Dogs of the North About Alaskan Malamutes The Malamute Mind

To those who know very little about dogs, an Alaskan Malamute might look like a big, aggressive part-wolf. Those who know Malamutes know that they are one of the friendliest breeds in the canine world. Overly friendly is how they are often described. They are extremely sweet and expressive and at times almost human because they are so physically demonstrative of their affection. Pawing, talking, licking, sneezing when happy, and rolling over for tummy rubs are all part of the Malamute bag of tricks to make you fall in love with them.

Malamutes were originally bred by the Inuits - Eskimos who hailed from Kotzebue Sound on Alaska's northwest coat. These people were known as Mahlemuts. The Mahlemut people were nomadic folks that lived on the land in harsh and extreme conditions. To them, their dogs were family members - companions to the adults and children, hunting partners and freight-pulling dogs. In other words, their dogs were companion animals and working animals. Malamutes thrive on work and nothing bores them more than doing nothing. Out of necessity, the Mahlemut people were tireless workers. The worst insult they could level at their dogs was to leave them out of the family and work activities and believe me, Malamutes get upset when they know they are being left out of an activity. The Mahlemut people were strong and independent and they expected the same of their dogs. These are dogs that think for themselves and there have been many stories in history of dog sled teams that found their way home when their musher was hopelessly lost. Unlike many breeds, the Malamute is very close to its ancestors and has not been tampered with for the worst as has happened with so many other dog breeds. So when you get a Malamute today, you are still essentially getting the same dog that the Mahlemut people originally bred. Malamutes have a very rich heritage. It is easy to understand how they think when you remember why they were bred and how the ancestors of today's Malamutes lived.

Malamutes are very independently minded dogs and many people that get one without doing the research first, often end up in trouble. Sometimes this leads to grief because things get out of hand and more often than not in those cases, the poor innocent Malamute ends up in a rescue shelter (hopefully one with a no-kill policy). In my opinion, this is just the usual human idiot not doing research first but some things never change unfortunately.

The key to successfully living with Malamutes is understanding how their mind works. Malamutes have a very strong pack sense. Most importantly, this means that it is in their nature to look for leadership in the pack. If you do not show strong leadership, they will feel that they must. If this happens, you can expect your Malamute to walk all over you and things will quickly get out of hand. Malamutes respect leadership and they respect fair authority so keeping them in-line is not hard if you know what to do. Malamutes with strong alpha-tendencies will also tend to challenge you from time-to-time to ensure that you are a strong leader. This is in their nature and it takes nothing more than absolutely ensuring that they understand who the boss is.

Malamutes also respond very poorly to harsh methods. Hitting or screaming at a Malamute will just result in it refusing to listen to you at all. Malamutes need lots of love and lots of discipline. I always say be extremely firm but never harsh. 99% of the time it takes nothing more than your voice. You must get respect from your Malamute. Remember that Malamutes follow because they respect leadership not simply because of some master-slave relationship. You must be the Alpha! And if you are thinking of having multiple Malamutes then you better be a strong leader because Malamutes will tend to follow the pack and if collectively they think their opinion outweighs yours then you have a problem.

What this all comes down to is that people who cannot show strong authority and leadership are unlikely to be suitable owners of Malamutes. Malamute owners also need to be patient because it takes time to develop the deep, strong bond between you and your Malamute. This bond is essential to your relationship.

There are a lot of so-called professional dog training people out there who do not understand the Malamute mind and will lead you down the entirely wrong path. They mistake a stubborn Malamute or one that questions you, for a stupid dog and may suggest harsh methods. A lot of people are also very intent on training as fast as possible. They will sell you on the premise that their training technique is faster and produces more results in less time than other methods. If you want a dog that will be immediately responsive that you can teach a big bag of tricks to, then go get a Border Collie or a Standard Poodle. If you like a challenge and want a dog that thinks for itself then maybe a Malamute is for you.

A dog with a strong pack-sense is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact this trait can be an asset. Apart from showing strong leadership and bonding with my dogs (which admittedly has been easier for me since I am around them almost 24 hours a day), I have tried hard to develop a situation where they always feel they need to keep me in sight when they know we are supposed to be together. Many times a day (probably ten or so), I will hide or run from them. They will immediately search for me. This constant game of hide and seek is a lot of fun and sometimes they get a treat if they find me although usually they are just overjoyed to sniff me out. I will hide and test their senses of smell and hearing. If they are having trouble locating me then I will call out to give them a clue. I hide in all these ridiculous places like inside cupboards, on top of doors, etc. It is a lot of fun for us but what it has done is to produce a situation where they basically follow me everywhere I go. I can walk through the bush with them and they just follow me. Sure they go exploring a bit and if a small critter wanders past they will definitely go after it, but in general they will just go where I go. In fact when we walk bush trails where dogs are allowed off-leash, they walk ahead of me (sometimes with me calling out mushing commands to direct them when they reach forks or junctions). If they get too far ahead they will just stop and wait or sometimes come back if they can't see or hear me. In the house, unless they are asleep, if I go out of sight for more than fifteen minutes, they will come looking for me. And more importantly, if I ever get in a situation where I need them to immediately follow me, I only need to run in the opposite direction to whatever I want to lead them away from, and they will follow. Many people make the mistake of trying to run after their dog when it is going somewhere they don't want it to go. In fact you should run away whilst calling your dog and you can bet your dog will follow.

Of course living with independently-minded, stubborn, hard-headed dogs is easier when you are that way yourself!