Hi everyone,

First time post.

I had some questions about Mals.

I have an older Golden Retriever mix named Charlie, who will probably
die soon, as he is getting up there in age. I hope we have him a few
more years, because he is a very good dog. But, I also have a 6 year
old Yellow Labrador/Siberian Husky mix female named Cootie, who looks
more like a smaller Lab, but she acts, barks and woo woos, just like a
Husky or Malamute. So my question is do you think once Charlie dies,
that, if I got a giant Alaskan Malamute male, what are the chances of
them getting along? I have heard two different stories. One was that a
Mal would fight another dog, especially of the same sex, but Cootie is
a female, and I want a male Malamute. The other side of the story is
that, Mals are pack animals, and won't fight other dogs. Which side of
this story is true?

I know many people are against "giant" Mals because of health issues,
but I still want one. The way I feel is, the bigger the better. I
heard rumors of most giant Mals living to be about 7 years old, before
they die. Is this true?

Can you train a Mal not to jump a 4 foot fence, even if there are
other dogs next door, by that fence? Because, I might buy my grandma's
house, and both of her next door neighbors and some other neighbors
across the street have dogs, so, would the Mal want to go after these
dogs?

Are most Mals really food agressive? Cootie is, at times and, one time
my mom tried to get some rotten garbage away from her, she bit my mom
to where she needed stitches. So, can I train a Mal at a young age,
not to do this? My friend Hedy, in New York has had Mals for over 30
years, and she said most Mals aren't really food agressive.

And Hedy gets her Mals from Wakon now, and thats where I plan to get
my Mal from, even though some people have made negative remarks about
Wakon.

I'll be greatful for any information.

Tom

wrote in message:

So my question is do you think once Charlie dies,
that, if I got a giant Alaskan Malamute male, what are the chances of
them getting along?

Really depends on the two dogs involved. Mals tend to generally be pack
status conscious, so if you chose a dominant male when you already have a
dominant female (I don't know if that's true), you can expect strife. This
is one of the reasons it is important to choose your breeder wisely - your
breeder has a better handle on the personalities of the breeding pair and
the individual puppies than anyone else, and can make the appropriate choice
for you. Otherwise, opposite gender pairs are more likely to get along than
ones of same sex.

The other side of the story is
that, Mals are pack animals, and won't fight other dogs. Which side of
this story is true?

From everything I know, there is definitely dog aggression in the breed, but
it is more likely to be same sex aggression than generalized dog aggression.

I know many people are against "giant" Mals because of health issues,
but I still want one.

Mals are pretty big dogs in the first place. The problem with "giant" Mals
is that someone who is breeding for size is going to ignore other really,
really important things. Like health and temperament. Good breeders that
work towards preserving the breed do not breed for dogs that are out of
standard, so you will likely be buying from crappy breeders, if you're going
for dogs that outside the standards for the breed.

The way I feel is, the bigger the better.

There are giant breed dogs out there that are supposed to be really big. If
you want a huge dog, that is probably the route that is most likely to give
you well bred dogs that are huge.

heard rumors of most giant Mals living to be about 7 years old, before
they die. Is this true?

As I said before, when you breed for one thing (size) to the exclusion of
others, you're likely to be breeding dogs that weren't well bred to begin
with, and are likely to produce puppies with more than the average amount of
health problems. So yes, you'll likely end up with dogs that don't live as
long as is normal for the breed, and will likely have more health problems.

Can you train a Mal not to jump a 4 foot fence, even if there are
other dogs next door, by that fence?

While individual dogs do vary, Mals can be escape artists. I wouldn't count
on a 4 ft. fence to contain a Mal, unless you're out there and supervising
the dog closely.

Are most Mals really food agressive?

Depends on the individual dog, and it is less likely to be a problem in a
well raised, well trained, properly socialized dog than one that is not.

Cootie is, at times and, one time
my mom tried to get some rotten garbage away from her, she bit my mom
to where she needed stitches.

Hopefully, you've done something about this. Food aggression is a problem
that can be fixed with training.

And Hedy gets her Mals from Wakon now, and thats where I plan to get
my Mal from, even though some people have made negative remarks about
Wakon.

No personal experience, but their website doesn't inspire much confidence.
There are no titles on the dogs, working or conformation. There is no
health testing of the dogs. I did find a few of their dogs in the OFA
database (www.offa.org), and the two dogs from this decade that have had
their hips done have their hips rated as fair (minor irregularities in the
hip joint) and affected. There doesn't appear to be anything by way of a
health guarantee that I can see.

Honestly, if you don't really care about your dog being well bred, it might
be a good option for you to adopt a dog from a rescue. That way, you can
already tell the size, temperament, any issues, whether the dog will get
along with your current dog, will jump fences, etc. I'm assuming you're
from Washington state, since you are interested in Wakon. If that's the
case, you may want to look at www.wamal.org. They always have tons of dogs
available, and I'm sure that if you are willing to wait a few months, you'll
probably start seeing an influx of 'Christmas puppies' too.

BTW, I hope you've met a few Malamutes and are aware of their breed traits,
good and bad. They are not easy dogs by any stretch of the imagination.

Suja

Suja wrote:

wrote in message:

snip

The way I feel is, the bigger the better.

There are giant breed dogs out there that are supposed to be really big. If
you want a huge dog, that is probably the route that is most likely to give
you well bred dogs that are huge.

heard rumors of most giant Mals living to be about 7 years old, before
they die. Is this true?

As I said before, when you breed for one thing (size) to the exclusion of
others, you're likely to be breeding dogs that weren't well bred to begin
with, and are likely to produce puppies with more than the average amount of
health problems. So yes, you'll likely end up with dogs that don't live as
long as is normal for the breed, and will likely have more health problems.

snip
From my perspective the problem is not just that they are not just
ignoring health issues in their breeding, but that breeding for size is
breeding for a trait that in and of itself causes health issues. Many
large breeds are prone to cancer and heart problems, I suspect that the
rapid cell growth that is needed to produce a large animal within the
relatively short period of growth of dogs, result in cells that are
prone to resume rapid growth resulting in cancer. As to the heart the
demands on it do not scale up in proportion to overall size. The larger
size results in a proportionally larger volume of blood needing to be
pushed over a longer path and a larger height range, so for good health
a larger dog needs a proportionally larger heart. Breeding for size and
normal health issues will result in a dog larger than its heart can
handle.

wrote:

I know many people are against "giant" Mals because of health issues,
but I still want one. The way I feel is, the bigger the better.

So you'd rather have a dog that's crippled by arthritis by the age
he's a year old, or a dog that starts going blind at age 3, because
that's somehow "better". Better than what?

My own dog is 25.5 inches at the shoulders and last weighed in at
92 pounds (a little overweight; I've taken some off him since then).
And people are ALL the time telling me that he's the biggest dog
they've ever seen. If impressing people is what you want to do, it
definitely doesn't take all much.

Dianne

On Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:28:37 -0700, (William
Clodius) wrote:

Suja wrote:

wrote in message:

snip

The way I feel is, the bigger the better.

There are giant breed dogs out there that are supposed to be really big. If
you want a huge dog, that is probably the route that is most likely to give
you well bred dogs that are huge.

heard rumors of most giant Mals living to be about 7 years old, before
they die. Is this true?

As I said before, when you breed for one thing (size) to the exclusion of
others, you're likely to be breeding dogs that weren't well bred to begin
with, and are likely to produce puppies with more than the average amount of
health problems. So yes, you'll likely end up with dogs that don't live as
long as is normal for the breed, and will likely have more health problems.

snip
From my perspective the problem is not just that they are not just
ignoring health issues in their breeding, but that breeding for size is
breeding for a trait that in and of itself causes health issues. Many
large breeds are prone to cancer and heart problems, I suspect that the
rapid cell growth that is needed to produce a large animal within the
relatively short period of growth of dogs, result in cells that are
prone to resume rapid growth resulting in cancer. As to the heart the
demands on it do not scale up in proportion to overall size. The larger
size results in a proportionally larger volume of blood needing to be
pushed over a longer path and a larger height range, so for good health
a larger dog needs a proportionally larger heart. Breeding for size and
normal health issues will result in a dog larger than its heart can
handle.

As a Newf lover and owner I can tell you that in addition to watching
multiple dogs suffer with cancer and heart problems, you also have to
deal with multiple expensive and often crippling orthopedic problems.

The average life of a newf is 8-10 for every 12 yr old newf I see I
see a newf that's 6 or 7 or even younger having to be put down for
cancer or having the owner spend thousands and thousands of dollars
for orthopedic surgery.

So if you wanna love a giant breed, go for it. Just start an Ortho
fund the day the puppy comes home and know that you will have a long
long parade of pets over your lifetime.


Best Wishes,

Nessa
----
Dog Mom to:
Hannah age 6.5 Pitador rescued age 9 weeks
Harley small shaggy cow that I love and adore (landseer Newf rescued 10/08)
(Angel) Bagel went to Rainbow Bridge 9/18/08 my Newfandstuff age 8.5

In article ,
((null)) wrote:


My own dog is 25.5 inches at the shoulders and last weighed in at
92 pounds (a little overweight; I've taken some off him since then).
And people are ALL the time telling me that he's the biggest dog
they've ever seen. If impressing people is what you want to do, it
definitely doesn't take all much.

I have to chuckle a bit, because although a dramatically different
breed, my 25.5" tall Golden is a mere 68#. I had someone tell me that
he's "small". No, just not heavy or large boned.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

On Dec 10, 11:50*pm, ((null)) wrote:
wrote:

I know many people are against "giant" Mals because of health issues,
but I still want one. The way I feel is, the bigger the better.

So you'd rather have a dog that's crippled by arthritis by the age
he's a year old, or a dog that starts going blind at age 3, because
that's somehow "better". Better than what?

My own dog is 25.5 inches at the shoulders and last weighed in at
92 pounds (a little overweight; I've taken some off him since then).
And people are ALL the time telling me that he's the biggest dog
they've ever seen. If impressing people is what you want to do, it
definitely doesn't take all much.

Dianne

Okay guys,

Let me get a few things clear here.

1. I'm not the kind of person who does not care how a dog is bred. My
friend, Hedy, who lives in New York, had had giant Mals for about 40
years, and they are always very good and healthy dogs for her.

2. As for my, "The bigger, the better" statement, I just like the idea
of having a huge wolfy looking dog. I'm not out to impress anyone with
a huge dog. I just like the idea of a Mal who's body is taller than my
kitchen table, even on all fours. giant Mals get up to 35 inches tall,
at the shoulders. But I used the exact opposite idea on my Pomeranian
I have. I thought with her "The smaller, the better" again, not to
impress anyone. I just was thinking about what I wanted. And by the
way, the Pom stays seperate from the big dogs we currently have, and
will also stay seperate from the Mal, due to how delecate Poms are,
and due to the Mal's prey drive. I've heard of someone who shares a
Mal with another person, and when the Mal comes ove their house, the
Mal visits the Pom, but I, on the other hand, will not take that risk.

3. I live in Michigan, and Wakon ships, so if I get a Mal pup from
there, he will be shipped.

4. I've been up close with a few Mals, and Hedy always told me that I
could ask her for any help I need, if having Mal trouble.

Keep in mind that I'm not angry at any of you people. I was just
pointing out a few things. And even if I get a giant Mal, what does it
matter, as long as I'm going to give him the best possible life I can?
I will have money banked away, and there is that pet insurance now,
that is much like a credit card, that my brother and sister have, so I
should be able to get it too.

But anyway, thanks, guys, for your views. I like to hear what people
have to say, even if I disagree with it.

Tom

In article ,
wrote:
1. I'm not the kind of person who does not care how a dog is bred. My
friend, Hedy, who lives in New York, had had giant Mals for about 40
years, and they are always very good and healthy dogs for her.

I think you'll find that Malamutes that work for a living
tend to be moderate in size, because you have to make a lot
of compromises on structure - that is, structure quality -
when you breed for size. I'm a musher and a working sleddog
enthusiast. I've seen a lot of Malamutes and am familiar
with some of the working Malamute kennels and had never
heard of Wakon so I took a look at their webite and frankly
those are some extremely unattractive dogs - poorly
proportioned, slightly sway-backed, loose skin, funky coats.
As nearly as I can tell they don't do anything with their
dogs, which I guess saves them money but also saves them the
embarrassment of having their dogs underperform other
Malamutes. They look more like a puppy farm than not.

Look for a breeder whose priority is improving the breed
(including breed health) and maintaining breed type, and
whose dogs have accomplished something - anything! Here's
an example of a breeder who's really committed to the breed
and to producing great dogs:
http://www.malamute-express.com/index.htm
There are plenty of others, as well. You can get a really
nice Malamute if you look - there's no reason to settle for
something like those Wakon dogs.

Keep in mind that I'm not angry at any of you people. I was just
pointing out a few things. And even if I get a giant Mal, what does it
matter, as long as I'm going to give him the best possible life I can?

When you buy badly-bred dogs, you're creating a market for
badly-bred dogs. If you insist on the best you're creating
a market for the best.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

"(null)" wrote in message:

My own dog is 25.5 inches at the shoulders and last weighed in at
92 pounds (a little overweight; I've taken some off him since then).
And people are ALL the time telling me that he's the biggest dog
they've ever seen. If impressing people is what you want to do, it
definitely doesn't take all much.

Here is what is weird. People consistently guess that Khan is in the 110
pound range, although he is a good 25 pounds smaller than that. And that
he's bigger than Pan, who is 6 inches taller and actually around that weight
(108 pounds). I don't get it.

Suja

"Suja" said in rec.pets.dogs.breeds:

People consistently guess that Khan is in the 110
pound range, although he is a good 25 pounds smaller than
that. And that he's bigger than Pan, who is 6 inches
taller and actually around that weight (108 pounds).

Calgary just bypassed the 100,000 licenced dog mark with Ruby,
a Great Dane, who looks like she needs to put on a few pounds
to catch up to Pan:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/sto...-licences.html

The article says that this is the highest number of licenced
dogs in any Canadian city, but the head by-law guy said on
the radio yesterday that it's actually the highest number in
North America.

Back to large Malamutes, I've had one coming to my daycare for
a couple of years - I've been told she weighs 120 pounds (and
I can believe it, she's easily 4" taller than 24" Rocky). She's
an incredibly nice dog, but I worry about her structure in a few
years.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.