Named for an Inuit tribe known as the Mahlemuts, the Alaskan Malamute has been employed by the people of the Arctic since time immemorial. For their contribution to the tribe, these dogs were treated with great veneration by the Mahlemut people. The Inuit's giant dogs were known to be the largest and strongest sled and working dogs. They served their beloved owners by providing protection from Polar bears and pulling heavy sleds thousands of miles while enduring temperatures 70 degrees below zero. These giant Malamutes sometimes stayed in the igloos to care for the children and ultimately made the difference between life and death for their masters in the most harsh and severe of all habitats. Europeans who began to explore the Arctic during the 18th century were drawn to the Malamute. Most notably, the breed was chosen to pull the sleds of Admiral Richard Byrd on his 1933 expedition to the South Pole. The Alaskan Malamute was recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1935 as part of the Working Group. One of the early Malamute breeders, Paul Voelker, believed the Alaskan Malamute to be the oldest breed on the North American continent and probably the breed longest associated with man. According to Voelker, bone and ivory carvings dated at twelve to twenty thousand years old show the Malamute essentially as he is today. Natalie Norris, an early Alaskan Malamute fancier and one of the best-known women sled dog racers said, "The Malamute is too fine and distinguished a breed to be changed into anything but what centuries of adaptability to its environment has produced. Our efforts should be to breed not only beautiful Malamutes, but as good specimens physically as were originally found in Alaska. It isn't a question of breeding a better Malamute, but as good an Alaskan Malamute." If you are interested in a Malamute, please responsibly invest time in researching the breed. |
| the Alaskan Malamute at a glance |
| Alaskan Malamute |
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| Malamute Eyes (Alosia) |
| Wolf Eyes |
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| Alosia Morning Star of Xanadu, CGC |
| What is she? Number of guesses (daily walks) Count June 20 - October 1, 2011 |
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