Hello,

I am desperate need of some advice. I don't even know what exactly my issues with my new dog boil down to so I don't know what training advice I even need or what products to buy but here it goes.

I got an Alaskan Malamute, we named him Chance, when he was 4 months old and he is now 6 months. My fiance and I live in a 1200 sq ft apartment with a big back yard that we can walk him around in and there is at least one person home with Chance at all times seeing as we work different shifts. He goes out quite often and we take him for at least one walk to the park every day. We always have food down for him, which after reading the website I realized is wrong. When we first brought him home my fiance left for Military training for 3 weeks and I had the dog house broke in that time and had also taught him basic commands. So I believe he learns quickly and is a smart dog. When My fiance returned home we had a rough first week while Chance was getting use to having to obey my fiance now too. But he quickly figured out we are both in charge and we have had no obedience problems like that ever since. We keep the dog in the crate when we are not home and if we are unable to keep a close eye on him he goes in the crate then as well. This is where the problems arise.

First of all, he does like his crate and when we are within eye sight he has absolutely no problem being in there. However, as soon as we leave the room or shut the door he barks and paws at the crate door NON STOP! I've been told that when we both leave the apartment he will bark for up to 2 hours!!

Next, he is an escape artist. He got out of his crate for the first time about a month ago by rattling the bottom latch out and squeezing through the bottom of the door. Now we pad lock the cage so he can't escape. This was a full proof plan until about 2 weeks ago when my fiance forgot to pad lock the crate and he got loose. This time our bedroom door, where we keep his crate, was shut and he tried to dig his way out completely destroying a large section of our carpet. Then one night while we were studying late in the living room, he stopped barking, broke/bent several of the metal parts of the crate creating a decent size hole and got out that way. The hole was not big enough and he actually got stuck. I ran to his aid and tried to calm him so I could safely get him free. The next day my fiance fixed the crate and it is now secure so that door no longer opens (we bought the crate with a door on each side). We have had no escape issues since then but I can still hear him paw at the crate door when I'm in the other room so I'm not sure if he will try again.

Also, he doesn't always listen to me. For example, there are times when I will call him to me and he just won't come or he will go somewhere else and lay down. When he does come to me he listens perfectly. When we are playing he listens as well. Also, when I am brushing him he always try to deter me from brushing by rolling over on his back for a belly rub. Normally I just roll him back over, calmly pet him and begin brushing. The other day I tried this and he wouldn't have any of it. He was so crazy wound up from me trying to make him cooperate that I ended up rolling him over and squatting above him. He then flipped out and somehow broke my finger.

Finally, he is spooked easily outside. When I was house breaking him he was too afraid of everything outside and just refused to do anything out there. Then I began a strict routine of taking him out on a schedule along with feeding him on a schedule and I also took him to the same spot to pee and poop. That worked perfectly and after a while we just weened him off of that spot and started taking him for walks. He does really well when I take him to parks and we never have any problems. But when we are walking around my neighborhood he never wants to go where he cannot see our door. He jumps backwards and tries to yank out of his collar to run back to the door. He has gotten free from my fiance but not with me. My method is I quickly grab where the leash attaches to the collar, tell him to sit, and allow him to calm down before trying again. He will usually go where I tell him to after that but once we turn around to go back he tries to pull me all the way home. For this I just keep him on a very short leash and make him walk at my pace. Sort of on the same note, he pukes if he is in the car for more than 20 minutes and believe me that is a precise time. And he refuses to sit on the seat. Instead he sits on the floor even though he is way to big for that and buries his head under the seat.

He is already almost 70lbs! I am worried if we don't figure this out soon he will over power us. I could desperately use some advice and opinions.

Thank You,
April

To address the least urgent first:

About the carsickness: this is pretty common in puppies, and 20 minutes sounds about right (many can make it a few blocks, say, but not once the car is on a highway). He is probably less nauseated on the floor, too. Motion sickness is related to the view of fixed items "going by" side windows and receding in the back window. Does he have to be in the car for long periods? Can it be broken up with stops for getting out, potty, etc.? (Puppies very often grow out of it.)


There's a lot here, but I already see one thing screaming out at me. How much daily training and exercise is this dog getting? (Details are good, including how many sessions of each.)

Have you done some work with leaving the house, marking/rewarding, returning, etc., and gradually extending the walk?

What work have you done about desensitizing the pup to your departures? What kind of exercise is done first so you always leave a tired pup in the crate? This really needs to be addressed right away; a habit is being forged.

You'll get lots of help.


PS
Welcome!

Watch the free marker training video. Do it faithfully.
I learned about it here, and I think it's the key to unlocking the relationship with a "difficult" dog.
Are you being quiet in your crate? YES- here's a little bite of cheese.
Are you scared of that bus on our walk? Forget about that, I've got a little bit of
left over steak here in my pocket, if you look in my eyes, YES, instead of at that scary thing, you can have a bit of steak....
You don't like brushing? Well, just lie here and stare at that piece of hamburger on the edge of the chair. If you let me stroke 3 times without squirrelling around, that hamburger can be yours -YES - he gets the hamburger.
It seems like bribery,but it works, they learn to anticipate something good, they learn to work for the reward, they learn that YES means good and food sometimes happens.
I found it to be magic.

Yes to marker training. It works wonders.

There are some innate characteristics that even some show-line malamutes retain. A labrador wants to retrieve, a border collie wants to herd, and a malamute wants to run and pull. It's what they do. This generally requires a more active owner because you can't wear a malamute out by standing in one place and throwing a ball for an hour. You need to get out with your dog.

Free running in safe areas is also an option- but off leash control is paramount with northern breeds and you need to do a lot of research on how you would teach a solid off-lead recall. It's not easy, and takes persistance, patience, and a good relationship with your dog. Bullying a northern breed gets you nowhere. Your dog will only work for you out of shared respect.

I can provide further information on training your dog in harness if you'd like. You can start harness training at six months, but need to limit the amount of steady running until he is at least 12-18 months old.

I'm tempering my response a bit, I know a few people run malamute dog-sled teams and get pretty hot under the collar about people keeping malamutes as house pets thinking they got a really pretty labrador. Often malamute sled teams are composed entirely of re-homed or pound dogs. You can certainly keep a malamute in the house, but your dog's exercise needs are going to need to take priority. That means you come home from a long day of work and first thing you do is take your dog on an hour to two hour long bike ride, or run, or scooter, or ski- whatever it takes.
I've done it and I love it, but it's not for everyone.

If you live in a hot part of the country... that's another consideration. I'm hoping you live in snow country because it can be dangerous to run a fully coated malamute in warm conditions.

 Quote: Kiersten Lippman

.... a few people .... get pretty hot under the collar about people keeping malamutes as house pets thinking they got a really pretty labrador. .... You can certainly keep a malamute in the house, but your dog's exercise needs are going to need to take priority. .... I've done it and I love it, but it's not for everyone. .... I'm hoping you live in snow country because it can be dangerous to run a fully coated malamute in warm conditions.

This is such a good post.

I asked about exercise in the hope that the O.P. did research the breed before getting the pup and is aware of the commitment to exercise and care about hot weather, etc.

The time to step up to the needs of this pup is now.

I'm thinking that the O.P. came here to ask because she sees that perhaps she needs additional information right away.

It's fortunate that there are so many regular posters here who do fully understand the breed (as well as marker training, exercise for all dogs, how to boost the confidence of a shy pup, and much more).

As to the suggestions that the previous posters have supplied I completely aggree with. You also have to keep in mind that Malamutes and other northern breeds also can be very tough minded and persistent - this is a good thing for a tough, all weather working dog but can be a challenge for training and living with - it's often tagged as "stubborn" but is really just dogged persistence and they will try mightily to get things to go their way so with them it is "Outwit, Outlast, Outplay" Adolescent mals can be real dinks, also so establishing firm rules early is very necessary- you don't have to be harsh - just clear on rules. Malamutes are a large and powerful breed and while some large breeds don't need much exercise this does not hold true for Mals. If you are having trouble getting him to walk away from the house try putting him in the car driving far enough that he doesn't get carsick and walk him towards home at a fast pace - a little jogging will not hurt him at all - also try and teach him a nice controlled walk as at his adult size he is going overpower you if he pulls. For carsickness issues - alot of the time pups will outgrow this but you can help the issue by putting him in the vehicle and taking short trips (under his barf limit) and having something awesome at the other end like really fun exercise or park ice cream or a cheeseburger or whatever really gets him excited - anticipation can do alot to help a dog get over carsickness. A capsule or 2 of ginger a half hour or so before a trip can help also. Also try crating him inside the vehicle -even a fabric crate will sometimes help them calm down a little more. More exercise will go a long way to helping with your other issues.

Thank you so much everyone for the advice. We do try to exercise him as much as possible but it is very hard to do. I have to lift him into the car but as soon as I go to touch him he yelps and whines SO DRAMATICALLY and tries to run away. And we have realized that the only way he will go for a walk is if we take him for a car ride to a park where he cannot even see home. He does really well at the park its just a challenge to get him there. We were harness training him but he broke 2 harnesses already so we figured we should stick to a regular collar. I think I may need to seek more advice in the near future from everyone regarding some smaller training questions but this is a good place to start!

I love our dog so much and I feel terrible for not being better at this. Thank you so much for all of the advice! We e-mailed Cindy Rhodes as well and she suggested the pack leadership training as well so we are going to try all of it and I will check back in if I have any issues. I am so unbelievably thankful to have to so many people offer their advice and opinions so quickly as we were really getting scared.

" We do try to exercise him as much as possible but it is very hard to do. "

It can't be "try as much as possible" or "but."

I know that lots of times when someone new to this reads "exercise," they see it as one of those things that you try to fit in after the rest of the demands of life are met.

This IS a demand of life for you. You've made the commitment.

You probably researched the breed at least some, so you would have heard about the structured exercise requirement. Really, all I wanted to add is that it's not optional. It has a direct and immediate effect on many of the issues you're seeing, too. for example, a tired dog left in a crate is very different from a wired energetic frustrated dog left in a crate.

"I love our dog so much and I feel terrible for not being better at this. " You can be!

Keep posting.

Your seeking information April, thats the first step in the right direction. You CAN do this, it's going to take WORK though.

Like others have said in this thread, alot of emphasis needs to be put on the exercise REQUIREMENTS of your dog. You got yourself into a new workout routine, it's called Malamutersize!

Until he is around 18 months old, play with him outside, play his little furry butt off. When it gets colder outside, your gonna have to get out there with him! After 18 months, then you can run his little furry butt off, but it's not good for his joints and bone growth if you do it too early.

Lots of water, and exercise will give you a happy dog. And you know how the saying goes, "A happy dog is a tired dog!"

Don't forget about his mental health too, Huskies and Malamutes are problem solvers and will find things to do when they get bored. Such as being escape artists. They are intelligent even more so then the average. Do the marker training to teach him how YOU want things done, but don't forget to play with that pup and enjoy him. Build that bond and he'll amaze you.

Hi April, welcome and congrats on your new pup. Nice to have a malamute owner on board. Boy lots of questions… lol. And I almost missed your post. I'm no expert but do own and have quite a bit of time in with these northern guys.

Have you had dogs before? When it comes to training, these guys are as smart as all get out, when they choose to learn what you’re teaching.

They’re not guard dogs by any stretch and rarely get used for any type of service work or sports other than those Kiersten mentioned that involve pulling, because of the training issues that most face. The ones that you are starting to realize very quickly.

Free shaping works great with these guys. Catch them in the act. Once the treat drops from the sky, you’ll get some interest. They will usually try and repeat the behavior. Pulling, forcing, corrections are all going to have him going in the opposite direction very quickly.

You mentioned you had an issue with your boyfriend. Can I ask what that was and how you fixed it?

Crates are a wonderful tool that a well exercised pup usually loves and has no problem adapting to. A malamute, especially a younger one, needs to be entertained in there though. They get bored so very easily and if he knows what’s coming, with the two hours while you’re gone, yes, it’s probably causing him a great deal of anxiety. Frozen Kongs, Treat Toys, any treat dispensing toy – the more challenging, the better. Bones are good but they can get bored with those fairly quickly too.

With what he’s gone through to this stage I think I’d get a whole new crate and start over. These are my favorite for these guys: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3195394

They use their paws for everything and if there’s any chance they can stick them though, trust me, and as you’ve seen with a baby, they will work their way out. Reinforce any of the wider, breachable areas with clasps that will remain facing outwards – if they can swing them in they will get them undone. I just used twist ties but my guy was pretty good from the get go – not to say he didn’t try though.

April, I think the worst thing you can do right now is shower this guy with too much attention. It’s the toughest thing in the world to do because they’re such fluffy little teddy bears. They’re aloof for a reason though and do really well on their own if they’ve got toys to keep them entertained. Don’t dilute your leadership role with a lot of unnecessary cuddling, petting and idle chatter.

And although they will seek out attention, trying to engage with you, it’s usually on their terms. The less you’re fondling and coddling him, the more interested he will become.

I’d be working on his recall right now. You need to choose one word for this. I use his name but it can’t be diluted with anything else. Probably best to chose a new word if the current one has already resulted in him blowing you off. You need to set him up for success - every single time. Can't stress that enough. If it's an iffy situation, don't use it.

When he’s heading your direction to begin with. Like coming out of the crate, coming to his bowl for dinner, coming out of the vehicle towards you.

Not sure if you have a fenced yard but it sounds like he doesn’t like leaving it. Put him on a long line, have your boyfriend hold him out by the street and you stand by the door (the one he doesn’t like out of his sight). When he’s really exciting and pulling to get back, use your command word and have your boyfriend let go. Any time he’s balking/backing up before you go out on a walk he’s primed for this training. The walk can take back stage at this point – it doesn’t sound like he’s really enjoying it right now anyway. He’s probably going through a bit of fear stage.

Engagement is another story but this is getting really long already and I just wanted to dispel a few of those heavy coat myths and maybe help you with the brushing.

With so little natural aggression in these guys, rolling on their back and vocalizing are a classic protest. You’re probably getting a few paws in the face too.

Because brushing is such a huge requirement with these guys, you really need to get him to love it. Their dense, fine, often long puppy coat hairs can really hurt when you’re brushing too quickly and they’re getting pulled. I find a wide, thick pronged rake works best at first. You can get into the heavier pullers once he's used to it. Slow it down a lot, be really gentle and at first, treat after every swipe. Make it a really fun time!!

As far as their adaption to the warmer climates, I’ve never seen this to be a problem. The northern coats are truly unique. Unlike the shorter coated dogs Greyhounds, Dalmations, Dobermans, Beagles, these guys “have an ability” to grow a very long, dense, thick coat. As with most animals, their coat will grow in according to climate they need to become accustomed to.

If it’s going to be a hot summer, my guy sheds down even further than my shepherd does the first few months in spring. The coat becomes fine and breezy. It may look long but all of that undercoat and a lot of guard hairs are released. My guy was so short this last spring it almost had me worried but it start to grow back almost immediately, longer and thicker than ever this year. I think it’s going to be a cold winter.

It any case, once that puppy coat is gone and the more mature coat starts growing in, basic common sense, as with any dogs in heat should really be no different. Their incredible creatures in their adaptation. If they could only live in the north that’s the only place you’d see them. Not the case at all, they’re all over our vast continent.

A bit of a novel but again welcome aboard. And please, as Connie said, post any specific questions you have (maybe one at a time). We’re here to help.