From Our Family to Yours...

When we got our first Malamute, we soon discovered the lack of information on just what it's like to LIVE with one.  This dog just didn't do things the way other dogs we had owned did.  The best books described their heritage, their working ability, their history.   Some of the books merely hinted about how different they were from other breeds, but never elaborated.  Some went into great detail as to how to build escape-proof kennels with proper drainage, praised the Malamute's ability to survive in a desolate arctic wilderness in subzero temperatures, praised his strength and stamina at sledge pulling, admired his tough no-nonsense personality.  No one told us how to incorporate her into our suburban household with little kids as a family pet. 

We fell in love - in our suburban household, far from the habitat of the great white north.  We soon discovered her penchant for digging, stealing the roast and shedding bushels of hair on the furniture.   Though we bought her from a breeder, he was no help since his dogs all lived in kennels, visiting in the house only occasionally.  He didn't KNOW his dogs like we knew ours.  When he gave advice, it didn't apply because we had a housedog.   (Dogs that were kenneled were much more obedient and rarely "sassed back", since they are so grateful for any attention.  No so with a "spoiled" housepet). 

We approached other breeders and owners and soon discovered many   "housedogs"  are only part-timers - rotated in and out of kennels visiting in the house.  Puppies raised "in the house" were usually kept in a basement or back room, away from everyday household noises. 

Through trial, error and volumes of reading we learned to live with our girl, completely unprepared for her depth of personality and persistence, and finally came to appreciate her magnificent abilities and what a great housepet she'd become with a little effort.  Of course, once you love one Malamute, sometimes it's only a matter of time before one isn't enough! 

In our quest for a quality show dog we decided to become breeders ourselves, vowing to do things differently.  All our dogs live in the house with us, ALL THE TIME.   Nobody is kenneled.  We came to find where there was depth in one Malamute, there is the depth as expansive as the wilderness in several when they all live in the house with you.  Wolves have nothing on a Malamute pack.  A Malamute pack is just as loving, just as playful, just as serious about pack order and just as devoted to one another - and challenging to live with!

So with this in mind, we are sharing our experiences with you on this website.  We also have a "homemade" book for new O'Mal puppy owners so they won't be as unprepared as we were, now available on this website.   We never want you to have to banish a destructive brat to a makeshift prison in the back yard sadly apart from his loved ones if you can learn from others mistakes - the sad fate of too many cute Malamute puppies.  This is in many ways dedicated to all the rescue Malamutes that tried hard to be housedogs, but were given up or banished to an outdoor pen for being "a pain" in the house, only because their frustrated owners couldn't figure out how to fit a primitive dog into modern society.  

This is why I breed dogs and why I love malamutes.   But, why such a big website for such a small hobby breeder?  Because it's a labor of love!  I also want you to be more prepared than I was (having only owned small dogs). 

But we have other hobbies too!  Our kids are now in college - Colleen is a psyc major at MSU, Steph is studying digital animation at a top art school.  I have finally attained a lifelong dream to own my own business - building websites...actually one of several businesses!  I have a resale shop store on eBay and specialty basket business too.  The best part of having a home-based business is the time I can share with the dogs!