When I became pregnant with my first child there was one thing I knew I wanted. It wasn’t a nursery, a fancy swing, expensive toys or any inanimate thing in fact. It was a dog. I wanted my son to have some one to grow up with, even though we did plan more children in the future. Looking back on my childhood my favorite moments involved animals. I already had a Maine Coon, but cats generally don’t like rolling in the dirt with little boys. I knew I wanted a big strong dog, that could just as easily haul fire wood as play with my son. At first I was put off by people who told me, “Big dogs are dangerous for small children. They told me that it would be far more trouble than it was worth. They were wrong. Just after my sons birth I purchased a Giant Alaskan Malamute from King Fisher’s Kennel located in Alaska.
Fenris, we later named him, is a sable giant Alaskan malamute, and my sons very best friend as you can see here. You may be wondering why I keep saying giant Alaskan malamute and not simply malamute. That is because a giant Alaskan malamute is not the same thing as a regular malamute. When it comes to malamutes there are two kinds so to speak, M’Loot which are larger and come in a vast variety of colors, and Kotzeblue, which are smaller and only come in wolf-grey. Giant Alaskan Malamutes are bred from M’Loot Malamutes. Size is achieved through careful selective breeding of the largest of litters. The result? While your basic male malamute is around 85 pounds, and a female 65 lbs, a giant Alaskan malamute averages more like 125 lbs for a male and 100 lbs for a female. These are the gentle giants of the working dog world.
And I do mean working dogs. In fact not letting a giant Alaskan malamute “work” is a very bad idea. If tied in a back yard separated from the “pack”, or your family, with nothing to do a giant Alaskan malamute will sing it’s remorse in loud mournful howls while destroying anything within reach. (Trust me I left for 10 hours once and came back to find Fenris had broken a leg size tree in half to free himself of his run and then laid demise to the flower beds. Malamute’s LOVE to dig!)
They are a very pack oriented breed which makes for easy training. Well, as easy as it gets with such a stubborn and large dog. While giant Alaskan malamute may be big, playful babies, and in no way lack intelligence, they are very stubborn and should begin obedience training immediately. That training should not include guard dog duty. Why not? Though impressive and intimidating giant Alaskan malamutes love everyone not just babies. Guard dog activities are against their nature. They’ll greet a burglar just as welcome as grandma. This is not to say their useless as home defenders. A giant Alaskan malamute will protect the pack if it sees a threat. (ex/ some one is actively harming you or your family) They also will sound the alarm so to speak for visitors, whether it’s a greeting or not. That greeting will likely be in a chewbaka sort of way as well. Giant Alaskan Malamute’s are not barkers, but that does not mean they are quiet dogs. They will “talk”, howl and communicate in their own little wolf-like malamute way.
As far as dogs go the giant Alaskan malamute is a wonderful choice for families. They are friendly and playful into old age, shed very little (excluding twice a year when they will shed seasonal coats), love children, and can share in the work load. They even make fabulous running mates. Who shouldn’t own a giant Alaskan malamute? Those who live in excessively warm locations, small apartments (Big dog + little space= bad idea.), those with no time for a dog who need a hands off companion, or those looking for a guard dog.
