Facts Questions Answers
Floppy Ears
Floppy ears can be genetic but have no effect on the dogs health.
Floppy ears can also be caused by broken cartilage.
Ears can also flop due to an illness or injury to the pup.
Puppy ears can be taped just like other breeds. Best to do this between 3 - 4 months old.
Malamute Coats
A malamute's coat not only protects them from the cold but also the heat. Because of this, you should never shave a malamutes coat. During hot days, provide plenty of fresh water and shade. You can also hose them down to cool them off.
Please be careful when the weather is very hot. Soaking a malamute can be dangerous. When the coat is soaked, the body can heat the water in the coat preventing the dog from cooling off and the dog can actually suffer and die from the heat !! If you do soak the coat please provide plenty of ventilation or air flow to pull the heat away from the dog.
Malamute Coats
A malamute sheds or blows his or her coat twice a year. This is a heavy shedding of the thick down under coat. It usually lasts around 3 weeks. If your malamute is shedding a lot in between, this is a sign that he/she is unhealthy. Malamutes need high quality food. If you are not feeding a high quality food, please change their diet. If you are and they are still shedding, tell your vet.
Alaskan Malamutes
NEVER have blue eyes !!
Never one brown and one blue
Malamute Coats
There are three basic coat lengths
Standard, Long, Wooly
This is a true wooly - has very long hair all the way down the feet.
Tonka is not a wooly
This is a common mistake malamute owners and breeders make. I have seen short coats being called wooly because their coat is thick.
Woolies have very long hair over their body, neck, tail and legs. Many people think their dogs are woolies because the hair on the tail and back of the feet is long - not true.
The "trimmings " on a malamute do not determine the type of coat.
On a wooly coat, ALL of the hair is long.
Are Alaskan Malamute the same as Siberian Huskies ?
NO ! They are not related !
Huskies are medium sized working dogs
20 - 23 inches tall / 40 - 60 lbs
Malamutes are large heavy boned freighting dogs
natural range 25 - 33 inches tall / 75 lbs - 130 lbs +
Huskies are bred to run far distances.
Malamutes are bred to haul heavy loads.
WEIGHT
GIANTS X STANDARD
Ideal size: Males – 25 inches tall at the shoulder and 85 pounds; Females – 23 inches tall at the shoulder and 75 pounds.
Giants -
Malamutes above the Ideal Size
Giants usually range between 100 lbs and 140 lbs.
Malamutes weighing more than this are typically unhealthy and / or over weight with a lot of body fat.
The problem with this is the AKC standard (aka) American Standard is 75/85 lbs. But other kennel clubs in other countries have standards that are much higher - up to 125 lbs. Taking this in to consideration, the "giants" would be anything greatly above that.
People/Breeders who advertise their malamutes to be a high weight usually are exaggerating their dogs weights. If you are interested in a larger malamute and looking to buy one, please ask for vet recorded to prove their dogs weights. People who do advertise their dogs weight to be more are usually out to make money at your expense. Also, if you are looking for a larger malamute, make sure that malamute still fits the standard. The standard is NOT size ! The standard is the total QUALITY.
M'LOOT
I just find this funny !
People advertise their giants as M'Loot !
Truth is.... M"loot is not a SIZE !
Almost all malamutes today have M'Loot. Most show dogs are a high percentage of M'Loot ! Standards are M'Loot !
If you want to know more about M'LOOT
please check out the
AKC BREED page
Owning More Than ONE Malamute
Alaskan Malamutes are pack animals and do best having a companion. Malamutes can successfully be raised with other malamutes of opposite sex or same sex !!!
Raising multiple malamutes is best done by starting when they are puppies. When adding more malamutes to already established pack , it is best to add puppies and not an older malamute.
It is really important to spend a lot of quality times socializing malamutes away from their home and yard. If you establish that you are the pack leader, socialize your malamutes away from home, you can successfully raise multiple malamutes together.
These are of course my opinions and others may disagree. People in the "malamute world" have argued about these for many years. There is no right or wrong, just opinions.
PIGMENT
Pigment is really important.
Pigment is really important.
Malamutes are suppose to have black pigment. This means the skin on the nose, lips and eyes need to be black !
When pigment is light, it is easily sunburned and yes, malamutes can get skin cancer.
In cold weather, a malamute can get a "snow nose". This is where the nose will lighten up and be more of a pink color.
You can apply sun tan lotion to protect the skin.
Red malamutes have a lighter color pigment, please apply sun tan lotion to them when spending a lot of time in the sun.
Alaskan Malamute - Color BLUE
Yes, there is a malamute coat color that is called BLUE. It is not actually blue, it is a slate gray color. This is not to be confused with gray malamutes. It is not just coat color.
Malamutes that are "blue" have gray pigment. This means their skin around the eyes, mouth, nose and paws are gray - not black.
A "blue" malamute will have NO BLACK !
Eye color is also gray, not brown or amber.
Malamute COLOR
When determining the color of a malamute, it is the main body top and sides that determine the color. Not trimmings or accents.
For more information on coat color, go to
"LINKS" on the menu bar.