, intelligent, protective and an absolute idiot 😂
Traits: Mallys are extremely loyal and friendly dogs to people. They are excellent with kids, Zosia's best friend is my 7 year old niece. They can however be somewhat tempermental around smaller animals and have a high prey drive which makes them very hard to train recall (not impossible)
They are also stubborn. So very stubborn. The breed is know for being hard to train however if you ask any professional or mally owner you'll hear a different story. They are ridiculously easy to train! That's when their stubbornness kicks in, they then decide if the treat is worth the energy. You can see the contemplation in their faces as they decide.
Malamutes are not know for barking much if at all. They "woo woo" at you and will always talk back if you give them a command. The way they "woo woo" changes depending on what they want which you soon learn as they are very vocal.
Exercise: unlike Huskies (which she is often mistaken for) malamutes aren't as hyper active as a husky, they take activity in their stride but do require a lot of walking or brain power games. If you don't walk her or keep her entertained you will find holes in the garden or the occasional toy will have its insides spread over the house. Zosia goes to an excellent day care 3 times a week where some of you may have bumped into her.
Health: it's very common for all larger breed dogs to have hip and elbow issues. Malamutes can also get cataracts before the age of 2.
Comparison to other breeds: As mentioned previously malamutes are often mistaken for Huskies. There are big differences between the two. Malamutes dwarf the Husky.
A male Malamute stands at 25 inches tall and weighs between 85-100 pounds. Huskies are slightly shorter at 20 inches and should weigh around 50 pounds.
A malamute (unless mixed) will not have the typical husky blue eyes. Their eyes range from dark brown to almost Amber.
Large feet. Malamutes have extremely big (and heavy) feet. Zosia has learnt that if she wants to go outside she can tap the door and we will go open it. The tap has never been dainty it is more of a punch so if you ever consider a malamute you must have strong doors 😂
Average life expectancy: 10-12 years
Average weight: 85-100lbs
Ups of breed: Although they shed it is only twice a year. You are able to wear black and still hug your dog year round. (Just have a good hoover for those two times).
They are extremely friendly to anyone and everyone.
The character is just brilliant.
Downs of breed: the only downside I can think of is the life expectancy is never long enough and is much shorter than her smaller furry friends.
Personal Stories
Zosia is such a funny character that I have included a photo from one of the funniest moments we've had together. I was working from home and on a zoom call sat near the back door so I could sly let her in and out. I could hear a noise on the door and looked down to see her pulling faces at me through the door. I opened the door and she ran off so I shut it and carried on and she appeared again and just kept pulling faces at me through the door so I had to laugh which caused questions. The meeting then turned to everyone watching her pulling faces.
Zosia has grown up with two cats and two cat sized dogs so I'm now almost certain she thinks she's a cat as she thinks at 45 kilos she can be a lapdog. This doesn't normally end well so she ends up laying on her back with her legs up in the air.
Tamsin Barnes-Warden and Zosia
Title of the breed:
#giantbreedsweek
The Alaskan Malamute –
Not considered a Giant as breed standard but depending on their lineage you can get Giant Malamutes. Wynter spends her time with the Giants and their playdates, so we consider her one of them!
Strong dogs and not for the weak! They are bred for their strength and endurance, carrying heavy freight over long distances. The Malamute is thought to come from the Malimiut people of Alaska and was used to carry hundreds of pounds of supplies to villages and camps. They can survive temperatures of -70, and when the temperature dropped early in December, Wynter loved it and wanted to stay outside as much as she could. Average life expectancy is 10 – 14 years. Males can weigh up 84lbs with females being slighter smaller at around 75lb.
Often people mistake a Malamute for a husky, but if you know what you’re looking for you can easily tell them apart. Malamutes are larger, stockier and will always have brown eyes. They are also much more laid back than the husky. They love to dig, whether it’s the garden, or the sofa, anything will do – she loves to dig the sand at the beach. They don’t tend to be ‘escape artists’ like the Husky and are not as high energy.
Wynter is my first Malamute, and first dog – crazy I know, but I tend to go all out when doing anything and like a challenge which I’ve got with Wynter. I feel the breed is very stereotyped and misunderstood purely down to the people owning them and not understanding what they’re in for. I will likely only own Malamutes now I have had one. They have such a big personality and I love every thing about them no matter how many grey hairs I accumulate.
Wynter could walk all day, whatever the weather, and after a good walk she will chill out and sleep all day. You need to be a fairly active person to own a Malamute. She is walked twice a day, averaging around 2 hours. She enjoys spending time in the garden, snoozing and watching the world go by. She is a very ‘bouncy’ and playful dog – she likes a good run and chase, but much prefers to get down and wrestle which can be quite overwhelming to some dogs. Not everyone likes a large dog, especially malamutes and huskies so we do find people avoid us or have dogs that don’t like her based off appearance, so this is something I always have to think about when out and about.
Malamutes are very intelligent dogs, which also comes with stubbornness. Wynter knows all her commands and I’d consider her a fairly well-trained dog, but she could wake up one day and not want to listen at all, so I do find her quite unpredictable!
It is well known that Malamutes/huskies do not have good recall as they have high prey drive, whilst this is true, recall can be trained but is A LOT of work. Wynter is easily distracted by other people and dogs but can be let off her lead and does stay close (for sausage) however if she sees deer or a bird, its game over. She will always come back though.
They are known to ‘talk’ and have separation anxiety. Wynter is very ‘chatty’, and will make it known if she likes/dislikes something. Rather than standing by the door signalling she needs to go to the toilet or wants a walk, she will come up to me, paw me on my leg and shout at me 😂
She can be left alone and doesn’t howl or be destructive, however if she is bored, or I am on the phone, she can attention seek and play up. They can get bored quite easily and will find anything to entertain themselves, Wynter will play chase with a speck of dust and have the time of her life 😂 so they do need mental exercise as well as physical exercise.
Wynter is great with kids but isn’t aware of her size (and the size of her paws) so always needs to be closely managed around kids in case she jumps up for a kiss or wants a high five which can result in a bruise or two. Although looks intimidating, Malamutes are not guard dogs. Like Rosie the Leo, Wynter will show the burglar around the house and probably go home with them.
Malamutes are double coated and shed a lot. They blow their coats twice a year and you’ll be amazed at the amount of hair they lose. When they’re shedding their coat, they need brushing at least twice a day and you could make a small dog out of all the fur!
Wynter is 1 years old, but once she reaches 2 we will take on activities such as bikejoring and canicross, I also want to scooter with her and get her doing what she was born to do!
Lots of pics of her as I have so many!!
Natalie Scott and Wynter
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Comparison to other breeds: e.g. cavaliers are very different to other spaniels as they don't tend to like the water…
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Personal Stories
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