Alaskan Malamutes are the most incredible of dog breeds. Although most people are aware of the Siberian Husky as a breed, many people do not know of their bigger and stronger cousins, the Malamutes. Unlike Huskies who can have blue or brown eyes, Malamutes can only have brown. Blue eyes in a Malamute means automatic disqualification.

Originally I was going to acquire a Siberian Husky, and hence had already picked out an appropriate name that I liked, 'Tavarish(ka)' m(f), which is Ukranian and similiar to the Russian for 'friend'. However my heart fell in love with a Malamute and I was never the same again.

If you are interested in adopting another member of the family and a dog is your taste, then I would ask that you consider adopting one of the many of this breed that find themselves abandoned or abused. However, it is imperative that you research the breed thoroughly before making a commitment because they are very demanding and more difficult to train than many others and are therefore not the dog of choice for many. It would be very sad to see any of these misplaced souls lost again. To learn more about this wonderful but determined breed then please read the Alaskan Malamute Warning Label provided by the Alaskan Malamute Rescue League of New England.

They are extremely intelligent and their strength of character is perhaps only slightly matched by their physical strength.
So if they are so intelligent then why are they not listed as one of the most intelligent of breeds? (They actually have 89 breeds listed above them in intelligence on the 'The Intelligence of Dogs' list!!!) Well, there is a simple explanation for this. Intelligence in dogs is calculated by how many times on average it takes to teach them a new command, and also what percentage of the time do they respond to an already known command. These aspects are certainly not one of the Malamute's strong suits, but this does not fully measure their true intelligence. It is not that they cannot learn but that they choose not to. I had bought a natural dog training book when she was a puppy and ironically it was carefully picked off the bookshelf, from among other books, and eaten to shreds!! I suppose she really did not like it. You may spend time trying to teach them a command and they look at you as if you are stupid, and then suddenly, you realise that you are. These beautiful, amazing friends truly teach you to look at yourself in a new way.

Another striking quality of these dogs is their amazing ability to communicate with you. It is unusual for them to bark but they WILL 'talk' to you and howl at the moon! I cannot say enough about their beauty, their strength and their unconditional ability to love.

If you would still like to learn more about Alaskan Malamutes I have included a list of links, including rescue leagues that have many of these wonderful canines for adoption.