A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE
ALASKAN MALAMUTE

The Alaskan Malamute was developed by the Malemiut, a tribe of Inuits, native to the northern region of Alaska. and were bred to pull heavy loads in extreme climatic conditions. Their strength as a heavy freighting dog and their capacity for an enormous amount of work is unsurpassed. One has to understand that these were work animals, hunting seals and polar bears as well as hauling heavy sledges with food and supplies back to the villages. Although treated with care and fondness, there was no room for pets on the tundra.

With the Gold Rush,the demand for sled dogs brought different types of breeds into Alaska, that could survive the extremely cold weather. This was detrimental to the purity of the dogs. This mixture in breeding resulted in the deterioration of the breed. One had to travel many days inland, away from the gold country, to find any resemblance of the original Alaskan sled dogs. However, due to their isolation, the dogs of the Malemiut remained fairly pure, but they too suffered from the changes of civilization.

Chinook Kennels established by Arthur T Walden and later by Milton and Eva Seeley, in New Hampshire, was one of the main sources for sled dogs used in the Byrd Antarctic expeditions in the early thirties. The Seeley's began a program to reproduce those dogs found in the Norton sound area. Kotzebue applies to the strain of Alaskan Malamutes at the Seeley's kennels.

A slightly different strain was developed by Paul Voelker Snr and Paul Voelker Jnr with dogs they brought from Alaska in the early 1900's and later in the 1920's. These were generally known as the M'loot strain, named after the kennel they established.

These two terms, "Kotzuebue" and "M'loot", are often used to describe the genetic background of the present day Malamute.

The Malamute has had a very distinguished career in accompanying Arctic and Antarctic explorers. Today, the Malamute's main occupation is as a companion to thousands who have one as a pet. A growing number of enthusiasts have found themselves a recreational hobby of sled dog racing, using one, two or several Malamutes. Other fairly common events are weightpulling, showing in conformation shows and obedience trials.

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