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The
Malamute is a working dog who will be happy to tackle almost any working
activity. Being a sledding breed the Alaskan Malamute has a natural
instinct to pull, often at inappropriate times. Rather than finding
yourself dragged down the street on your walks, it's a good idea to harness that
energy into an activity that the Malamute has a natural ability for. Most
Malamutes will take to working activities fairly easily and with much
enthusiasm, and working your Malamute can help take some of the frustration out
of him or her and make for a better companion.
 Beware!
In most cases it's not a good idea to walk this breed in a walking
harness. Harnesses are designed to give the dog maximum comfort and
maximum pulling power - a combination which means minimum control for the
handler. Put any fit and healthy Malamute into any sort of harness and you
are giving him the message to lean in and pull, not great if you want a nice
relaxing walk. Use harnesses only for working activities when you wish to
encourage the dog to pull, and make sure you have the correct type of harness
for each activity. For information about harnesses go to our Windchill
Dog Gear website.
We
like to pursue all sorts of activities with our Malamutes once they are mature
enough, and a dog that can achieve reasonable success in working activities is
obviously a sound specimen of the breed. Showing our dogs is also
important as achieving the Australian Champion title is an indication to us that
the Malamute is also a reasonable specimen of the breed. It is important
to us to breed Malamutes that not only look like Malamutes should, but are sound
enough to work like Malamutes should.
Exercising Puppies
Young puppies under 5-6 months
should not be deliberately exercised, nor do they need it. They will play
and be very active while awake and will sleep soundly in between bouts of high
activity. This is all the exercise they will need, so make sure the yard
where your puppy spends its time provides a good environment for play with
plenty of acceptable playthings and interesting (but safe) obstacles, as well as
uninterrupted sleep. If your puppy can't find anything to play with and
relieve their boredom, they will use up their energy playing with something you
might not be so keen for them to destroy. The golden rule is that if you
don't want your Malamute to trash something you value, keep it well out of the
Malamute's reach!
Being a large, quick growing breed,
Malamute puppies should not be strenuously exercised or taken on long walks.
Their structure grows quickly up until around 12 months of age, at which time it
is sufficiently developed for short sledding events, longer walks (with no
backpack) and to have their hips x-rayed for hip dysplasia.
We recommend puppies receive limited
exercise starting at around 5-6 months (maybe later for larger puppies) which is
gradually built up over the next 6-7 months. Prior to that they should be taken
on short walks in different environments so they get used to different sights
and sounds, or taken on trips in the car with the window upen just enough for
them to sniff the air and hear the sounds outside, which is important for a
growing puppy.
Too much exercise too early can
damage the growth plates of a growing puppy, which may lead to permanent damage,
so don't expect to do too much walking and no running with your puppy under 6
months. Of course a young pup will happily go along with you on more
strenuous outings, but this doesn't mean it's good for them.
If your puppy is getting too
"roly-poly" it is simply a matter of cutting down the calorie intake (ie less
food in the dinner bowl), as excess weight on a puppy can also put stress on
their growing bones and joints.
Please be aware that pups should not
be taken to public places where other dogs may have been until a week after
their 3rd vaccination (which is generally around 16 weeks of age).
Parvovirus can survive in the ground up to around a year after an infected dog
has passed, which means that a puppy that has not finished it's course of
vaccinations can become infected with this potentially fatal disease without
ever coming into direct contact with another dog. We recommend puppy
owners check with their veterinarian and follow their advice.
As it is good to socialise and
introduce a young pup to different situations from 8 weeks onwards, taking them
on trips in the car, to enclosed areas which are not accessible to other dogs
(like someone else's backyard) or areas where only vaccinated dogs are permitted
(e.g. puppy schools run by vets and canine organisations etc.) are ways of
giving your puppy these valuable experiences with minimal risk.
 Weight-Pulling
Weight
pulling is quite a strenuous sport that we only attempt with our Malamutes when
they are mature, at around 2 years of age. We would also advise that a
Malamute be x-rayed and passed for hip dysplasia before attempting any strenuous
activity.
Right:
Some handlers will try anything to get their dog to pull!
Weight-pulling
is not a sport in which all dogs will excel, in fact many Malamutes seem to be
of the opinion that, since they're tied to something, how could you possibly
expect them to come to you! How often have those big impressive Mals that draw
admiration from the crowd embarrassed their owners in the chute by completely
ignoring their pleas to pull! There is no doubt that Malamutes are strong dogs
that are capable of pulling great weights, but it all comes down to whether or
not they want to pull. And if they don't, bad luck because there is
absolutely nothing you can do about it!
It
is important that your dog doesn't have any bad experiences at a weight-pull,
either in or out of the chute, so make sure that it is fun for your dog, give
your dog plenty of encouragement and praise no matter how well or poorly he
performed, and never chastise a dog for not pulling.
 Backpacking
Backpacking
is an extremely enjoyable activity that we love to do with our Mals, whether we
are seeking to title a dog or just taking them along for an outing. As with any
strenuous working activity, your Malamute needs to be reasonably fit, physically
mature and passed for Hip dysplasia before you should consider doing any serious
backpacking or seeking a Working Pack Dog title.
For
information about equipment for backpacking with your dog go to our Windchill
Dog Gear website.
More
about Backpacking
Sledding
 Sledding
with a Malamute is an ideal way to give your dog plenty of the exercise he needs
participating an activity that the breed was born to do. Most Malamutes
take readily to pulling in harness if fit and healthy, with the instinct to pull
coming naturally.
More
about Sledding
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