Alaskan Malamute
The Alaskan Malamute was originally bred as a sled dog that today, is particularly used as a domestic dog. It has, however, been usually mistaken for its husky counterparts, like the Siberian Husky.
For a dog to be recognized as an Alaskan Malamute, it has to meet standards imposed by the American Kennel Club (AKC). These breed requirements include the dog being within a range of size, within the range of freighting weight of 75-85 lbs and a range of height of about 23-25 inches.
There, are however, deviations in sizes and weights that do not comply with the historical trend for Alaskan Malamutes or standards for participation in shows. Heavier dogs of greater than 100 pounds, and lighter ones that do not even hit 75 pounds are common, while those of 140 pounds are not a usual sight. These “giant” Malamute sizes are usually specifically bred to meet the demands of pet owners who want to own more gargantuan versions of the Alaskan Malamutes.
There are slight physical differences that exist between the Alaskan Malamute and the Siberian Husky. This primarily manifests in the fact that the Alaskan Malamute has a characteristic double northern coat that is dense, but harsher in texture than that of the Siberian Husky. Their coats usually are colored in combinations of grey-white, sable-white, black-white, red-white, or just white.
The purity of breed is evident in the physical characteristics of their eyes. Pure-bred Alaskan Malamutes have brown almond-shaped eyes. Blue eyes indicate a Malamute that has undergone some extent of cross-breeding, and are an evident cause for disqualification of blue-eyed dogs in shows for Alaskan Malamutes.
In terms of stature, the Alaskan Malamute is what is known to be “compact”. This signifies a height to length ratio is longer than taller, combined with a heavy bone structure.
However, despite this seeming priority in appearance, the AKC in fact prioritizes the capacity of a Malamute to fulfill its function of pulling heavy cargo on sleds in their criteria of judging for Malamutes in dog shows. Malamutes are usually very capable of pulling heavy freight. In fact, the rest of the physical considerations come secondary in the vast criteria for Malamute.
Characteristic to the breed are tails that appear to resemble plumes, with these furred tails that hang over the Malamute’s back portion. However, while descriptions of the breed in many books limit tail appearance to that of a plume, tails that resemble corkscrews are slowly becoming a common characteristic of tails of many Alaskan Malamutes. The purpose of the thick fur on the tail of a Malamute is to help them stay warm during cold periods. What they do is to curl up and wrap their furred tails around their noses and about their faces not only to warm themselves, but also to protect them against snow blowing against their faces.
Aside from being compared to Siberian Huskies, the Alaskan Malamute is also compared to wolves. The comparison explores various points of difference. While they may come in similar sizes and neck widths, the Malamute’s head appears different to the head of wolves. Their heads are much narrower and overall smaller in size. The Malamute also has a wider chest and stands two inches shorter. The difference in height is due to the Malamute’s leg being shorter than the wolf’s by about three inches, and the Malamute’s body being eight inches shorter than the wolf’s. Moreover, the tail of a wolf is nearly twice that of the Malamute, despite its being unable to curl this tail over its back like the Malamute.
Characteristics
The various functions that the Alaskan Malamute fulfills now are more varied than what was originally intended. For instance, more Malamutes are used now for recreational sledding than for their original function of being sled dogs in hauling freight and luggage, or helping pull and move heavy cargo. To date, the Alaskan Malamute is more popularly a family pet or a show dog.
In 1994, a team of Malamutes were led by Nancy Russell during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, where they managed to complete about 600 miles of the 1,150 mile-race. However, the Russell had to pull out the team of Malamutes from the race after the dogs faced nutrition problems and acquired blisters. The blisters were primarily a result of the dogs having worn the wrong shape of dog booties, used to protect their paws from cracking when exposed to extreme cold.
Moreover, the Malamutes are ill-equipped to run the same speeds as other breeds that are much smaller and faster. Thus, they are better suited to carry freight or travel long distances provided that it is at a speed much slower than the speeds required for distance racing.
The Young Malamute
Because the Malamute is one of the purest breeds of dogs, it has continued to manifest the traditional traits characteristic of their breed. This includes being extremely tame and affectionate to the extent that they are ineffective as watch dogs and protectors of the home. This is consistent with their genetic history of being nurtured in the wilderness still with constant interaction with man and other domesticated animals of similar size.
However, it is believed that the Alaskan Malamute is not well-suited to interact with animals tinier than itself, even if these smaller animals are also canines. This opinion is derived from extensive concurrence in the experience of many Malamute owners of a deviation from their affectionate behavior when they are around smaller animals.
Note that as a general rule, Malamutes exhibit a notable amount of amiability when they are interacting with humans regardless of age. It is for this reason that it is speculated that this inconsistent behavior is a result of the divergent ancestry of the Malamute, which at some point in its genetic history, cross-bred with wolves. While there is a lack of empirical data to prove this point, it would be wise to oversee a Malamute when in the presence of a smaller animal to be more familiar with that particular dog’s responses.
Only after spending time to observe a pet Malamute can help determine just how the Malamute will respond to interactions with other house pets, particularly those smaller in stature. However, despite its being comfortable around your own household pets to the point of it being fine to be left unwatched, this does not in any way signify the response it may have when it comes into contact with other animals. This is because of the fact that Malamutes continue to exhibit many characteristics of their canine counterparts.
Like all dogs, Malamutes are uneasy around unfamiliar dogs and house guests that they display a great level of aggressiveness. This happens even though Malamutes are not characteristically territorial dogs. In the event of their response being unfavorable, it may be imperative for their owners to spray or neuter the Malamute. This action is necessary because damage and destruction may ensue when they use their strong chests and large heads in aggression. Male dogs, as is usual, are more aggressive than their female counterparts. Luckily, Malamutes are generally fond of people, and unfavorable instances like those mentioned occur rarely that they do not merit as much worry from people who seek to have them as pets.
What also makes them unlikely guardians is the fact that Malamutes are relatively quiet and timid dogs. This manifests in the fact that they do not bark as much as other dogs do. Instead, they seem to “talk” by seemingly enunciating a woofing sound. The bark of the Malamute was the sound that Star Wars creators tried to emulate with the character of Chewbacca. It is believed that George Lucas got the idea for the voice of Chewbacca after a Malamute he used to own. What Malamutes are capable of doing, however, is howling. When they howl, their howls are practically indistinguishable from the wolf.
Health and Well-being
The Alaskan Malamutes have only undergone one particular health survey, and it was done by the UK Kennel Club in 2004 with a sample size of 14 dogs. Within this sample size, the median lifespan that they were able to derive was 10.7 years. This is consistent with the lifespan of many of the dog breeds of that size. The major reason for death for 36% of Malamutes was cancer.
However, the other reported health conditions in the same study (this time with a sample of 64 Alaskan Malamutes) included mostly musculoskeletal in nature. The variety of musculoskeletal problems included injury in the tendons, the growth of pre-cancerous cells along the hips, patellar luxation where the kneecap moves out of place, fracture, arthritis, and cranial cruciate ligament rupture, or the rupturing of joint ligament leading to joint instability and crippling. Others were dermatological in nature, including inter-digital cysts, fading nose coloration, shedding of hair, and dermatitis.
Malamutes also suffered from chondrodysplasia or genetic crippling deformities, optical disorders (like cataract and progressive retinal atrophy), and inherited polyneuropathy.
Origins
The Alaskan Malamute derives its name from its having descended from the dogs kept by the Mahlemuit tribe in the upper west of the Alaskan region. It is recognized as a spitz dog, and was with the Mahelmuit tribe as functional companions since about 3,000 years before. During their period with the tribe, they managed to encourage prosperity in the Mahlemuit tribe by being excellent companions to their human counterparts, be it at work, during hunting, or in every day functions. This lead to them flourishing despite the inhospitable region they occupied near the Arctic Region.
The Malamutes served as sled dogs and supplies carriers to gold seekers and settlers who occupied the Alaskan region during the short period of the Gold Rush in the year 1896. During this period, the Malamute was frequently interbred with other breeds from abroad, either to imbibe new characteristics to the dogs and enhance the breed, or to compensate for the dearth of Malamutes available for purchase by these settlers. This period of cross-breeding, however, did not have any material effect on the genetic composition of the present-day Malamute. In fact, the genetic analysis on the modern Malamute has shown that it remains integrally true to its origins. The Malamute breed continues to be one of the oldest and genetically distinct breeds of dog.
Throughout its history, the Alaskan Malamute has provided companionship and carrier services not only to the miners of the 1896 Gold Rush, but even helped Richard Byrd in his quest in the South Pole. The dog, because it wasn’t meant to be a racing dog, was mostly used in the past years to move heavy cargo of supplies settlements in the Alaskan areas. Usually, these loads of heavy supplies were collectively carried by Malamute groups of about 4 dogs at a given time.
