I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Malamutes. My neighbor's used to own two, and they were basically "our" dogs. I was only five or six at the time so I'm not sure if I am really recalling the dogs correctly, but they were just GORGEOUS in my eyes. Wiley was a wonderful male who, unfortunately, clashed severly with our male Labrador. I remember me loving him as he was SUCH a sweet, great boy - but fur would fly if he came into our yard when Blackie was out, so the neighbors ended up keeping him chained up to their barn where he passed away of heat stroke one summer. 
Loupie, their female Malamute, was just a sweet and great, but less gorgeous. LOL She and Blackie got along fine, so she ended up just living out our house and only heading home to eat - then she'd come right back over and spend the night under the gas tank. The thing I remember most about her was her sweetness - every single person that would come to our house was terrified of the "big wolf dog" and yet all she wanted to do was give them kisses. She adored people, would let me yank burrs and mats out of her fur, and I don't think I ever once saw her become aggressive towards a person. She was extremely dog aggressive and I think the only dog she ever really got along with was Blackie - her and Rose would get into spats every few weeks, and Rose was a submissive girl that just tried to stay out of her way. She was also extremely food aggressive towards other animals. She didn't chase livestock and she was fine with cats. She passed away a few years ago, due to her age and the fact that the neighbors also decided to chain her up to their barn as a way of containment as it is now more populated out here...and I'm assuming the heat and lack of human contact was just too much for her.
Here is a picture of the old, overweight girl:
Anyways, I'd like to here from other people that have owned or know of Malamutes and see what they have to say about them. My overall impression of them is that they are amazing, beautiful, rock solid dogs that never meet a stranger, but are also same sex dog aggressive. Very free thinking and stubborn, but very loveable and people oriented at the same time. Loupie LOVED to talk, too, and we would carry on conversations. Is that the norm for the breed?
What are they like in terms of activity level, prey drive, trainability, etc.? Loupie probably wasn't the best model for the breed as she was severely overweight and was also up in her years when I first met her - and we all know dogs tend to be "easier" once they hit their adult/senior age and know what life is all about!
Loupie, their female Malamute, was just a sweet and great, but less gorgeous. LOL She and Blackie got along fine, so she ended up just living out our house and only heading home to eat - then she'd come right back over and spend the night under the gas tank. The thing I remember most about her was her sweetness - every single person that would come to our house was terrified of the "big wolf dog" and yet all she wanted to do was give them kisses. She adored people, would let me yank burrs and mats out of her fur, and I don't think I ever once saw her become aggressive towards a person. She was extremely dog aggressive and I think the only dog she ever really got along with was Blackie - her and Rose would get into spats every few weeks, and Rose was a submissive girl that just tried to stay out of her way. She was also extremely food aggressive towards other animals. She didn't chase livestock and she was fine with cats. She passed away a few years ago, due to her age and the fact that the neighbors also decided to chain her up to their barn as a way of containment as it is now more populated out here...and I'm assuming the heat and lack of human contact was just too much for her.
Here is a picture of the old, overweight girl:
Anyways, I'd like to here from other people that have owned or know of Malamutes and see what they have to say about them. My overall impression of them is that they are amazing, beautiful, rock solid dogs that never meet a stranger, but are also same sex dog aggressive. Very free thinking and stubborn, but very loveable and people oriented at the same time. Loupie LOVED to talk, too, and we would carry on conversations. Is that the norm for the breed?
What are they like in terms of activity level, prey drive, trainability, etc.? Loupie probably wasn't the best model for the breed as she was severely overweight and was also up in her years when I first met her - and we all know dogs tend to be "easier" once they hit their adult/senior age and know what life is all about!