Alaskan Malamute (Comprehensive Owner's Guide)

This Comprehensive Owner's Guide to the Alaskan Malamute serves as a complete introduction to this hauling and racing snow dog. An undeniably impressive Arctic breed, the Alaskan Malamute with its powerful build, classic Nordic features, including its dark mantle, cap over its head, and plumed is a cherished purebred dog, a member of the Working Group, a family companion, and true outdoor sportsman. The book begins with a fascinating chapter on the breed's history with the Mahlemut people in Alaska, followed by chapters on characteristics and the breed standard encapsulating all of the virtues of this powerhouse working dog, offering sound advice about which owners are best suited to the breed. New owners will welcome the well-prepared chapter on finding a breeder and selecting a healthy, sound puppy. Chapters on puppy-proofing the home and yard, purchasing the right supplies for the puppy as well as house-training, feeding, and grooming are illustrated with handsome Malamute adults and puppies bursting with personality! In all, there are over 135 photographs in this compact, useful, and entertaining volume. The author's advice on obedience training the very intelligent but sometimes stubborn Alaskan Malamute will help readers better mold and train their dogs into the most socialized, well-mannered Malamutes in the neighborhood. The extensive chapter on healthcare written by Dr. Lowell Ackerman provides up-to-date detailed information on selecting a qualified veterinarian, vaccinations, parasites, infectious diseases, and more. Sidebars throughout the text offer helpful hints, covering topics as diverse as historical kennels, toxic plants, first aid, crate training, carsickness, fussy eaters, and parasite control. Fully indexed.