markquinton

She jumps up on the very odd occasion but in general has learnt to keep her emotions more under control and hopefully it will stay that way!

Thanks for the nice comments. jmscott - I think that is a little bit of a stereotypical comment. Like someone said it's the dog and not necessarily the breed that gives the personality traits. I must also say that all dogs are born innocent and most problems with dogs are due to the owners themselves.

Thanks, she is a malamute though ^_^ She has been a proper pain in the arse for months on end but she's starting to grow up (11 months) and i'm getting the opportunity now to really enjoy her like I hoped.

I would recommend the Ezydog convert harness and optional saddlebags. Not cheap but good quality

Few more for you.... They were a present from my wife for my birthday. Sorry i'll stop hijacking the thread now

You say the Ezydog convert harnesses are not strong enough which may be the case with the standard harnesses but the 'Convert' one is brilliant and almost identical to the Julius K9. I've got one for my big mally and it's been excellent.

I have the malamute below: She is my first of the breed so can't comment to much about other Malamutes. She has been a challenge during her puppyhood no doubt but she is beginning to chill and I understand from our breeder that I appear to have the most strong willed malamute she has ever bread (lucky me!!) lol. With regards to dog aggression...it seems to be something you read everywhere but my Mally adores all dogs of different shapes, sizes and genders and I would say from what I've seen the breeder's dogs are the same. I think taking a rescue is a great idea but if you are insistant on taking a pup make sure your breeder is top notch. I love my mally and I didn't know whether to get a sibe or mal to begin with. I'd be happy with either to be honest. They are apparently more chilled as they get older like you said. Good luck choosing. Mark

The Mikki rake is a great tool!! I had a furminator and hated it but the mikki rake is kind and leaves our malamute so soft and sheds much less.

Hi All I've invested in some saddlebags which attach to the side of the Ezydog convert harness (both great bits of kit!) and i'm just wondering if there are recommend maximum weights for the dog to carry. Jazz is a Malamute a has great bone structure and at the moment I've put in two small womens dumbells which are very light to get her used to the bags and carrying weights. Does anyone on her use backpacks to exercise their dogs?? Thanks Mark

Thanks for the replies. Ranting is a much needed release of stress I can tell you! You are right that there are general steps towards improvement. She is very much little a child, somedays she wakes up quite calm and loving and others she wakes up mental with tons of energy and it's difficult to use it all up. I must say this site and the people on it have been a big help for me.

Its near impossible to keep my mally out of the way except when she is in her locked pen in the garden. Other than that she wants to be with us all the time. If I put her in the garden she will jump up and try and barge through the doors, luckily they are doubled glazed. Maybe this will change when she is older as a lot of you seen to be saying your dogs go and have their own space.

Hi all Some of you may see my username and think "my god is he moaning again!!" lol Jazz our mally has just turned 10months and I just thought i'd give you an update and also I guess what i'm looking for is some reassurance that I'm not alone and maybe suggestions as to whether i'm doing things right or wrong as I often doubt myself. So here is what has improved and what hasn't over the last 10months. Improvements: - We have now moved away from the land shark stage and she no longer randomly jumps and attacks you in the house. - She doesn't seem to take so many items which she deems to be valuable and guard them - She has mature spells of calm (occasionally) - There are signs that she is starting to learn to control her excitement and stop her self from losing control, this still needs lots of work though, more on this in the next paragraph. Things i'm stuck on and slightly worried about: - I have major problems with Jazz just not letting me sit down in the lounge. My wife can without any problems and she is generally very chilled throughout the day but when I get home from work and after I've taken her for a 45minute walk she is a right pain the butt all night and every night. The only way she will lay and be calm is if she has a treat or finally when she is tired around 9:30 (hence why i'm now able to write this while she is sleeping next to be). What she does if she sees me sitting is either jump on the couch opposite me and steals/bites the cushions, or she will walk into the couch i'm sitting on a bite the corners. She does it because it get's a reaction although I can't let her do it as she has already ripped 4 holes in our couch over the last few weeks. She knows exactly what buttons to press to get me up and giving her attention. I've tried ignoring her, walking away and grabbing her by her collar and taking her to time out. Unfortunately when I grab her collar she goes completely limp and I struggle to get her out of the room. I know it's not the way to do it and I now thing that she likes me man handling her. If I jump up to tell her off she runs around excited trying to evade me like she thinks it's a great game. This problem may seem very minor but when it's every single night I tell you it's ruining the time I spend with her and I don't know how I can stop it. Please any ideas on how I can break the cycle are very welcome. - at 10months I had expected her to not mouth any more but she still mouths a lot, I've tried saying 'no', nipping her lip when she mouths and pressing her tongue and walking away. The nipping her touch and lip definitely do not work as she comes back again just to check whether I will do it every time. Is it normal for dogs at 10months still to be mouthy? - she is taking much more interest in our cats!! - We still are having the occasionally issue with Jazz jumping up and mouthing our arms mid walk, this was a major problem which was causing us significant bruises and scratches and i'm very pleased that this problem is a lot less common now. It still seems to be triggered by noises and overexcitement. For example I've tried taking her for runs in the evening to take away some of her endless energy. Sometimes it goes great and other times the running just makes her too excited and she looses control and mouths my arm and jumps up and it's difficult to recover her. I'm still worried that this isn't normal at all especially at her age now but I am pleased that it's improving. So all in all the first 10months have been bloody hard and i'm really hoping it gets easier, I believe she is in her adolescent stage now and it seems quite apparent. I do love her to bits and hope that things get easier. If anyone met jazz i'm sure they wouldn't notice all the problems I do but they are all important to me as I want her to grow up and be a great companion, not a pain in the butt. Thanks all Mark

I know it's not the same but my girl is sweet and friendly until she gets overexcited, then she loses control and nips really hard. I literally have to grab her a drag her to separate time out area which I hate doing as I don't want her to think I'm being aggressive. Maybe you try exchanging one toy for another a few times a day so she doesn't associate losing a toy as being a big thing. Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2

If I try and sit down jazz bites the sofa or stairs to try and get a reaction and get me up again! Dont think she likes it when I try and chill. Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2

Feel free to rant about mally pup ownership like I have. Congrats. Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2

I like that description!

I've also seen loads of pictures on various sites of owners cuddling their mals and huskys but I must say Jazz isn't the cuddle type. I don't if that's just her personality or whether it will come with age. She doesn't like being stroked when she is sleeping that's for sure.

How can something so beautiful be so naughty...

Oh yeah was always expecting the zoomies, but it's ensuring doesn't overexcite herself and start nipping that I find the difficult part. Oh and believe me she has been a pain since 6months!

Hi Devildust Teen-a-mute sounds about right, like I said we had just been seeing signs of maturity just before she entered this stage, we have worked so hard at stopping her jumping up and mouthing our arm mid walk which was caused by over stimulation and she's much better at this now which is pleasing. I can even tell when she's getting over excited and she looks at me to jump but then sort of corrects herself. It may well be a female mal thing as most of the boys seem quite chilled. She hasn't had a season as we decided to get her spayed at 6months, an issue that people will debate forever but we thought it was for the best as it reduces the chance of cancer. When I say testing us I mean she knows that she cannot get on the sofa but all of a sudden she will do it repeatedly and knows she is doing wrong, same with counter surfing. I would like her relationship with my 5 year old son to be better as well, don't get me wrong when she sees him her ears go down and she licks him and obviously loves him but sometimes he will go to stroke her and she will grumble very slightly but never bite or anything. She doesn't do it to me and I can't work out why she does it to him unless it's a size thing. She loves other dogs that we meet on walks, probably too much infact, as soon as she sees one coming towards she puts the breaks on until we meet them. Because she has suffered from overexcitement so much during her early stages it's the simple things like I will not let her off lead in my parents garden because when over exitment occurs it often results in mouthing people and sometimes jumping. Jazz is my first dog and I know she is probably the most difficult breed I could of chosen which is sometimes I wonder if it's me who isn't good enough rather than her being a misbehaving dog, If I fail it will not be for the lack of trying that's for sure. My posts make her sound like a really bad dog but believe me everyone who meets her loves her and think she is better trained that I do. Cheers all Mark

I was hoping for a week or two..but I knew that was Seriously though I can understand why these fantastic northern breeds do get rehomed at an early age. I did loads of research but it's still a shock as to how much work and commitment it requires to try and bring them up the right way. I've been close to breaking a few times already.

A year or two!!!!!!!!

Hi all My mally is 4 days away from being 9 months, we have had our battles but around 2-3 weeks ago I could see some glimmers of hope with regards to her maturing a little. ie sitting down more and being more content and not barking when she is in the garden to come in, just calmly sitting and waiting. Then bang.. all of a sudden she is doing the following: - being much more vocal, especially in the morning when she is hyper and she seems to dislike us leaving her in her outside pen now. Sh e was a quiet dog but is definitely more rowdy at the moment. - general disobeying of orders - counter surfing more than usual - running around like a mad bull in a china shop She is testing us all the time and if I'm on occasions it makes us feel like if she stay like this long term then we don't know if we would cope. Is this because we have entered the teenage brat stage? Please tell me it gets better after this stage lol Mark

Just wanted to say...I bought a Kong wobbler. Wish I had got one earlier!! They are fantastic and jazz loves it. I feed all her meals in their and it stops her from eating too quick and keeps her entertained. Thanks for the tip! Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2

I love spending time with her and I do play with her. The problem I have with jazz is too much excitement makes her overly hyper. If I play football with her or run around her eyes glaze over and she has the zoomies..the problem is these zoomies always result in her nipping and mouthing when she loses control. So to some extent I have to try and keep her calm until she grows out of it. It's sad cause id love to play more actively. Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2