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The dream weavers who swarmed to the Klondike "wanted dogs,"
wrote Jack London in The Call of the Wild. "And the dogs
they wanted were heavy dogs, with strong muscles by which to
toil, and furry coats to protect them from the frost." Some
fortune seekers brought dogs to the Klondike with them to haul
sleds and supplies; others scrambled to put dog teams together
on the scene. They all learned quickly that imported dogs weren't
nearly as good at these tasks as were the Alaskan sled dogs
living in Eskimo villages at some remove from the Klondike.
Gold-thirsty
prospectors were not the first to be impressed by Eskimo dogs.
In The Private Journal of Captain G.F. Lyon, published
in 1824, Lyon describes dogs at his ship that "had no shelter,
but lay alongside with the thermometer at 42-44 degrees (below
zero), and with as little concern as if the weather had been
mild." What's more, wrote Lyon, "three of my dogs could draw
me on a sledge weighing 100 pounds, at a rate of one mile
in six minutes; and as proof of the strength of a well-grown
dog, my leader drew 196 pounds singly, and to the same distance
in eight minutes."
Henry
M. Bannister, who led an expedition to Alaska from 1865 to
1867, found the dogs there incredibly anxious to haul assorted
burdens. "As soon as the sled is brought out," wrote Bannister
in the Alaska Geographic Quarterly, "the dogs gather
round and, fairly dancing with excitement, raise their voices
in about a dozen unmelodious strains."
The
Land Rover
The most
celebrated of all Eskimo dogs was the malamute, a type bred
by the Mahlemut tribe, which lived near Kotzebue Sound on
the northwest coast of Alaska. (Kotzebue, ironically, was
a German opera librettist and playwright noted for his superficial
and often sensational melodramas and comedies.) The Mahlemuts'
dogs, according to one observer, were less "wild" and more
tractable than other arctic strains, and were capable of a
variety of tasks from pulling sledges to hunting seals to
chasing down polar bears.
Malamutes
were further distinguished by their strength, reliability,
wide-ranging colors and unique markings. Their ancestors are
thought to have migrated from Siberia to Alaska across the
Bering land bridge in the company of nomadic tribes. More
than twice the size of Texas, the Bering land bridge connected
Siberia and Alaska until rising seas dumped 800 feet of water
over it 11,000 years ago, when summer temperatures in that
part of the world were eight to 11 degrees warmer than they
are now.
Such was
the prowess of the malamute that Eskimos who lived inland
traveled down the Kobuk and Noatak rivers to Kotzebue Sound
to trade furs for dogs and supplies. Thus did malamutes find
their way to other regions of Alaska and even to adjacent
parts of the Yukon, where the gold diggers and some of the
dogs that had accompanied them to the Yukon made the malamutes'
acquaintance 100 years ago. (Additional testimony to the malamutes'
hegemony was the use of the word malemute to indicate
any freight-pulling dog.
After
the Gold Rush
At the
turn of the century sled-dog racing became popular in Alaska.
If there was one activity for which the malamute was not ideally
suited, racing was it. The powerful, heavy-boned malamute
was capable of pulling great weights for great lengths, but
it wasn't built for acceleration or speed. For this and for
other expedient reasons malamutes were bred with a variety
of lighter, faster dogs "and purebreds were almost lost."
We should
observe that purebred did not mean then what it means today.
Eskimos did not keep stud books, nor did the Mahlemuts have
signs posted by their dwellings that read, "Stud service to
approved, registered bitches only." Indeed, bitches in heat
were sometimes staked out for wolves to breed, wrote one historian,
"and the toughness and adaptability of the malamute stock
was replenished." The notion that there were "purebred" malamutes
in Alaska during the last century or the early years of the
present one is a quaint, but imprecise, fantasy.
This did
not discourage some admirers of Eskimo dogs from trying to
(re)create the animals they fancied. Arthur T. Walden, an
author, explorer, and inn keeper from the village of Wonalancet,
New Hampshire, had freighted supplies for miners during the
Yukon gold rush of 1897-98. While he was in the Yukon, Walden
had worked with an Eskimo dog named Chinook, who made
such an impression on him that Walden attempted to replicate
Chinook after returning to the United States. He was successful,
and decades later other breeders working with the descendants
of Walden's "Chinook" dogs obtained breed recognition for
them from the United Kennel Club.
Walden
also worked with Alaskan malamutes and Siberian huskies at
his Wonalancet kennel. When financial setbacks he encountered
in the late 1920s left him unable to continue breeding dogs,
he sold his malamute and husky stock to Milton and Eva B.
Seeley. They corresponded with dog owners and breeders in
the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and the Yukon Territory, and
obtained breeding stock that conformed to their idea of what
an Alaskan malamute should look like -- a living ringer for
the dogs the Mahlemuts had bred in the Kozebue Sound region.
Their efforts eventually produced a dog that was not only
true to the malamute's original form but also retained its
freighting abilities. In 1935, the same year the Alaskan Malamute
Club of America was formed, the American Kennel Club (AKC)
granted recognition to the Alaskan malamute. (In 1997 the
AKC registered 4,409 malamutes, placing the breed 46th among
the 145 breeds then recognized by the organization.)
If
Looks Could Thrill
According
to the AKC breed standard, the Alaskan malamute is a powerful
and substantially built dog. Its head is broad; its eyes are
almond-shaped and brown, not blue; its chest is deep and strong;
its double coat comprises coarse guard hairs of sufficient
length to protect a dense, woolly, oily undercoat that's one
to two inches long; and its bushy tail, which is carried over
its back, "has the appearance of a waving plume." The "desirable"
size for malamute males is 25 inches at the shoulders and
85 pounds. Females should be 23 inches and 75 pounds.
Malamute
colors "range from light gray through intermediate shadings
to black" and from "sable and shadings of sable to red ...
The only solid color allowable is all white. White is always
the predominant color on [the] underbody, parts of legs, feet,
and part of face markings ... The Malamute is mantled, and
broken colors extending over the body or uneven splashing
are undesirable."
Caveat
Owners
Most people
who ask long-time malamute breeder Kimberly Meredith if they
should own a malamute are likely to be told "probably not."
Meredith, who considers her dogs "a tough breed to live with,"
compares life with a malamute to life with an eternal teenager.
She describes her dogs as no less hardheaded, independent
or rebellious than human adolescents. Nevertheless, she said,
"I love them all."
Malamute
breeders Al and Mary Jane Holabach describe the ideal malamute
owner as "patient and committed." The Holabachs believe that
persons who are steady enough to cope with a growing malamute
will be rewarded with a lifelong companion whose devotion
is boundless; but, they caution, it takes commitment and determination
to get through to the often-stubborn malamute puppy, whose
ancestors were created to push on through ice, sleet, snow
and impossible storms. Such tasks required an inbred determination
that isn't something the malamute switches on and off at its
owner's whim. You can guide a malamute in the direction you
want it to go, but you can't push it there. Nor can you be
heavy handed. A malamute will not tolerate abuse. If subjected
to abusive treatment on a continuing basis, the most amiable
youngster can become a neurotic and unpredictable adult.
The young
malamute can pass through an adolescent stage where it attempts
to assert itself by growling. Unless it's made to understand
that this is unacceptable, the youngster can become a serious
problem. In fact, between 1979 and 1994 only five breeds,
the malamute among them, were responsible for more than one-third
of all fatal dog bites sustained by humans. The pit pull led
the parade with 57 kills, followed by Rottweilers with 19;
German shepherds, 17; Siberian huskies, 12; and malamutes,
12.
The malamute's
character is as unique as it is contradictory. The breed is
extremely clean, and despite its size, makes a wonderful house
dog. House training usually takes half the time that it does
with other breeds, and only a major catastrophe -- or negligence
on its owner's part -- can seduce an adult into transgression.
On the
other hand, the breed has a stubborn streak big enough to
drive a dog sled through sideways. The experienced malamute
owner knows how quickly the average malamute understands what
you are trying to teach it -- and how long it can be before
the fully understanding malamute chooses to comply. Unlike
most dogs, malamutes live with you, not for you; and despite
their size and impressive appearance, they are not great guard
dogs.
Malamutes
can be a threat to livestock, however. "The ancestors of today's
Malamute were sometimes forced to hunt, forage, and compete
for food," warns one malamute rescue group. "Consequently,
malamutes have a predatory streak, and, if allowed to run
loose in rural areas, will reliably slaughter livestock and
wild animals. In urban and suburban areas a loose malamute
is a menace to cats. Swift, fearless, and powerful, malamutes
have been known to catch songbirds on the wing and, if challenged,
to deal harshly with other dogs ... Anyone unprepared to deal
firmly and calmly with this wild streak should not own a malamute."
Finally,
because they were bred to be such Herculean workers, malamutes
need daily exercise on a leash or in an enclosed area. The
person who cannot provide that exercise and the firm-but-fair
discipline that enables the malamute to function best in society
should look for a less demanding breed of dog.
Rough
Sledding
Although
the Alaskan malamute is the John Henry of working breeds,
it is not altogether free of genetic frailties. Hemeralopia
or day blindness, an inability to see in bright light, has
been reported in the breed. Renal cortical hypoplasia, a congenital
kidney condition resulting in complete kidney failure at an
early age, has also been observed in malamutes. The breed
is further prone to hip dysplasia and chondrodysplasia. The
latter is a genetic disorder that results in crippling deformities
manifest in the abnormal shape and length of the limbs. In
puppies fewer than six weeks old such deformities are often
difficult, if not impossible, to detect without X-rays; but
as affected puppies grow older, the deformity becomes more
noticeable in the shape and length of the legs.
The Alaskan
Malamute Club of America maintains a registry of dogs that
have been certified free of chondrodysplasia. Unless the names
of the parents of the puppy one is interested in buying are
on that list, the prospective malamute owner should look elsewhere
for a puppy.
The same
advice is good for hip dysplasia, an inherited condition that
results in the malformation of the hip joint. The latter is
a ball-and-socket arrangement in which the ball (the head
of the femur bone) fits into the socket (or acetabulum). Ideally,
the fit is tight, like a tennis ball fits into a cup. When
hip dysplasia occurs, the cup-tight fit deteriorates because
the femoral head is too small or the hip socket is too shallow.
Consequently the head of the femur bone slides around in the
hip socket, to the dog's discomfort.
The Orthopedic
Foundation for Animals (OFA) is a central clearing house for
reading X-rays that evaluate a dog's hips. Dogs x-rayed at
two years of age or older will be issued a serialized OFA
certificate if they do not exhibit any sign of hip dysplasia.
Unless both parents of the puppy one is interested in buying
have their names of that kind of certificate -- which the
puppy's breeder should be eager to produce -- prospective
malamute owners should look elsewhere for a puppy.
Balto
the Wonder Dog
Fans of
the "Tonight Show" may recall host Johnny Carson occasionally
referring to Balto the Wonder Dog in his monologues. The real
Balto, however, was no joke. In 1925, Nome, Alaska, was ravaged
by a diphtheria epidemic. Curtis Welch, the only physician
in Nome, radioed an appeal for lifesaving anti-toxin serum.
By the time he did, several children had died and others were
ill with the highly contagious disease.
The hospital
at Anchorage had fresh serum to spare, but the only dependable
way of getting it to Nome in the heart of winter was by a
dog-sled relay. The anchor leg of the relay was run by Gunnar
Kaasen, who had a team of seven Siberian huskies led by a
magnificent malamute named Balto. After taking the
serum from the dog-sled team, Kaasen traveled the final 100
miles to Nome, blinded by snow with nothing but his dogs'
sure-footed instincts and courage to guide him. The serum
arrived in time to halt the epidemic.
Two years
later Balto and the rest of Kaasen's team were sold to the
Cleveland Zoo. After Balto had died in 1933, he was stuffed,
mounted and put on display at the Cleveland Museum of Natural
History. He was also memorialized by a statue that stands
in New York City's Central Park.
Rick
Beauchamp is a freelance writer who resides in Cambria,
California. He is the author of numerous books on canine breeds
and is a judge licensed with the American Kennel Club and
the United Kennel Club.
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