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Alaskan Malamute

Hailing from the rugged western area of Alaska, and taking his name from the Malamute settlement of the Eskimos, this dog has had to be hardy to stay alive. He is really a big dog, the male scaling well over a hundredweight and standing up to 28 invhes at the shoulder. His prupose in life is to pull sledges and he can cope with prodigious loads, though he is not desgned to be a racer. Although he is a trulu handsome fellow, he does not have the spectacular glamour of his smaller sledding cousins. Not only massively built, he is also dignified;this does not mean he lacks a sense of play, but he sometimes doesn't known his own strength. If he takes off after another dog, his handler needs very good brakes. His coat is thick both in the coarse outer guard coatand in the woolly undercoat. As a result he doesn't notice the cold and will curl up to sleep in a blizzard which would send lesser canines running for shelter. Being large, he rquires plenty of food for energy and thoughhe is not particularly fleet of foot, he likes his exercise, and is not a dog for the lazy.

General Appearance ** Heavily boned, powerfully built, not too compact and never appearing short on the leg.

Characteristics ** Sled dog capable of surviving in Arctic temperatures and of pulling heavy loads at steady speeds.

Temperament ** Affectionate, friendly, loyal, devoted companion but not a one man dog, playful on invitation, generally impressive by his dignity after maturity but tends to show agression to other dogs.

Head and Skull ** Head broad, powerful, not coarse in proportion to size of dog. Skull broad between ears, gradaully narrowing to eyes, moderately rounded between ears flattening on top as it approaches eye, rounding off to moderately flat cheeks> Very slight but perceptible stop. Muzzle large in proportion to sizr of skull, scarcely diminishing in width or depth from stop. Nose black except in red and white dogs when brown. Pink streaked snow nose acceptable.

Eyes ** Brown, almond-shaped, moderately large, set obliquely. Dark eyes preferred, except in red and white dogs where light eyes are permissible. Blue eyes highly undesirable.

Ears ** Small in proportion to head. Triangular in shape, slightly rounded at tips, set wide apart, at back of skull. Ears forewards when erect. When dog is working sometimes folded against skull.

Mouth ** Upper and lower jaws broad with large teeth, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite,i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.

Neck ** Very strong and moderately arched.

ForeQarters ** Shoulders moderately sloping; forelegs heavily boned and well muscled, straight as far as pasterns which are short, strong and almost vertical viewed from side.

Body ** Strong and powerfully build; chest strong and deep; back straight but not level, sloping slightly downwards from shoulder to croup. Loins well muscled, nevr so short as to interfere with movement. No excess weight.

HindQaurters ** Hindlegs broad and powerfully muscled through thighs; stifles moderately bent, hock joints broad and strong, moderately bent and well let down. Viewed from behind, hindlegs vertical, standing and moving true, in line with movement of front legs. Legs indicate tremendous propelling power. Dewclaws on hindlegs undesirable.

Feet ** Large and compact, toes close, well arched, pads thick and tough, toenails short and strong. Protective growth of hair between toes.

Tail ** Moderately high set, following line of spine at start then curving gently upwards. At rest may hang straight down. Well furred and carried over back when dog is working, not tightly curled to rest on back, nor short furred and carried like a fox brush, but giving appearance of a waving plume.

Gait/Movement ** Single tracking at trot is normal but movement not too wide or too close at any gait. Easy, tireless, rhythmic movement, produced by powerful drive from hindquarters.

Coat ** Thick, coarse guard coat, not long and soft. Dense undercoat, from 2.5-5 cms ( 1-2 ins ) in depth, oily and woolly. Coarse guard coat stands out, with thick fur around neck. Gaurd coat varies in length as does undercoat, but in general coat of medium length along sides of body, increasing somewhat around shoulders and neck, down back and over croup, as well as in breeching and plume.

Colour ** Range is from light grey through intermediate shadings to black, or from gold through shades of red to liver, always with white on underbody, parts of legs, feet and part of mask markings either caplike or masklike on face. Combination of cap and mask not unusual. White blaze on forehead, white collar 9or spot on nape permissible. Heavy mantling of unbroken colour acceptable, broken colour extending over body in spots or unevev splashings undesirable. Only solid colour permissible is all white.

Size ** Height: dogs 64 - 71 cms ( 25 - 28 ins ); bitches: 58 - 66 cms (23 - 26 ins ). Weight between 38 - 56 kgs ( 85 - 125 Lbs ), size consideration not to outweigh type.

Faults** Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.

Note ** Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.