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Malamutes & Siberians are NOT the breeds for everyone.
But they are beautiful, outrageously affectionate, clever, universally friendly, and natural clowns. They will insist on having a relationship with you and will never settle for just being yard ornaments.
1) Obedient Attitude - NOT
Please do NOT expect slavish obedience. Even in an obedience-trained northern dog. Part of their charm is their free-thinking, and sometime free-wheeling, attitude. You might get the focus and responsiveness you desire, if you train consistently, if you remember to make training fun, if you quit BEFORE the dog is bored. And then they are going to pull something out of thin air. Just to see what happens. These dogs are always thinking.
Running Away
Tosha (writer's Siberian) and I also have an understanding, after years of negotiating, that if she sees an open door (or a door that might be willing to be open, or a door that once was open and could be persuaded to be open again) she will do everything she can to slip out. I will have a mild heart attack and go get the truck and follow her until she wants a ride home -- at which point she will come back to the truck and sit, waiting for me to open the driver's side door so she can hop in. (Understand I HATE this situation and it will probably kill her eventually.)
No screaming hysterics anymore, no threats, because she'll just lay her ears back and run faster to escape the noise. Because there is a basic truth about these two breeds:
They can not be trusted off leash ever.
They can not be trusted off leash ever.
THEY CAN NOT BE TRUSTED OFF LEASH EVER.
They were bred to be stubborn. They were bred to go in one direction for 100s of miles. Their job was to lean into the harness and pull and run and pull and run. (VERY TRUE!!) They have zero road sense. They have zero car sense. If you leave a Malamute or a Siberian loose in your neighborhood, keep the phones numbers for rescue and Animal Control and the road Supervisors very close because your dog will go out in the neighborhood. He will overturn your neighbors' trash. He will chase down and kill neighborhood cats, chickens, goats and sheep. He WILL get on the roads. (AMEN!)
He may be fine the first time you allow him off leash in the yard. He may come back to you promptly every single time no matter how interesting the smells or squirrels. That is, until he hesitates, just once, and the car hits him. These are sled dogs. Not porch dogs.
Housedogs
And they really want to be housedogs. They are smart and they bore easily if they aren't allowed to lie at your feet. Malamutes and Siberians require quality time from their owners and should belong to someone willing to devote that time for socialization and training. (YAHHH)They need to be a part of the family as any other family member and should be treated as such. They are great companions when living in the right environment. Devoted, intelligent, goofy -- what more could anyone ask for in choosing a dog?
Reprinted with permission, Chuck Gerson on Malamute-L who wrote: "It seems like almost anything a Malamute does is cute, amusing, enjoyable, or gratifying to the owner in some way. For example: (let's see how many of these he'd fulfilled.....)
-Jumping up on you. (yes)
-Pawing you. (oh yes)
-Wrestling with you. (yes!)
-Mouthing you. (yesssss)
-Playing chase games with you. (he loves that! but hor which dogs doesnt huh?)
-Playing tug of war with you (yes he like! & he super domineering lor)
-Gnawing on the furniture. (my coffee table's , kitchen cabinet almost gone)
-Chewing shoes, clothing, cameras, credit cards, electrical cords, TV cables, etc. (yes yes..)
-Getting up on the furniture. (when he's only 6mths old?)
-Bolting through the door ahead of you (one thing i hate.. have to alwiz chase after him frm behind)
-Getting on the bed. (wahaha!!)
-Begging for food. (hoho yeah man!! he'll juz sit himself down (so faking obediently) at my feet & look at me w his ultra innocent big brown eyes...... & when he knows he cant get anything from me, he'll go for my mum!! arghhh)
-Stealing food. (yes, many incidents of bitting my drumsticks, chicken wings, prawns,etc. literally frm my hand.........is that considered stealing or juz mere snatching??)
-Digging. (oh this is one exception. seldom see him dig)
-Chasing cats, squirrels, rabbits, etc. (u cant imagine how EXCITED he gets when he sees cats.....)
-Howling, barking, and making other Malamute noises. (yes.. his unique howling which's totally unique among other kinds of barking)
-Lying around the house in your way. (hoho how true! he won't budge A SINGLE BIT even if ppl are busy mopping/vacuuming the floor ard him.. he simply juz dun care!!)
-Etc.
The same applies to Siberians. They are not "easy" dogs. If you are not prepared for a dog to come in and "take over" don't look to Malamutes or Siberians.
Differences
The Alaskan Malamute and the Siberian Husky have a lot in common, but they are not the same breed.
Malamutes are usually 75-100lbs. Siberians around 50lbs. Mals are the heavy weights. Sibes the light weights. For a Malamute, picture a Siberian on steroids -- bigger, stockier, more muscular, usually shorter tempered. Their muzzles are heavier, their ears set further down the head, and their bones larger. All of these things are relative depending if you are looking at a small Malamute or a large Siberian.
Malamute eyes are brown -- this is important because pet stores mix up AKC papers and people who fake the papers won't back off their claims of blue-eyed Malamutes -- but they are not purebred Malamutes. Siberian eyes can be brown, or blue, or one of each color, or both colors in the same eye.
They were both bred to pull sleds, but under difference circumstances and by different peoples.
The Siberian Huskies were bred to be large-team, moderate-speed, moderate-weight sled pullers by the Chuckhi in northern Eurasia (Siberia).
The Alaskan Malamutes were bred for smaller teams, slower speeds, & heavier weights by the Eskimo/Malamutes in North America (Alaska).
Both had to survive inhospitable conditions, so they have developed a tough intellect to suit these tough conditions. This intellect is not necessarily obedient.
Tell a Golden Retriever to sit and he will.
Tell an Alaskan Malamute (or a Siberian) to sit and he may run in a circle around you. He may woo-woo at you. He may ignore you. He may jump up, jump over the gates, retrieve the dumbbell from the next ring, jump back across the gates, and present it to you. He may actually sit. However, harness a Golden and tell him "Gee" and he will turn right. The Malamute will wait for the opening in the trees...
A dog with "robot-like" responsiveness would mush out over thin ice because the dog driver told him to do so -- and he wouldn't live to reproduce that genetic characteristic for blind obedience.
Malamutes are bigger, stockier, and harder headed (many will argue the fact, but a dog that weighs 75-85lbs learns he can be harder headed than a dog that only weighs 50lbs.) Both dogs can pull all day under load, but whereas the Siberian can pull a light load quickly, the Malamute pulls a heavy load steadily (and both breeds are built with those goals in mind).
As far as the pet owner is concerned, Sibes are generally better in a pack situation, because Malamutes can be same-sex dog aggressive to other Malamutes. But Malamutes are generally calmer, because Siberians can be hyperactive. Siberians have a longer life expectancy than Malamutes.
Noise
Both breeds bark. Despite the myth to the contrary, they are not bark-less. They also howl, woo, yowl, ruff, grunt, groan, growl, sing, serenade, whine, growl, screech, moo, and yodel. Silence is not one of their virtues. Their lovely voices are one of the distinct and enjoyable traits -- if you like canine operas (please check with your neighbors, landlords, and spouses -- you'll be surprised who doesn't find this attractive.) (haha)
And please know that these breeds are not for everyone. (yes yes u said that liao we got it)
These are breeds that, while they can make the best pets on the planet, they require a serious and long-term commitment by anyone that chooses to be owned by one.
=) I love Zac.
& seriously *not Ma Hou Pao* i wld rather have a dog who has a mind of its own (like zac) then one who'll obey every single thing i commanded them. Won't the former be much more lovable? Why do u need a robot as ur pet anyway? Zac is like a fren. He's like my family member. *But i do will get pek chek when he dun listen to me at times la..* But ok la, he considered "quite" guai le la.. quite...
So i say.. He makes me You Ai You Hen lor!
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