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The
Malamute is a working dog who will be happy to tackle almost any working
activity. Being a sledding breed the Alaskan Malamute has a natural
instinct to pull, often at inappropriate times. Rather than finding
yourself dragged down the street on your walks, it's a good idea to harness that
energy into an activity that the Malamute has a natural ability for. Most
Malamutes will take to working activities fairly easily and with much
enthusiasm, and working your Malamute can help take some of the frustration out
of him or her and make for a better companion.
 Beware!
In most cases it's not a good idea to walk this
breed in a walking harness. Harnesses are designed to give the dog maximum
comfort and pulling power - a combination which means minimum control for the
handler. Put any fit and healthy Malamute into any sort of harness and you
are giving him the message to lean in and pull, not great if you want a nice
relaxing walk. Use harnesses only for working activities when you wish to
encourage the dog to pull, and make sure you have the correct type of harness
for each activity. For information about harnesses go to the
Windchill
Dog Gear website.
We
like to pursue all sorts of activities with our Malamutes once they are mature
enough, and a dog that can achieve reasonable success in working activities is
obviously a sound specimen of the breed. Showing our dogs is also
important as achieving the Australian Champion title is an indication to us that
the Malamute is also a reasonable specimen of the breed. It is important
to us to breed Malamutes that not only look like Malamutes should, but are sound
enough to work like Malamutes should.
Weight-Pulling
Weight-pulling
is not a sport in which all dogs will excel, however many different breeds take
part with success. There is no doubt that Malamutes are strong dogs
that are capable of pulling great weights, but it all comes down to whether or
not they want to pull. And if they don't, bad luck because there is
absolutely nothing you can do about it!
It
is important that your dog doesn't have any bad experiences at a weight-pull,
either in or out of the chute, so make sure that it is fun for your dog, give
your dog plenty of encouragement and praise no matter how well or poorly he
performed, and never chastise a dog for not pulling.
 More
about Weight Pullng
Right:
Some handlers will try anything to get their dog to pull!
Backpacking
Backpacking is an activity that any fit healthy dog
will enjoy, whether going on a casual walk carrying some basic items, going to
the shops, or taking part in a longer hike or camping trip with your dog
carrying it's share of the supplies.
For information about equipment for backpacking with
your dog go to the Windchill
Dog Gear website.
More
about Backpacking
Sledding
 Sledding
with a Malamute is an ideal way to give your dog plenty of the exercise he needs
participating an activity that the breed was born to do. Most Malamutes
take readily to pulling in harness if fit and healthy, with the instinct to pull
coming naturally.
More
about Sledding
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