BRED FOR THEIR ORIGINAL PURPOSE; TO WORK

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Canicross

Scooter

Bikejoring

Cart Sledding

Weigh Pull

Trekking

The King of the Working Dogs

 Alaskan Malamutes are very Special

They are a powerful, intelligent, proud, graceful, elegant, an independent breed and are very strong  pack dogs and do best if included as in integral part of the family unit wanting to be close to people and are happiest snuggling up right next to the one they love best. They are very protective of their homes and family, very gentile with children and will follow small children everywhere and make great playmates. The facial  expressions in communications are fantastic, expressing what they are thinking or feeling just by looking into their faces indicates whether they are bored, excited, angry, or just plain happy. They aren't frequent barkers but they do so love to talk. It’s almost as if they are trying to curl their mouths around the words they are trying to express. They are also well known for their work ethics in being able to pull the heaviest loads; can travel long distances by sled with very little food and are great for sledding, fishing, hunting, weight pulling, and make the best friend a person could have.

MALAMUTES IN OUR BREEDING PROGRAM

ROSA ♀	O	MILLOH ♀	O	NUCKA ♀	O	MAYAH ♀		NEW STAR ♀
		MAGIC ♂		HOLMES ♂		HAMMER ♂

TO APPROVED HOMES ONLY WE HAVE MATED SOME OF OUR FEMALES NEXT LITTER(S) ARRIVING SOON Our lines are very popular and not to be disappointed; send us your e-mail to make an enquiry on availability in giving us your preferences. e-mail: ja.mostert@mweb.co.za

One of the most important things we feel is to have a good and lasting relationship with our puppy owners in receiving regular feedback on progress made; regardless whether it is a loving pet or show prospect.

Every litter we plan, is well researched and planned based on the study of bloodlines and pedigrees. In fact, we search for the best studs available in South Africa for our bitches; with the hope to obtain healthy and strong puppies with the morphological characteristics that best come close to the standard of the breed. 

This website has been carefully created to emphasize the passion we nurture for this breed and to showcase the excellent quality of the dogs we own and have bred. We are located in Rooihuiskraal, Centurion, South Africa - 17 km south of Pretoria and 11 km north of Midrand. We are a small kennel and we intend to stay small in being able to give quality time with each and every Malamute we own and the pups that are born. We strive towards producing and maintaining the original Alaskan Malamute Breed Standard.

We belief it will be a long but rewarding journey and we have found that our love and dedication to the Alaskan Malamute has only intensified as time has passed. Our Alaskan Malamutes has brought pure joy and happiness into our lives.

You too will feel their free thinking spirit. Choosing this breed - you won't just "own a dog", you will have a friend for life.

Introduction and overview of our Bloodlines

No breed is as loyal, intelligent or beautiful than the strong "Alaskan Malamute"

Bred to survive, and used for pulling in the cold arctic, Malamutes have adapted to being housedog companions to adults and families having children in modern times. Seldom protective, but friendly, charming and playful - Malamutes love people. Quiet house pets, Malamutes do need regular exercise such as walks, running, biking, dry-land sledding, weight pulling and love to be kept busy. If you can’t adapt to the above, you will have to change fast; as you will definitely have a challenge on your hands.

They are large, but not a giant breed, as smaller was a better use of resources. Alaskan Malamutes became sturdy, strong and durable. They vary in size, the correct size is from 27,2 to 34 kg for females and 31,75 to 43 kg for males. However if heavier and taller, size consideration should not outweigh that of type, proportion, movement and other functional attributes. The desirable freighting sizes are; males 63,5 cm at the shoulders and 38,6 kg in weight; with females 58,5 cm at the shoulders and 34 kg in weight. A powerful, substantially built dog with a deep chest and strong, compact body is the desired look and feel. An Alaskan Malamute in general can take about 3 years to mature in body and size, with some lines even taking up to 4 years to maturity.

The Alaskan Malamute is a natural dog, domesticated for tens of thousands of years and is no more related to wolves than are other breeds. It is a hearty and healthy breed which is large and very impressive. Malamute double thick fur ranges in colour from red, gray, silver, black to all white. The coarse guard coat and dense woolly undercoat should be 2,5 cm to 5 cm in depth when the dog is in full coat. Open face, mask and cap are typical markings that distinguish the breed. In winter, though they love the outdoors, Malamutes prefer being indoors to be near the family.

Malamutes as part of the Working Group and are often confused with the "Alaskan Husky", "Siberian Husky", "Greenland Eskimo Dog”, "Wolf Dogs" and Wolf-hybrids.

Purebred Alaskan Malamutes as registered with many Kennels Unions throughout the world with combinations of the M’loot, Kotzebue and Hinman strains which were named after regions in Alaska where they were first discovered.

The Kotzebue strain originally stemmed from Arthur Walden's Mals which were taken over by Milton & Eva Seeley of Chinnok Kennels in Wonalancet, New Hampshire. They had a much smaller Malamute to what we see today.

The M'Loot strain of Paul Voelker from Husky-Pak Kennels feature strongly in many of our pedigrees today. Although Voelker was interested in the same breed, he came up with a slightly different type of Alaskan Malamute.

The Hinman (or Hinman-Irwin) strain involved only a few dogs but made important contributions to breed quality. The Hinman line in combination with the M'Loot strain produced some of the best representatives of the breed. The Hinman strain also figured strongly in combination with M'Loot and Kotzebue in development of the "Husky-Pak" line, and produced many champion and foundation dogs for the Alaskan Malamute breed.

There is several lines of Malamutes, but ours predominantly reference to Del Biagio Kennels of Italy and Zulem Kennel of Spain with the common factor being bloodlines from Vykon Kennels. *Both Zulem and Del Biagio-lines reference back in their pedigree-lines to Kennels such as Uyak, Kodara, Polar-Pak, Yukon, Tigara, Storm Kloud, De Chabek, Pak-n-Puls, Keikewabics and Del Lago Degli Orsi plus many others coming from the first registered lines for the breed. When analysing the history and pedigrees of our bloodlines they all reference back to the original strains of M’Loot, Kotzebue and Hinman-Irwin. *Source: Alaskan Malamute Registry - Pedigree Database as compiled and administered by Dan Anderson, AMAL President.

The Malahmut Indians, who used these dogs, took better care of their Alaskan Malamutes than many of the other tribes. The Malamutes were depended on for survival and expected to earn their keep by sledding heavy loads and as hunters of Polar Bears and Seals for their owners. The Malamutes were required to work hard and make independent decisions on the trail. There was no need for a protection dog, and the Malahmuts did not allow the dogs to be aggressive towards humans. People-aggressive dogs were eliminated. Thus the Malamute is a people-loving dog, with no guard dog tendencies at all. But most bad guys would probably not mess with such an impressive wolf-like looking beast. It is not likely to bark much, but "woo-woos" greetings and will howl if lonely or if sirens are heard. It can be taught to alert you to strangers if you wish.

Although the Malamute is a real people-oriented dog, it will not always likely come when called or readily obey. It is an independent, free-thinker and is not likely to stay on your property without a fence. As a natural dog, it is sensitive to dominance hierarchies (pack order) and will fight other dogs if they challenge dominance. You can have some control over this; as well-socialized and trained dogs are not as likely to fight. Dominance-related dog aggression is a characteristic of the breed and it is unrealistic to expect an un-neutered mature male to get along with other un-neutered males. Males and females usually get along very well. A responsible owner avoids situations which may result in a fight e.g. never let your dog run loose in public.

Malamutes are great with children as a rule, but keep in mind the size of this breed; the Malamute could injure a small child accidentally by knocking it down or playfully pawing it. Regardless of the breed, no child should be left unattended with any dog. A well behaved child is also important, as incidents can also be referred back to mis-treatment by children – after all no dog likes to be mistreated an being hurt.

Although they are very large, they make excellent house dogs, usually content to lay quietly by the family. They are capable of incredible destruction (just ask those who came home to find his new couch dis-emboweled!) and should be crated for everyone's health and happiness when left alone during the growing up stage.

Most Malamutes like to be outside and of course the colder the better, but they tolerate heat well, with shade and cool water. They shed twice a year; once from January to June and once from July to December. Seriously folks, these guys have HAIR. Actually, shedding is not bad most of the year, but once a year for most males and twice a year for most females, they "blow coat" This means over a two or three week period they shed out about four shopping bags full of hair. You can brush it out and save your house from being totally fuzzed. Other than this, they require brushing at least twice a week to keep them in good looking condition.

Malamutes are magnificent. Walking a well-trained, beautiful, Malamute down the street or in parks can turn heads. They are wonderful companions which can really enrich your life.

Always remember Malamutes tend to be very pack oriented, unlike most other breeds. Pushy and dominant and can be difficult for some to live with.

As Kennel Union registered breeders and founder members of FAMCSA , we aspire to be reputable breeders that abide by the Breeder’s Code of Ethics, and consider ourselves to be credible breeders.

Why TOMARCTUS SA Kennels for your puppy?

Our breeding focus has always been to breed very selectively as we take breeding very seriously to preserve the excellent conformation and working ability of the Alaskan Malamute. We also provide continuous support to our puppy buyers.

Our breeding are planned well in advance and we only use dogs from world renowned lines that are HD and ED cleared by the Onderstepoort Veterinarian Facility, a globally recognised institution, as prescribed by our Kennel Union’s breeding regulations for the breed and thereby offering healthy off-spring. In addition, we also have the eyes of our breeding stock and puppies screened.

We always strive for total quality in trying our outmost to preserve the magnificence of the breed by striving to improve the breed the best we can.

We place high importance on temperament, correct structure and type, enabling them to do the work they are designed for and thereby striving for longevity. Our dogs are imported from very successful and top USA, Spanish and Italian bloodlines which have been instrumental in producing world champions of note. In our breeding program we work for a balance between show, working and companion dogs and usually have puppies available to new approved homes.

WORKING YOUR ALASKAN MALAMUTE

Come join in the fun, we can always do with some extra working Alaskan Malamutes on our 8 dog Cart Sledding Team

Mushing is one of the many activities that you can involve your Alaskan Malamute with and it is a fun and rewarding experience for both you and your Mal.

So, what do we need and how do we do it? You will need to have a harness which ideally should be custom made for your dog, a mushing scooter or cart, a bungee line for mushing, a bike helmet and, most importantly, a dog over 18 months of age. Your dog doesn't need to be particularly fast, in fact most Malamutes will just plod along at their own pace, but your dog does need to be in good health and reasonably fit and so does the musher! and receive adequate nutrition in doing so. From 12 months you may to start to introduce your Mal to mushing by adding him to a well trained team for very short runs.

You will need to teach your Malamute commands such as left turn ("haw"), right turn ("gee"), go ("hike up", "let's go", etc.) and, most importantly, stop ("whoa up"). A lot of this basic command training can be done with your dog on a lead while walking him or her.

The number one priority is the safety, welfare and healthcare of your Mals. Malamutes re not out there to win, but primarily to have a good time working as a team. After all Alaskan Malamutes cannot compete against the likes of Alaskan Huskies or Siberian Huskies for that matter anyway.

To prevent your Mals suffering from heat stress there is a maximum temperature restriction of 15^oC, so mushing are only scheduled from late autumn to very early spring and commence early in the morning.

Venues for mushing are limited as dogs are not permitted in most Parks. Exercise  and mushing events are held on dirt tracks with either using Scooters, 3 and 4-wheel mushing carts. Trail distances start at about 3 km, and can be quite further for larger teams of up to 8 dogs for endurance runs.

If you think that you and your Mal would like to join in the fun of dryland mushing, we encourage you to join our mushing team, we can always alternate members on the team until such time you can start of on your own.

Remember, your dedication is to the benefit of your Alaskan Malamute - allow them to do what they can do best - to be part of a mushing team in pulling. You will be amazed the enjoyment they get out of it.

You also will experience the free spirit of working and running your Alaskan Malamute.