Alaskan Malamute training and grooming

I cannot stress the importance of these dogs needing leadership. They NEED you to be their Alpha and if you can't handle the task than they'll take it upon themselves to be your Alpha. The first six to eight months is so incredibly important in training. Malamutes do NOT respond to spanking and we do not hit our dog's snouts! Malamutes WANT to make you happy so they need to understand how to do it. Anytime my dogs have ever done anything wrong I don't yell at them. I don't give them negative or positive attention. I simply clean up their mess slowly, mumbling to myself, acting quite upset and letting them watch and observe. It's quite impressive to watch their response because they really feel bad about making me upset. Malachi, my male I raised from puppy hood but Shiloh, my female I rescued when she was 15 months old. Training a Malamute puppy is much easier than an adult that has been mistreated. She tested me for almost two weeks daily, chewing things she shouldn't, eating throw rugs, looking at me and deliberately going potty in the house. These dogs if punished improperly will not fear you, they will resent you. For her, she was only ever used to getting bad attention. Every time she would do something she shouldn't she would put her tail between her legs, lay on her back and tremble waiting for her punishment. It was so transparent when i would come that if she didn't destroy anything while I was gone she would come right to me waiting to be petted but if she was 'bad' she would not even make eye contact with me. I never let on that I was ever upset with anything she did. I would just clean up her mess, mumbling, acting upset about the situation (it really was not an act most of the time) until one day she walked over to me while I was cleaning up the feathers from my down comforter she had destroyed, she got in my face and started giving me kisses and would not stop. I taught her that she would not get attention from me by acting out, I gainer her trust and she has never done one thing wrong again. She never leaves my side. So, for puppies its a matter of them understanding what is right and wrong, with an adult it's a matter of them knowing what to do to make you happy.

When Malachi was going through his teething stage I cannot tell you how many times I had to take my shoe or whatever he had stolen to chew out of his mouth and switch and give him a toy. They don't understand that a shoe is not a toy yet. You have to teach them. Now, they have 3 toy boxes in three different rooms and not only do they take the toys out of the boxes, they put their toys back in too! I will come home to every toy out of every box all over the house and I say 'toys away' and they'll put them all back. Malamutes are working dogs and like to have a job to do or they get bored so they more time you invest in them and the more things you teach them the happier they are. They love to learn! Both of my Mals will wait when coming inside if it's wet out and allow me to dry their feet. My aunt's Malamutes will step all four paws in the foot bath at the door one by one prior to entering. Malachi and Shiloh even know the difference of which leash to bring me if i say 'walk' or 'dog park'. The tasks you can teach them are endless.

Training your Malamute can be the easy part but if you aren't prepared to walk your Mal at least once a day and I don't mean down to the corner and back then this breed is not for you. You have to give them proper exercise or don't get mad when they destroy their home! You give a little and you get a lot in return! I can't remember the last time my dog's did anything 'bad' but I also can't remember the last day we didn't go for a walk....rain or snow! Do NOT ever let a Malamute off their leash. It doesn't matter how well trained these dogs are, how many classes they go to, they are bred to run hundreds of miles! Also, most dogs will run along side of a road, Malamutes and Huskys will not! Eye on the prize....whatever they see is what they're going after. If they need to run in front of a car to get that squirrel across the street they will! This is why there is such a high number of them hit by cars. Do not let your dog off their leash or out of the yard. Please!

Alaskan Malamute just need to be approached that yes, they are your best friend but at the same time you are their leader. They will test you but don't give in. You will win and they will love and respect you for it. Always remember to use eye contact with this breed. They are very big on it and it really means something to them.

I'm not going to put down crate training. My one aunt has crate trained all of her dogs and had great success. The dogs are happy and have their little safe den. I however chose to not crate train Malachi. I just couldn't do it. I bought a puppy gate and blocked off my kitchen so he had a sleeping area with a bed and toys, his water feeding area and potty pads close to the door. He also had enough room to run around a little and for me it worked perfect. When I told him bed time he knew he was going to the kitchen.

My only suggestion and one key point I hope you get out of this lens is something I stumbled upon by pure accident. I caught him after a few days looking in the full length mirror so excited to see 'another' puppy so I came up with the idea of putting a mirror in his sleeping area and he never whimpered at night again. I guess he felt like there was another dog there with him. Something so simple gave me very peaceful nights sleep. I would go and sneak up on him and find him sleeping with his nose pressed against the mirror. Such an adorable site!

If you don't have a loving relationship with your vaccuum cleaner then please don't bring a Mal into your home! Let me say first, the winter months are a breeze. Some people assume that malamutes shed constantly due to their long coats but the really don't. They blow their coats twice a year. Personally I don't feel the fall 'blowing' is bad at all but perhaps when you're comparing it to the springtime fun then you're comparing it to the worse time. It is important to brush these dogs constantly. I don't mean a few strokes of the brush either. Let's speak of the majority of the year first being summer through end of winter. Brushing once, preferably twice a week will keep their hair from getting mats. I recommend the furmanator. It may cost a bit more then the other rakes on the shelf but it is worth every penny and if you have a cat, it's good for then too. Mals are very clean dogs. They are odor free and you will often find them cleaning themselves like a cat. Their hair is wonderful that it doesn't hold dirt. My mals can be out getting filthy, playing in the rain and the dirt and come inside for a nap and hours later when they wake up they're perfectly clean. Of course the floor where they decided to lay is far from clean but it's a lot easier to clean a floor then throw an extra large dog in the bathtub. So with the exception of spring their grooming is fairly low maintenance. Now let's talk about this spring coat blowing. Just like the change of the season, this lasts all season. They're hair literally can be pulled out in clumps! Forget about skipping a day brushing them. It's a must to be done constantly and this is easiest done outside. Brushing also helps a TINY bit with hair around the house if you have a wooly. My male is a part wooly so is undercoat really holds the loose fur waiting to be brushed out. My female is not and although her hair is much shorter then his, she seems to shed more around the house and less during the brushings. You WILL vaccuum everyday and it will look like a dessert on your kitchen floor only it's not tumbleweed.....it's dog hair forming in balls blowing around with every breeze. Let me also mention just for sympathy purposes that besides for my two dogs, I also have a long haired persian cat. There are days in the spring that I brush out a pile of fur from these animals so large that it fills a shopping bag and I cannot believe there is not a place I can donate this fur to for some company to make homeless people warm coats or blankets. There will be so much fur it will look like another dog laying there in a pile. I don't know where it comes from but if you can't deal with it then don't get one of these dogs. If you have a job where you have to wear black clothing I suggest buying stock in lint rollers. Think about this, a Malamute can withstand temperatures up to -70 degrees below zero with their winter coats. My male literally goes up a size on his collar in the cold months due to his fur getting so thick and beautiful. Oh, and be prepared for enormous amounts of attention when you're walking them especially in the winter! People will stop and stare to see your gorgeous dog with it's fur coat pulling you in the snow.

So aside from the fur balls their grooming is very low maintenance. A bath now and then, frequent brushing and teeth brushing is all they require. On the plus side they really don't need to go to the groomers or get a trim or anything else like that so save your money and spend it on toys and chewies...you're gonna need them!