The Malamute must have a strong moderately arched neck which blends into a back that is straight and slightly sloping into a hard, well muscled loin. The tail is moderately set and follows the line of the spine. The tail grace- fully arches over the back when they are not working. It is not a snap tail nor curled tightly over the back but a well furred waving plume. When working and often in the ring, the Malamute will drop its tail to a more horizontal posi- tion. The forequarters and hindquarters should be moderately angled, balanced and well muscled. Forelegs are straight with short, strong pasterns. The rear assembly has moderately bent stifles with well let down hocks. Good feet are paramount to a functioning sled dog. Feet are referred to as snowshoe type. They are somewhat longer than a cat foot. Feet are large, tight and well pad- ded. The only trimming allowed in this breed is that done to provide a clean cut appearance of the feet. One of the most important surviv- al characteristics of this breed is the thick, course guard coat with a dense woolly undercoat. Guard coat can vary in length but is never long or soft. The quality of the coat is far more important than the length. A Malamute sleeping out in a snowstorm may be covered in snow by morning and upon waking will rise, shake the snow off and never be wet. Like other double coated breeds, the Malamute will shed its coat in the summer and a good dog should not be
“ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SURVIVAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS BREED IS THE THICK, COURSE GUARD COAT WITH A DENSE WOOLLY UNDERCOAT.”
S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , S EPTEMBER 2018 • 399
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