A Chat with Sammy Taylor An Alaskan Malamute Breeder
Sammy has owned Malamutes for many years and has Lucien, Mina and Selene. Lucien is a big powerful boy of 3 years 5 months and his sister Selene 2 years old. Sam also has Mina who is 4 years and 3 months old. The dogs are showed and worked on a regular basis. Lucien recently won best of breed and Mina reserve best of breed. Sam spends hours grooming her dogs for shows and especially when the dogs are about to blow (shed hair). This happens when the females are in season and the males in the spring and Autumn. A very interesting point about their coat Sam made is that their double coat keeps them warm in the winter but also reflects heat in the summer. So don’t clip a Malamute’s coat as this won’t help them keep cooler, the only hair on Sam's dogs to get trimmed is the feet to keep them tidy and to stop any mud from accumulating between the toes. Sam uses a Static comb mainly to groom them and uses a slicker brush for the white patches. Most importantly Sam uses a Blaster to help remove the dead hair.
Sammy hopes to breed from Selene in 2013 and is very strict about breeding tests. I personally wish everyone was so conscientious. Her dogs have a hip test which means an x- ray and a score of 13 (breed average is 13) or below is good. The test shows you how well the joints are fitted together. The dogs have to be sedated. They also have a elbow test. They also have an eye test for hereditary cataract. This should happen (with breeding stock) every year and should be carried out through the life of the dog even if the dog is no longer being bred from, this will highlight any health issues and help the breeder make informed decisions for future breeding plans. Sam also completes a DNA long coat test. In The Arctic, Malamutes with long coats would not survive as ice and snow would get caught in their coat and cause hypothermia, "Long Coats" are also prone to "matting" or "clumping". A coat which is matted or clumped can trap dirt and debris, leading to skin irritation and possible infection. A matted dog has little protection from the elements and can become very wet and cold. They also will suffer in the heat because air can not circulate through their coat.
Sam and her husband James work the dogs on a regular basis. Including rig racing (dry land mushing) where they pull someone on a three wheeled bicycle normally about 4 miles. They can also do this for ten miles which is called a trek but is not timed. Another event is carrying back packs which are 30% of their bodyweight, for 10 miles. The dogs can cover up to 40 miles. Lucien is a champion weight puller another event they do and he has pulled 21 times his own body weight on five separate occasions. His final pull was 2700 pounds. Lucien is a real heavyweight weighing about 50kg and has gained his Weight Pull Excellence (WWPDX) title three times over in the weight pulling event.
Picture of a Rig used for dry land mushing.
Wow what a chat I had! I really enjoyed myself and to top it off I was allowed to give Mina a wash which made my day! Sam is also a fantastic photographer for anyone interested, check out http://www.samnooshka.com/
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