London, the Alaskan Malamute

edited April 2011 in Other Breeds
I realized I never posted pictures of my boys, so I figured I'd... do that thing. I love to show them off. :X

An alarming amount of people seem to think London is a Sibe even though he's on the larger end for his breed (113 pounds). People who know he's too large to be a Sibe will often ask if he's an Akita. Then, of course, there are the people who ask if he's a wolf or even a coyote. I've even heard "Malamute, those are the dogs that are part werewolf, right?" while walking downtown.

London isn't very typical of his breed, apparently. I've been told this over and over and over again, but I'm not exactly sure what it means. He is every ounce "I'm-bigger-than-you-aren't-I-cool" Malamute.

And a nobler creature has never been seen!
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4 months old, watching the waves on Block Island for the first time.
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Don't be fooled. This is his "I see food" face. (4 years):
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Comments

  • Well if you take a look at that first pic there's nothing but Malamute there in that happy face!

    What a gorgeous boy! Look like he'd be great for cuddling...
  • Right? I think it's just unfamiliarity with the breed that leads people to mistake him.

    He absolutely loves cuddling... but only on his time! When it come to sleeping at the end of the night, he wants as much space to himself as he's afforded.
  • He looks like a regular malamute to me. I find that people often think huskies must be great big dogs, so maybe they think malamutes are the size a husky should be. Anyway, he's very handsome!
  • He is gorgeous! :)
  • Malamute! Lots of people think Huskies are big. They aren't, they're medium dogs. Malamutes were bred for strength, not speed like the Huskies.
    He's one good looking guy though!
  • He's a cutie...I can't tell you ow many times people have asked if Tikaani was all those things you listed and how many times people have thought he was a malamute.

    Is London's tail curly as said in the standard, or straight? It's kind of hard to tell in those pics
  • haha, thanks guys! There are SOME people who know London is a malamute, but I notice it's mostly people who belong to my grandmother's generation. Maybe they were more common in my area at one point, but have since become less popular. I'll never know.

    @ Calia: I think his tail is sort of like a smile and a frown. Sometimes it's curled over his back and other times it's straight, but he rarely swaps between the two. Once it's down, it's down. Once it's up, it's up. It's normally straight and down inside the house and when were' on walks, but it'll curl if he sees something that interests him or if he's running.
  • @Crispy That is interesting, i sort of know what you mean since Tikaani's tail can be like that. Usually it's straight, but when he is really excited he'll throw it over his back in a sickle shape. The Mals I've seen had kept their tails constantly over their back like a shiba would. Didn't think they were able to make it straight
  • edited April 2011
    @Calia I have a couple videos of how it looks when it's curled and how it looks when it's straight. We have four mals/mal crosses that come to work or have been through my work and there was only one whose tail never uncurled, even when it was down. I'm not sure what's common for the breed, though.

    This video is loud and there are a lot of dogs barking so you might want to turn the volume off:



    And London learns the "safe" distance to beg for food from my coworker in this vid:
  • More London spammm (from a couple weeks ago)

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    With his "girlfriend", Nala.

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    Passed out in the lobby at work.

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    The boys -politely- beg just outside the kitchen.
  • That last pic is very cute. Lots of "puppy eyes".
  • Both your boys are very handsome.
  • Both of your dogs looks great. I can see lots of malamute in him..

    Don't worry people think Saya my shiba inu is a husky or husky puppy. lol
  • I love taking pictures of London and his "friends". He usually ignores other dogs, so it's nice to find dogs he really LIKES.

    In this case, his daycare girlfriend is an Akita named Nala.
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    I wanted to share this picture because I absolutely adore Nala. She has got to be one of the sweetest Akita I've ever met. She hardly seems to know she's an Akita most the time, but then again, she grew up in daycare. Now that she's older, she's getting that "Akita streak". She won't LOOK for trouble, but when another dog decides to have a problem with her, it's almost as if she goes "uh, excuse me! I don't know if you noticed, but I'm an -Akita-" and the other dog says "why yes, you're right, I've made a terrible mistake, excuse me while I... go over there as fast as I can."
  • edited May 2011
    Great pic! I see London's still got the places on his legs from the surgery--from an IV? Glad to see he is doing well.

    Nala is gorgeous too! And yes, I think that's a very Akita trait, at least among the AAs. I find them to be pretty friendly and sweet with people, mostly, and they absolutely notice other dogs, but they tend to mind their own business. Unless another dogs messes with them, and then...yep, you called it: "I am an Akita!" (I love the way you phrased it--made me laugh out loud and so accurate!).

    At least I find this to be true of Akitas with an even temperament....sweet, not aggressive, but don't mess with them. I was watching the Akita speciality show this past week, and all the Akitas were minding their own business, and someone brought a min-pin or something like that in, and the little dog started yapping and posturing at an Akita, and suddenly 20+ Akitas were on high alert....None of them moved, none lunged or anything, but you could see that everyone of them was ready to go if need be.....It was a sight to see. (And thankfully, the woman with the yappy dog left--apparently her dog wasn't bright enough to notice that, hey, surrounded by Akitas, so maybe posturing like that was a bad idea).

    eta: one more thing: at the dog show, I ran into exactly the thing you noted above: my friend said "why are there two Siberian huskies in the ring?" Um....because the big one is a Malamute? I thought of this thread when I kept hearing that.
  • edited May 2011
    They both look great, very cute!

    She won't LOOK for trouble, but when another dog decides to have a problem with her, it's almost as if she goes "uh, excuse me! I don't know if you noticed, but I'm an -Akita-"

    >> Nice description, well said! This is exactly how I found our 4 Akita Inu to be. Not quarrelsome trouble makers at all, but when provoked they would "finish it".

    Actually, this is how I find our Kai Ken and Molosser-types to be too.

    ETA: Akita have this self-important nobility to them that I have not found in many other dogs breeds that's I've been around. I did really like that quality in the breed.

    Shiba have a similar vibe but they can be so quarrelsome that they just come off as "jerks". IMHO

    ----
  • Shibas are very quarrelsome, it's true! :lol: I think Dave has it right when he describes Shibas as "punk ass." They really are!
  • I like that description of the Akita XD
  • Haha, yeah, we don't have many shiba that come to camp because they seem so ready to scrap with the other dogs when they're slighted. We have one olllld and fat cream Shiba, Max, and two Shiba crosses. Max only passes because he's too overweight to do anything and the shiba crosses (Daisy and Spice) are high-drive terrors, but generally sweet. We have NO other Akita that come to camp and our NK count stops at Mura.

    I actually referred Nala's owner to the forum so hopefully we'll see him around (I think he was looking for advice about something). He has two Akita - Nala comes to camp and I know her very well but I've never seen his other Akita. He's very nice - wonderful to talk to.
  • I'm sorry to interrupt all things NK for another update on why London is great:


    Again, London proves how he is a paragon of his breed - the very picture of nobility and grace:
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    We'll finally have his CGC done by next Saturday (as long as the trainer isn't booked - I'm waiting for her to get back to me) and I'm already looking for people able to do the Therapy Dog testing in my area. I think the only place I could find around here wants you to do a six weeks of one hour lessons a week (and pay $150) before the testing can happen.
  • There are several different types of Therapy dog associations, some of which may use different requirements to join. I think the most popular is TDI (Therapy Dog International) and there's usually tests done at family dog events and sometimes at (obedience, agility, etc.) matches/trials. The TDI test is basically like the CGC test with added elements (like crutches) and an additional part. Check out their website for a list of upcoming tests:
    http://www.tdi-dog.org/HowToJoinUpcomingTests.aspx
  • edited September 2011
    i think hes very malamute looking. huskies are actually quite small, 113lbs would be a very unusually sized husky lol! but there are so many people out there that are not very breed-savvy! your pups are very pretty though, i love Londons expressions!

    as for therapy dogs, i would just love to get Xee trained as a therapy dog, which would be perfect, since i work in Geriatrics! i think it would be great to take my pup to work with me every night. i wish i could train tala in it as well, but he is too shy. good luck with the training/certification =)
  • "very breed-savvy!" I have to agree most people think my B&T shiba is a husky even husky owners have asked if she is a husky puppy.. lol
  • About 15 years ago my roommates and I had a pit bull/malamute mix. I was living near Thompson square park in new York. That dog confused the hell out of everyone. But she made me appreciate both breeds all the more.
    I think malamutes are wonderful.
  • edited September 2011
    London looks all Malamute to me! Some humans just don't know their dog breeds.

    I LOVE the first photo of him in a "Sit". Classic! I see he is enjoying a boba smoothie -grins-. Handsome young man!
  • It has been so long since I looked at this thread, but I'm here with new pictures!


    @JessicaRabbit - a pit/malamute sounds ridiculous and adorable all at once! I would have loved to see it. :)
    @ShikokuSpirit - London does love the tapioca balls... but I'm not sure they're the best thing for him since I don't know what they use in theirs. It doesn't stop him from scouring the pavement for the balls people spit out or drop. He's a fiend.


    Here's more of London, aka The King of Everything.
    On his quest for domination over stone walls:
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    King of the Laredo:
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    AND he went as the Big Bad Wolf to my Riding Hood on Halloween (but mom botched his "make-up"):
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    I've been so busy I haven't really been able to drive/make any of the TDI tests but there's one coming up on Dec 10th I'm hoping to make. It's just so hard for me to get Saturdays off but it's the ONLY test that's up for the state of Mass (and there are NONE in Rhode Island up there - silly tiny state that we are).
  • He's such a big handsome boy! Haha, king of the Laredo... Conker isn't king of my Jeep, he's it's dictator XD
  • London loves having the window open so he can soak up the attention from passers-by! He's a kind and noble and totally humble kind.
  • I found a picture of her! She is old now (15 years old). But she was a blast to live with.
    My old roommates dog Bailey
  • Oh! Look at her little meat paws! She's so cute! Is she 15 in that picture or is that from earlier? It's crazy that you can see both breeds so well.
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