Preserving the Alaskan Malamute

This article was originally published in Showsight Magazine, October 2015 issue.

Preserving the Alaskan Malamute

If there is any hope of preserving this breed’s ability to survive in the high Arctic and perform as a freighting sled dog, then both breeders and judges have to recognize and reward those traits. So what structure is necessary for a freighting sled dog?

First Critical Attribute: The Malamute must have complete extension of the hock when the foot is on the ground. This is the forward force. The dog that pushes off with the hock bent is pushing up, not forward. This is extremely inefficient. Even worse is a dog that never extends the hock and lets it fly up behind. This looks like a bicycling action from the side. This should never be rewarded.

Second Critical Attribute: The Malamute must have a solid, level back when moving. Yes, the standard says “gently sloping,” and standing still, the withers may be an inch higher than the top of the pelvis, but when the dog moves and drops his head forward, that back should be straight, strong, and level. Do you want the dog to pull the load uphill? If you have ever seen dogs weight pull or a team start a heavy load, they drop the head and lower their body so that there is a straight forward pull at the height the tug line is attached to the load. Because of the longer coat over the shoulders, the topline may look slightly sloping, but an actual slope from withers to croup is improper structure for a freighting dog.

Third Critical Attribute: The Malamute must have balanced, moderate angulation. Moderate compared to what? The same New England mushers wrote the Siberian Husky standard in 1932 and the Alaskan Malamute standard in 1935, so moderate compared to the Siberian Husky is the likely answer. Our standard states the Malamute is not a racing sled dog. Draft horses and oxen have straight angles and heavy bone. The AMCA measuring committee in the early 1990s found 28 to 30 degree shoulder layback to be the maximum. Balance is critical for endurance. A dog with no endurance would never have survived. Once a dog could not continue to pull, they became dog food. This was true not only for the Eskimos but also was the standard practice of Arctic explorers. As the expedition used up their supplies and the extra sleds and dogs were not needed, the excess dogs were used as dog food. Only the very best dogs returned.

Fourth Critical Attribute: The Malamute must have large snowshoe feet. Perhaps this should be first, as every musher will tell you that a sled dog is only as good as his feet. It is imperative that Arctic animals be able to stay on top of the snow. Like a snowshoe, the large foot distributes the weight of the dog so he does not sink to his belly in the snow. A small cat foot would be a life-threatening detriment to a Malamute.

Fifth Critical Attribute: The Malamute must have heavy bone and strong muscles. I love the last sentence of the 1935 Malamute standard—“The legs of the Malamute must indicate unusual strength and pulling power—any definite indication of unsoundness in feet or legs, standing or moving constitutes practically disqualification in the show ring.”

The Alaskan Malamute is truly a survival-of-the-fittest breed. When one studies the life of the Eskimos in Alaska, you come to realize that everything about this breed is a result of their subsistence hunter lifestyle. The Eskimos of North America and Greenland are the only people that lived in the high Arctic (above the treeline) all year. Scarcity of food demanded that they were nomads, and the dogs pulling sleds in winter, boats in summer, or packing their meager belongings were their only means of transportation.

When I started in Malamutes in the mid-1960s, there was very little information available about the breed. So I started reading books about Arctic exploration and Eskimo culture in hopes of learning more about the breed. These accounts always wrote about the dogs’ ability to survive at minus 60 degrees below zero with 40-mile-per-hour winds just curled up in the snow; how they could keep working on meager rations; their ability to find a buried trail and to avoid unsafe ice; and their love of fighting. But I was looking for specific characteristics that contributed to the Malamute’s ability to survive in the Alaskan Arctic and perform his job. So I proceeded to study the other land animals that live in the high Arctic all year: the Arctic wolf, the Arctic fox, the polar bear, and the Arctic hare.

When you compare them to the same species found in the temperate climate and the warm areas, you will notice the following: As the species goes North, the coat becomes denser, longer, and hair increases on the extremities. The body and extremities become rounder. The feet are larger and have more hair on them. The dewlap increases in size. The ears become smaller, thicker, and more furred. Also, I noticed that all of the Arctic species have dark pigment, no stop, almond-shaped eyes, and tight lips.

The book, The Arctic Year, written by Peter Freuchen and Finn Salomonsen, explains in detail the reasons for the adaptations of Arctic animals, birds, insects, and plants.

Coat: This is the most critical characteristic for the Malamute’s survival in his native environment. The dense woolly, oily undercoat is filled with air, which, being a non-conductor, helps to reduce the loss of body heat.

The coarse guard hair covers the undercoat, keeping the air from escaping and protecting it from moisture. Good leg coat and hair between the toes, as called for in the standard, are also important adaptations.

Compact Body: Heat loss is proportionate to the size of the surface, so there is a general tendency to reduce the surface area in Arctic animals. A broad, deep, and long rib cage with a short muscular loin will produce the compact body essential for packing and will also reduce heat loss compared to a long, narrow body.

Black Pigment: In summer, there are 24 hours of sunshine and no trees for shade. Pink pigment sunburns and also attracts biting insects, according to the Ranger who was in charge of the dogs at Mt. Denali. Dark pigment on the eyelids helps to prevent “snow blindness” in humans, so perhaps it is the same in animals. I have noticed that all puppies are born with dark hair under the eyes and keep it for several months, a protection from the glare of the sun, just like baseball players blacken under their eyes.

Tight Lips: At minus 40 degrees, exposed skin will freeze in 3 seconds. When the dog is working and panting, the warm air exhaled will keep the lips from freezing. But when not panting, the skin of the lips must never be exposed.

No Stop: Any indentations on the head would collect snow and result in heat loss. The Malamute standard states: “The topline of the skull and the topline of the muzzle show a slight break downward from a straight line as they join.”

Almond Eyes: Round and/or protruding eyes would be very susceptible to injury from ice and snow.

Ears: Obviously, the smaller, thicker, and well-furred ears would have less heat loss and are less likely to freeze. When you look at the same species from warmer climates, you see the ears change to larger, thinner, and less fur. The Malamute is also capable of folding the ear together and laying them back against the skull to keep the snow out, and he can rotate the ear 180 degrees when the musher gives a command or he hears something behind him. The set of the Malamute ears on the outside back edges of the skull facilitates this.

Dewlap: The Arctic animals have a layer of fat under the skin in winter, which not only acts as insulation but is a source of energy when food is scarce. Note how the dewlap becomes less prominent in southern species. This extra layer of fat, skin, and fur insulates the trachea and helps to warm the air before it reaches the lungs.

In addition to the above characteristics found in all high-Arctic land animals, we need to include teeth and tail as necessary survival characteristics for the Alaskan Malamute.

Teeth: The dogs were tossed a chunk of frozen food. A dog that had missing canines, molars, small teeth, or a bite issue would take longer to eat his food. This means he had to defend his meat from those that devoured theirs faster. While defending his food, some other dog would likely steal it. With less food, his chances of survival diminish. The dog who couldn’t continue to work became food for the other dogs or bear bait. It was strictly survival of the fittest.

Tail: The tail of the Malamute is not only a distinguishing breed characteristic but also serves an important purpose. When the dog is at rest, he curls up and puts the plume tail over his nose. The snow will completely cover him, and he can breathe through the abundant tail hair, thus providing him with his own igloo.

Size has been an issue among breeders since the 1940s, but for judges, it should not be. Our standard clearly states, “size consideration should not outweigh that of type, proportion, movement, and other functional attributes.” Size should only be used as a tie-breaker by a judge. The 25 and 23 inches in the standard was actually an average height between two bloodlines prominent in the early years.