Seijun Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Why is it that I keep hearing people say that malamutes are "unpredictable?" This is new for me--although I have never known any mals personally, I know plenty of people who do have this breed and they are all wonderful dogs by what they tell me. ~Seij Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackieMaya Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 I've actually heard good things about Malamutes. I'll be interested to hear about the "other side" too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogPaddle Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Malamutes are a working breed. Malamutes look like big teddy bear dogs. People are likely breeding the biggest, teddybearest Mals they can and selling them for loads of money as "X-large Malamutes" to people who aren't prepared for a working breed, even one that is normally so sweet, freindly and laidback as a Malamute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canis erectus Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 I remember seeing Malamutes on a top 10 bite list somewhere a couple years ago. It's been my experience with husky breeds that they can be somewhat unpredictable, they seem to more readily fall into pack and predatory behavior than many other breeds, and I've seen many who are cool with strangers. Those opinions aside, I also think that Malamutes are easily the most steady and reliable of the huskies, though still rather hard-headed. Just like any other breed there's lots of 'bad' Malamutes. Since they are the largest of the husky types, Malamutes are the next macho-est thing to having a wolf or wolf/dog, and so get bred indescriminatley. I've noticed that the 'bad' ones have long muzzles and narrower heads, probably because they've got many other random sptiz dogs in their ancestry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumpkin the musher Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Mals have a pretty bad reputation in mushing circles for being "alligators", which are dogs that will snap at another team when passing or being passed. Unfortunately, I've encountered this behavior a couple of times in races, (as well as very well behaved Mals). I think that the problem arises when they are not properly conditioned and trained to accept the human/musher as the Alpha dog- not a breed for the timid. Some of my guys have up to half Mal and a couple have tried to be alligators, but they were trained early on that this was not acceptable behavior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyrless Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 [quote name='Canis erectus']Malamutes are the next macho-est thing to having a wolf or wolf/dog, and so get bred indescriminatley. [/quote] i am not laughing at you here canis, but i think it is funny that so many people think wolves and wolf-dogs are "macho" when in the wild they are so scared of us! that said, i have met a lot of mals and while i would call them somewhat "aloof" i wouldn't say unpredictable. You just gotta know your dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seijun Posted June 2, 2005 Author Share Posted June 2, 2005 [quote name='pyrless'][quote name='Canis erectus']Malamutes are the next macho-est thing to having a wolf or wolf/dog, and so get bred indescriminatley. [/quote] i am not laughing at you here canis, but i think it is funny that so many people think wolves and wolf-dogs are "macho" when in the wild they are so scared of us! [/quote] I am now feuling this little bit of off-topic-ness, but... Last week my Shilo was scared off by a Box Turtle. My br[i]aaave[/i] little wolf hybrid... :wink: ~Seij Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumpkin the musher Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 A number of years ago I had a dog named Aesa, a female Alaskan that I bought from a musher in northern Minnesota- (She died at only 6 years old of kidney failure, probably genetic :( she was a very hard working dog, with allot of greyhound in her backround, so she didn't quite "fit" with my Mal crosses... Anyway, one day I heard this terrible screaming coming from the dog yard- I ran up there and she was as far away from her house as she could get, trembling in fear, like there was something really horrible in her house. I peeked in there, and it was...... A baby rabbit. (Also scared to death.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyrless Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 seijun i didn't mean to get ot.... :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seijun Posted June 2, 2005 Author Share Posted June 2, 2005 That's ok, not bashing you for it :D OT topics are allways fun. ~Seij Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyrless Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 ok, cool! :D (i loved the box turtle story...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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