About Us
Our family enjoys showing and breeding Alaskan Malamutes and have been doing it for almost 27 years now. We recently bought property in the Upper Peninsula of Michgan and have now moved there so that we can enjoy our dogs even more. Follow our adventures in building our new home dubbed "Yoopertraz" at yoopertraz.com. O'Mal Alaskan Malamutes have done therapy work, pulled wagons and sleds, conformation events (AKC or CKC dog shows), and agility but their most important job is being our best friends and housepets. It was our goal to breed sound and healthy dogs of excellent temperament for a family situation. We care deeply for this breed and only wanted to produce the best Malamutes possible. Breeding dogs is our hobby, not a business. We care about each dog we produce, for it's lifetime. We maintained a very limited breeding program so when we bred we were trying to accomplish specific improvements. We still needed wonderful homes for those puppies that aren't quite perfect enough to show - though most of our pups ended up in great pet homes even when they were show quality - mainly because we fell those were the BEST homes.. We bred to the standard set by the national breed club, the AMCA. Dogs and bitches were x-rayed free of hip dysplasia and cleared by OFA or PennHip, eyes were certified by the Canine Eye Registration Foundation and certified to have a less than 6.25% probability of dwarfism by the AMCA, as well any dog we bred to. We have done extensive study in genetics, and breed for health and temperament above all else. But we are done breeding now and our focus will change to education, rescue and just enjoying our dogs. We are getting up in years and it's not responsible to breed dogs you can't ultimately care for their entire lives.If you were lucky enough to own one of our puppies, you know we expect to hear from you often throughout the dog's lifetime, are always here to answer your questions. We consider you extended family. Knowing how Malamute as well as show puppies turn out isis important to us . Litters were bred only when we hoped to keep a puppy for ourselves, so puppies were not always available.
Although show wins are important, we feel the health and socialization of our puppies is more important so that's how we did it. I'm telling you now because you want to find a breeder that does that too! It's important that puppies are home-raised with lots of attention and love in the weeks before you take it home. Our dogs have done extremely well in homes with young children, other dogs and cats. We spend much time socializing our puppies to many different situations to ensure you a stable and good temperament, the foundation of a well-loved and easy-to-live-with adult. Our pups experience different people, surfaces, car rides, household noises, toys, and our adult dogs take an active role in raising the puppies - teaching them exempilary dog manners. We begin potty and leash training, they are allowed to explore the house with supervision and learn what "no" means. Our puppies went home at approximately 9 weeks - eariler is not good for their social development.. We strongly suggest you take an obedience or puppy kindergarten class if you haven't owned a Malamute before. Also, it's recommended someone be home much of the day with the puppy when it is young.
All puppies should be certified healthy by a vet before going home. Your puppy needs to be up-to-date on all shots and wormed and used to grooming and nail clipping. Our puppies were microchipped and registered with a national dog registry in case of loss or theft. We provided a copy of the puppy's temperament test, a written guarantee your puppy will be free of hip dysplasia or other inheritable disease and is of good temperament when you take it home. Always get a puppy from someone that uses a contract, AKC registration papers (if received from the AKC in time), a five generation pedigree and a comforting security toy. Our contract required you to spay/neuter and included specific requirements for the proper care, health and safety of the dog. And, if for ANY reason, you must part with one of our dogs, at ANY age, we reserve first chance to get it back. We do this so none of our dogs will ever end up in an unsuitable home or animal shelter unwanted. We did Rescue for several years and continue to help when we can..
It was our policy to accept a deposit on an upcoming litter to reserve a puppy of the sex, temperament, and quality requested after we agree you'd be the type of home we are looking for. Most of our pups were reserved before birth, usually before a breeding even takes place. We have never shipped a puppy, as shipping is extremely stressful for a puppy. A perfect example of why: This was posted on the malamute list... https://shippingdogs.blogspot.com/ - the dog was lost in PERU. And we want to meet you in person! And you should meet any breeder you consider in person as well to see your pup's parents, where it will live those critical first weeks and you can get to know the breeder and form a bond of trust between you.
We've found it best that the breeder chooses the puppy for you, based on it's personality, conformation and future home situation - with your preferences considered. To do otherwise may give you more dog than you can handle. Placing a puppy in a responsible, loving home is more important than anything to a reputable breeder, and should be MORE important than getting it show at dog shows! A fenced yard or adequately sized pen is absolutely necessary and must be in place before the puppy goes home. We have never been interested in homes that do not want a housepet - because Malamutes make the BEST house pets because they are a very clean dog that wants to be near you.. If price is a primary concern for you, then an Alaskan Malamute puppy probably is not, since it costs us MUCH more to properly raise a puppy than you will likely pay for him. The current rates run between $800-$2000 for a Malamute puppy but you'll spend MUCH more than that on him over the course of his lifetime. When you read the stories on this website you'll see that Malamutes tend to get into things they shouldn't, eat things they shouldn't and pick fights with other dogs they shouldn't. If money is your primary concern - don't get an Alaskan Malamute!
We are members of the AMCA and strove to go beyond the code of ethics of the national breed club, the Alaskan Malamute Club of America (AMCA). Alaskan Malamutes were our only breed, and we keep a small number of dogs so they can live in our house full time and get lots of love and individual attention. All of our own dogs are 100% housepets - yes, it gets pretty hairy at times ;-).. If you're interested in a Malamute that will live outdoors much of the time, this website is not for you! We have no information to share on kennels. We don't use them. Our dogs live in the house and are not warehoused in kennels out back.
We participated in AKC conformation shows, and worked our dogs in various ways, but all are Malamutes first. Though formal obedience training is nice, and many Alaskan Malamutes have gone on to be obedience champions, we feel it's much more important they have good house manners.
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I'm thrilled at the number of malamute sites that are now saying Malamutes are great housepets - not just working and show specimens. Almost fifteen years ago when I started building this site I put in the things I enjoyed sharing -- fun photos of our dogs (with silly captions) about their antics at home, what they're like to live with, breed characteristics, and information beyond show accomplishments (though we have them too). Since then I've added lots of things to keep it interesting, but I hope it still reflects the love of our dogs and the special people who have our puppies. It's a great place to learn what Alaskan Malamutes are REALLY like - not the BS and hype you get from giant breeders and show dog owners.
Since we are now retired and no longer show and breed, our main focus of this site is to educate about the Alaskan Malamute. I also love finding fun toys and helpful products for dog owners - things I can recommend and use myself. Therefore I have put links to these good finds and recommendations on pages where I think they may be helpful. When you buy though these links it helps support this site and keep it online for future malamute owners.
I hope this answers many of your questions about O'Mal Alaskan Malamutes. Please feel free to email with any questions about us or the breed. We feel education is an important part of owning a Malamute. So, I'd like to invite you to meet our pack at home - and learn more about our family and our dogs and showing if that interests you. Each of our dogs has his/her own pages, or you can obtain general information about the breed throughout the site. For a list of everything this site has to offer, use our site map or search engine below or use links at the top of every page. To begin your exploration of our website and all it has to offer (all 200+ pages of information and some great links!), a good place to begin is a living with a Malamute. If you've never owned a Mal before, read and learn. We want to get to know you, encourage you to vist and meet several Alaskan Malamutes before ever considering getting one of our these special dogs. They are adorable puppies, and raised right, become wonderful dogs. Raised wrong, and you WILL regret your mistake. Please visit often, and please let us know your
Sincerely, Cindy O'Malley
