Does anyone have any experience of alaskan malamute x gsd?

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springtime13

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Hi all, after losing my dog of a lifetime last month I feel like I'd like to welcome a new dog into my life. I have seen a beautiful 10 month old malamute x gsd looking for a new home. She looks small for this breed, I'd say medium size and def has more of the look of the gsd but carrying the more unsual markings of the mal. The write up of her looks lovely, loyal and loving, fab recall and well socialised with other dogs and kids (although that isn't such an issue for us as we don't have any). What do you think the main issues would be with such a breed? As we live in Leics and the dog is in scotland, we would want to be well considered before we drove up to look at her.
 
I have pure malamutes, and they are a handful, to say the least. They have an incredably high prey drive (have to watch them with our cats - who they've been brought up with!), very stubborn, and can have dominant tendancies. They will jump (high), dig or generally squirm out of the garden, and as a breed, can never be let off the lead. I have a very good artilcle as to why they can never run free (pm me if you would like to read it).
They are working dogs, and need to work - I sled mine; get bored, and thus destructive, very easily.
I love them to bits, but, and I cannot stress this enough, do your homework - they are quite a specialised breed!!!!
I know nothing about GSD's other than they seem lovely dogs.
 
A friend of mine has one. He is now 8 but they have had him since he was about 5 months old (he was from a rescue centre.)

Alfie is Malamute-sized, quite chunky, with a very thick coat and the characteristic curled over tail, but mid-brown in colour, like a GSD.

He has a super temperament but he is very vocal, especially towards other dogs. He is friendly with them when they meet but his barking does freak some nervous ones out. He also barks a lot when visitors come to the house.

He lives with their other dog, a 12 year old female Beagle, Molly. They get on well but don't play together or snuggle up together. They are very different characters. When they are out on walks, they do things very differently from each other: the GSD/Mal likes to roam far and wide, galloping for long distances (his recall is pretty good though). Whereas the beagle likes to snuffle around in hedgerows, following scents, typical of her breed.
 
Thanks misterjay, that is really useful to know. I have heard that the mals are a real handful and more dog than I think we could cope with. I guess with first crosses, you never know what you're going to end up with. In an ideal world, I guess I would like the gsd nature in terms of being a good and relatively easy companion but with the more destinctive mal colours. Never going to be a guarantee though.

Red, your friend's dog sounds lovely. We certainly wouldn't mind the barking
aspect. Having recall would be really important to us. We wouldn't want to take on a dog who couldn't go off the lead. It sounds like your friend's dog has more of the gsd character.

I would say we were experienced dog owners, in that we always had dogs growing up and since leaving uni I have had 3 dogs. Saying that, other than my patterdale they have all been really easy and straight forward to bring on.
 
I have a GSD x Mal x husky (an iniut) and she is lovely! (although she does have her moments!!)

the most fantastic temprement you could want in a dog, very tolerant but will but them in their place if necessary (usually just by flattening them until they are calm) she loves the cats (a bit too much) and is facinated by the Guinea pigs and sits nose to nose with them (through the bars).

Recall is slightly iffy but is getting much better now she is older (she is 4 now) she does agility and obedience (although not amaizing and she will not retrieve anything) and the hair..... oh god the hair!!!
 
Lexie - thanks for this, I will try and PM her. New to this forum, so will hopefully work it out.

Frankie, yours sounds lovely! We have two rescued rabbits, and although ours live in fort knox due to very high prey drive patterdale it would be very stressful for the dog if she knew they were there but couldn't get at them. Likewise, it's great news that yours has recall. It seems that all the googling I've done seems to suggest that the malamute x gsd makes for a nice dog, although very much in need for exercise. I'd be keen to do agility/ obedience training but would probably fall short on the sledding front :D
 
Yeah Tys is a GSD x Mal. I recieved your pm but my phone wont let me reply :(

I think as with all crosses it depends on which breed traits each individual dog carries, but on the whole, no I wouldn't asvise it. Bad cross IMO.
Tys is very clever and gets bored easily, so if you work a lot as I do, bare that in mind. Tysons re call is non existsnt, hes terrible off lead - never comes back!
Seperation anxiety is a bit of an issue too, and hes very destructive in the home when he's alone.
Hes a lovely dog mind, cant fault his temperament in regards to personality - hes very friendly, good with other dogs (all be it bouncey like tigger) but he takes a lot to keep his brain occupied.

Sorry if thats a bit rambley, but all in all if I was offered one again I's say hell no :p x
 
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Middle dog there is my friend's inuit (GSD/mal/husky, no idea what proportions of which). Stunning dog, lovely temperament (lives in a busy pub!) but unreliable recall, no inclination towards obedience, not easily trained, hugely vocal, moults about twice as much as the huskies do. Pulls like a steam train on the lead but not really athletic enough for the kind of sports the huskies do. Inclined towards separation anxiety.

I think as soon as you incorporate any of the northern spitzy breeds you have to accept that there's a very good chance of getting a stubborn dog with poor recall (and a chance that they can never be let off the lead safely). I would be panicking about hips on a mal x GSD too.

There's a reason these kind of dogs go up for rehoming between 6 and 18 months, they're a pain in the arse. :p
 
Lady La La and black cob - thanks for posting. It's really useful to hear some of the less rose tinted view point than I've been convincing myself of ;). The bitch in question is def more gsd in looks than either of your dogs and from speaking to the owner, seems more gsd in temperament. She confirmed that recall is fine, isn't destructive in the house and is regularly left for hours at a time with no issues. The only hang up seems to be that she is nervous and submissive of large bouncy dogs. As always though, you can never be sure when buying a dog off a stranger. Hips wise though, hmm. I was wondering that myself. I know that the people who sell these designer dogs don't usually worry themselves with any health checks. I guess the only thing in her favour is that the owner has two very small children so I doubt she's been exercised hard before 6 months (which I hear can contribute to hip dysplasia)
 
My dog is a northern inuit which is a breed mixed with marmalute gsd and husky

my dog even tho has marmalute does not run after prey unless you telll him he lives with 3 gets and has a special bond with one of them
George.jpg




george003.jpg
 
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Leviathan - arrhh now your dog is the most like the dog in question. Although only from the side view - yours looks more wolfy from the front. She looks very gsd. Would you say yours has more of a gsd temperament? Trainable, recall etc
 
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springtime13 said:
Leviathan - arrhh now your dog is the most like the dog in question. Although only from the side view - yours looks more wolfy from the front. She looks very gsd. Would you say yours has more of a gsd temperament? Trainable, recall etc
Click to expand...

he has a very soft temperament is a bit thick like marmalutes can be

GSD do not have white on ( unless pure white all over )

George has white paws white eyebrows white on his muzzle and chest is white there are many shades of northern inuits
he is very trainable comes out with the horses without a lead

http://www.mahleknortherninuits.co.uk/

If this dog your looking at has white on as George has he could be Northern Inuit
as you will see here none of the GSD have white

http://www.nwk9.com/type_comparison.htm
 
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Sorry, there are tonnes of GSDs with white patches on chests and toes, I see enough of them!!! Two showline GSDs I saw today with my own eyes today had white on their chests. And one Czech dog, all grey/sable, with white back feet.

No offence to anyone who owns this mix but the balanced 'best of both' ones are in the minority in my opinion.

Again, no offence to individual dogs or owners etc, but I have no idea how the original thought came about that this mix was a good idea in the first place.

They are two completely different breeds in terms of character, original use, etc.

Not trying to put you off but go in with your eyes open and work hard on your training.
 
As you can see from the replies the very fact that 2 breeds are combined means its a bit of a lucky dip which breed traits will come through. The first question I would ask is why are they parting with her at 10 months? Also if you fancy this cross, what about the older bitch on preloved you posted about ;)
 
A friend has a Husky (is that the same as an Alaskan Malamute) X GSD..... it looks like a GSD and has no sockets for it's hip joints.... we are in Scotland ..... They were sold through the local paper as "Wolf Look-a-likes"..... says it all realy!!!!!!
 
That's another issue. While I am aware that some breeders (indeed, some on this board :)) of these mixes are very tight on health testing, some others who are more interested in quick cash say:
GSA x Husky (or Malamute) = TADA! cross one breed with the other and INSTANTLY no more hereditary health problems! Hip Dysplasia Be Gone!!
Which of course is ballcocks if neither parent has been x-rayed has been shown to have low hip-scores.
You breed an unknown to an unknown and you do nothing to lessen the possibility of health problems. It's a sales pitch for people who can't be arsed shelling out a couple of hundred for x-rays/grades.
 
It's 30 years since I had a GSD and have never had a mal or husky. However, in my (second hand) experience from friends it would appear that people are often able to have a reliable recall and let these dogs off lead when young juveniles but that that all goes out of the window as they get older.

All I would say is just don't get lulled into a false sense of security that just because the dog has a good recall at 10 months that it will also at 20 or 30 months. Just something to bear in mind.
 
MurphysMinder said:
The first question I would ask is why are they parting with her at 10 months?
Click to expand...

Exactly this. I would be taking what they say with a pinch of salt, they are obviously getting rid for a reason and so likely to be economical with the truth! I looked after an Inuit for 2 years when I did dog day care and although she was a fab dog, her recall was poor and she had a huge prey drive. I could let her off the lead as I walked all of the dogs on a very quiet beach and could see for miles around me but there is no way I would have let her off in any other circumstance. Although I loved her dearly I would never own one, too much hard work. But respect to people that do!
 
Murphy's minder - yes the preloved one was lovely, but having lost my best friend recently at the age of 12 I want a younger one - to have the maximum time with them. I don't want a puppy as I work and wouldn't want to leave one so young and tbh I wouldn't want to give money to most of the people which breed so called designer breeds like the mal x gsd. So I really I am looking at the 6- 12 month age. The story with this particular bitch is that they are moving out the area and into accomodation where they don't allow dogs. I know that increasingly, this is the case in private sector housing. Spook, that is so awful. Could the dog even walk? Leviathan - she is not white at all, she is shades of cream and blonde. I would post a pic of her up, but don't know if it would be appropriate.
 
I hate to be cynical, but the amount of people emigrating and moving house on the dog section of free websites would appear to be a lot higher than the national average.

Again, I am not saying don't get her, just be prepared to put a hell of a lot of work in.
 
Actually, I do echo the hips problem - mals definitely have this issue, and it sounds like GSD's do as well.
Yes, exercise is a factor (for mals, as a very rough guide, it's 10 mins walking per month of age from about 4-5 months , no stairs etc),, but genetics play a huge part - I wonder if the parents were scored???
 
I am rambling here, bear with me.

I saw a post on an American website last week, about lack of drive in modern GSDs.
One reply went along the lines of 'people just want a dog with the character of a laid back labrador in a different jacket'.

That's a big issue - these dogs look amazing. However the mixes of breeds which produce these looks are often not easy.

You have to modify your life and adapt it around these breeds a lot of the time.
I have one GSD I cannot let off around the lead in unfenced areas. A pain, but I have to do it.
I have one GSD that NEEDS to be active and mentally stimulated every day and be knackered by the evening, or woe betide me. If that means getting up 90 minutes earlier than I need to, if that means I spend ten minutes in the house after work before going out again with him, if that means I cannot leave him unattended in a room for five minutes or else he will start eating the sofa, if I have to shell out top whack when I go away on hols so he can be in a kennel where they will actually do something with him and stimulate him, then, so be it. I wanted a working dog and I got one.

If you want a perfect dog who will lie on the sofa all day and not play up if he doesn't get out for a massive walk every day or doesn't have a job to do - don't get these breeds or a mix of these breeds.

Breeders breeding the type of dog who only really wants to lie on the sofa all day and not do anything, breeding all the drive and spark out of a breed, is to the detriment of those breeds.
Breeders breeding high-drive dogs together and selling them based on looks to people who's set-up or requirements cannot cope with the energy levels and needs of these dogs, are also acting in the worst interests of these breeds.

If you want a quiet, easy, low-energy dog with good recall, neither a GSD or a Malamute nor a mix of the two is the one you want IMO.

This female has not reached maturity, these breeds often do not physically or mentally mature until up to 2.5yrs - that's when your issues can start to present themselves.
My young dog is 13 months and he is only really *starting* to push me now.
 
Thanks cavecanem, that is really interesting food for thought. I didn't set out with a burning desire to have myself a gsd x mal, I stumbled upon her because I was looking to find a dog which had a resemblance of my dream dog who I lost last month. Difficult to pin down, as she was a real mongrel, the only certainty was that she had some gsd blood in her. So I was trawling through the internet looking for gsd crosses and said dog caught my eye. Which is why I posted the thread earlier to canvas some opinions. It's been great though, because I never thought I have so many people which such a wide range of opinions and experiences of the type. Not sure what to do now, I have had dogs all my life and have a real commitment to see it through with any animal in my care. Patterdale terriers (although easier in size) come with a real health warning and we've seen him right and he's a wonderful dog now. All our dogs have been rescued at the teenage stage and we've had to out issues. The women could be lying through her teeth to get rid of a difficult dog, or maybe she's not. It's like buying a horse really. You never know until you're stuck with it :eek:
 
Posting briefly as at work but if you have a spare hour have a search for some of my previous posts in AAD - I too took on an adolescent northern breed dog because the owner was 'moving abroad' - absolute bull, he was advertising another dog from the same address six months later. Two years of blood, sweat and tears later I have A Good Dog but by god it was hard going and it has changed my life irreversibly. Tread very, very cautiously.
 
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