Alaskan malamute

In modern dog breeding, more and more new breeds appear every year. However, this does not prevent to remain at the peak of popularity of dogs, whose history has more than one century. And this category includes one of the oldest breeds - the Alaskan Malamute. Beautiful, powerful, proud - they are all northern beauties who can not leave anyone indifferent. What is today known about this breed?

The origin of the Alaskan Malamute breed

It is not known for certain when the Alaskan Malamute breed appeared, but its ancestors were the pets of the Malamuts tribe who inhabited the shores of Alaska. They were powerful, hardy animals covered with thick and dense coat of wool. They were used in quite harsh climatic conditions for driving and moving heavy loads.

At the beginning of the 20th century there was a period of the “gold rush”, which could not but affect the development and spread of Alaskan Malamutes. After all, to reach the rich deposits could only be on the sledding of these strong dogs. Many gold miners wanted to acquire such a “transport” for their use, which greatly influenced the size of this breed.

But this phenomenon also had a flip side - people, thirsting for untold wealth, tried to cross the Malamutes with other breeds in order to get an even more enduring, fast and unpretentious dog. Such activity has led to the fact that there are very few purebred individuals.

But the "gold rush" was replaced by sports, and gambling lovers of sled races began to revive the purebred northern breed, investing huge amounts of money in this process. After all, it was possible to win only with purebred Malamutes.

Only by the 20s of the past millennium was it possible not only to stop the extinction of this breed, but also to increase their population. Then the process of breeding Alaskan Malamutes rose to a professional level. After 10 years, this breed came to world recognition, a special club appeared and the standard was defined.

However, during the war period, there was a significant extermination of the Malamutes, which led to a reduction in the number of not more than 30 individuals. After the war ended, “titanic” work was carried out to restore the Alaskan Malamutes, and by the 60th year there was no question of their disappearance. In the modern world, these dogs are among the twenty most popular and sought-after breeds in the world, and in 2010 they became a symbol of the state of Alaska.

Descriptive characteristics of the Alaskan Malamute breed

Today, there are two types of Alaskan Malamute - M-Lut and Kotzebue. The first type has a more powerful boning, large size, mobility and aggression. You can meet dogs of this type of various colors - from black with gray, to silver-blue in combination with white. Kotzebue, in spite of the obligatory presence of the wolf color, are inferior in size and have a more docile character.

Modern breeders to this day do not cease to argue what kind of breed is real, but it is worth remembering that, nevertheless, thanks to nature, these proud beautiful pets appeared.

According to the standard, Alaskan Malamutes must meet the following requirements:

• The dog must have a strong bones, strong constitution , deep chest. But despite this, her torso should be compact.
• The Malamute coat should be hard outside, and inside the body is covered with a soft undercoat. This phenomenon is due to the origin of the dog. In addition, wool is covered with moisture-resistant grease.
• The growth of males varies in the range from 60 to 63 cm, females within 57-59 cm.
• The body weight of pets in the norm should be not less than 35 kg, but not more than 38.
• The head of the dog is wide, proportional in size to the body.
• The Malamute's muzzle is quite voluminous, its pointed or elongated unacceptable.
• The animal's ears are triangular, with rounded ends, standing, have a wide setting.
• The jaws of the dog are impressive, with large, sharp teeth.
• Lips must fit.
• Malamute bite like scissors.
• The eyes are small, almond-shaped, slightly slanting, the iris is brown, in this breed blue eyes are considered a serious defect.
• The pet's nose is predominantly black, only in dogs of red color can it be brown.
• To become envious of Malamutes - the back is straight, the loin is covered with elastic muscles, the chest is wide.
• The tail by nature has a perky curl and even in a calm state it rises above the back.
• Paws are powerful and bear-like.

The life cycle of Malamutes on average is 13-15 years. Females most often bring litters with 5-6 Alaskan Malamute puppies.

The nature of the Alaskan Malamutes

Malamutes are distinguished by increased friendliness and excessive kindness. They are not lonely at all, and need close, trusting relationships, no matter with a pack of dogs or a human family. They are great for large families with small children. These dogs know a lot about children's fun and can always play the role of a caring nurse.

Representatives of this breed tend to become attached to their owners, but they constantly need to be reminded that they are important and necessary family members. Despite all the affection, these pets simply need freedom. Closed aviary and constant loneliness can adversely affect the character of the pet, he can lose the trust and respect for the owner.

By their nature, Malamutes do not belong to those dogs that are ready, in spite of everything, to serve only one owner. As soon as a person ceases to be an authority for a pet, the dog immediately becomes interested in other people. Call it a betrayal can not be, because this behavior is associated with natural stubbornness and high intelligence. These four-legged friends can easily tire of monotonous actions. If you force them to bring slippers a hundred times a day, the dog can interpret this as a disrespectful attitude and remember it for a long time.

Such character traits allow us to conclude that the Alaskan Malamute is a dog exclusively for experienced dog breeders who know the breed.

Stubborn nature is also a stumbling block in the process of training, although their lively and sharp mind allows you to understand and remember absolutely all the commands from the first time. They can even complete and repeat them, but no more than two times. Then the dogs' interest in this action disappears, and they can completely refuse further training.

If suddenly a person had an idea to buy a Malamute as a guard (dogs have impressive size and serious appearance), then nothing will come of this idea. Representatives of the breed are very kind to all who do not show obvious aggression towards them and family members.

Malamut can become an evil dog, but only because of the circumstances - after the psychological trauma received in childhood, improper upbringing, cruel treatment of people and other reasons that could embitter this peaceful animal.

Caring for the Alaskan Malamute

There will be no problems with pet washing , as these dogs just love to swim. The main thing in bathing is to remove all detergents from the thick wool. So that after the procedures the wool looked even and well-groomed, it must be dried and combed simultaneously.

During periods of molting, combing down is a must-have procedure, otherwise a pet may have mats, and in the apartment fluff will fly, no worse than poplar.

Dogs claws need regular trimming, eyes rubbed every 5-7 days. Ears enough to clean once a month.

As for living, the country house or cottage will become an ideal place for a free life. In an apartment Alaskan Malamute will be very crowded and uncomfortable. But you only need to make sure that the pet could not make a digging and escape.

Also read about how to feed an Alaskan Malamute .

Photos of Alaskan Malamute

Take a look at these wonderful photos of the Alaskan Malamute.

Video

We recommend to watch a video about the Alaskan Malamute.

How much are thoroughbred Malamute puppies

Of course, it is better to buy a pet from experienced breeders, but not everyone can afford such a "pleasure." Approximate prices for Alaskan Malamute puppies are as follows:

• For 10,000-12,000 rubles, you can buy an Alaskan Malamute puppy that does not have a pedigree;
• In the area of ​​15000-30000 are puppies with pedigree.
• Above 30,000 is an elite offspring from parent champions.

When buying, you need to familiarize yourself with the available documents, inspect the puppy (he must be active and cheerful), and assess whether he is ill and whether his behavior is adequate. If possible, it is advisable to look at the parents of the future champion. Malamute from Alaska - the perfect choice as a favorite pet.