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.ALASKAN
MALAMUTE |
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FCI-Standard N°243/
09.
06.
1999
/ GB |
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ORIGIN
: U.S.A.
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE
ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD
: 14.08.1996.
UTILIZATION
: Sledge dog.
CLASSIFICATION F.C.I.
: Group 5 Spitz and primitive types.Section
1 Nordic Sledge Dogs.Without working trial. |
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GENERAL APPEARANCE
: The Alaskan Malamute, one of the oldest Arctic
sledge dogs, is a powerful and substantially built
dog with deep chest and strong, well-muscled
body. The Malamute stands well over the pads, and
this stance gives the appearance of much activity
and a proud carriage, with head erect and eyes
alert showing interest and curiosity. The head is
broad. Ears are triangular and erect when
alerted. The muzzle is bulky, only slight
diminishing in width from root to nose. The
muzzle is not pointed or long, yet not stubby.
The coat is thick with a
coarse guard coat of sufficient length to protect
a woolly undercoat. Malamutes are of various
colors. Face markings are a distinguishing
feature.
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These consist of a cap over the
head, the face either all white or marked with a
bar and/or a mask. The tail is well furred,
carried over the back, and has the appearance of a
waving plume. The Malamute must be a heavy boned
dog with sound legs, good feet, deep chest and
powerful shoulders, and have all of the other
physical attributes necessary for the efficient
performance of his job. The gait must be steady,
balanced, tireless and totally efficient. He is
not intended as a racing sledge dog designed to
compete in speed trials. The Malamute is
structured for strength and endurance, and any
characteristic of the individual specimen,
including temperament, which interferes with the
accomplishment of this purpose, is to be
considered the most serious of faults. |
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IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS
: The depth of chest is approximately one half the
height of the dog at the shoulders, the deepest
point being just behind the forelegs.
The length of the body from point of shoulder to
the rear point of pelvis is longer than the height
of the body from ground to top of the withers. |
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BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT
: The Alaskan Malamute is an affectionate,
friendly dog, not a « one-man » dog. He is a
loyal, devoted companion, playful in invitation,
but generally impressive by his dignity after
maturity. |
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HEAD
: The head is broad and deep, not coarse or
clumsy, but in proportion to the size of the dog.
The expression is soft and indicates an
affectionate disposition.
CRANIAL REGION :
Skull : Broad and moderately
rounded between the ears, gradually narrowing and
flattening on top as it approaches the eyes,
rounding off to cheeks. There is a slight furrow
between the eyes. The topline of the skull and
the topline of the muzzle show a slight break
downward from a straight line as they join.
Stop : Shallow.
FACIAL REGION :
Nose : In all coat colors, except
reds, the nose, lips, and eye rim pigmentation is
black. Brown is permitted in red dogs. The
lighter streaked « snow nose » is acceptable.
Muzzle : Large and bulky in
proportion to the size of the skull, diminishing
slightly in width and depth from junction with the
skull to the nose.
Lips : Close fitting.
Jaws/Teeth : Broad with large
teeth. The incisors meet with a scissor bite.
Overshot or undershot is a fault.
Cheeks : Moderately flat.
Eyes : Obliquely placed in the
skull. Eyes are brown, almond shaped and of
medium size. Blue eyes are a disqualifying fault.
Ears : Of medium size, but small in
proportion to the head. The ears are triangular
in shape and slightly rounded at tips. They are
set wide apart on the outside back edges of the
skull on line with the upper corner of the eye,
giving ears the appearance, when erect, of
standing off from the skull. Erect ears point
slightly forward, but when the dog is at work, the
ears are sometimes folded against the skull. High
set ears are a fault. |
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NECK
: Strong and moderately arched. |
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BODY
: Compactly built but not short coupled. The body
carries no excess weight, and bone is in
proportion to size.
Back : Straight and gently sloping
to the hips.
Loins : Hard and well muscled. A
long loin that may weaken the back is a fault.
Chest : Well developed. |
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TAIL
: Moderately set; follows the line of the spine at
the base. Carried over the back when not
working. It is not a snap tail or curled tight
against the back, nor is it short furred like a
fox brush. The Malamute tail is well furred and
has the appearance of a waving plume. |
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LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS : Forelegs heavily
boned and muscled, straight to the pasterns when
viewed from the front.
Shoulders : Moderately sloping.
Pasterns : Short and strong and
slightly sloping when viewed from the side.
HINDQUARTERS : The rear legs are
broad. When viewed from the rear, the legs stand
and move true in line with the movement of the
front legs, not too close or too wide. Dewclaws
on the rear legs are undesirable and should be
removed shortly after puppies are whelped.
Thighs : Heavily muscled.
Stifles : Moderately bent.
Hock joints : Moderately bent and
well let down.
FEET : Of the « snowshoe » type,
tight and deep, with well-cushioned pads, giving a
firm, compact appearance. The feet are large,
toes tight fitting and well arched. There is a
protective growth of hair between the toes. The
pads are thick and tough; toenails short and
strong. |
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GAIT/MOVEMENT
: The gait of the Malamute is steady, balanced and
powerful. He is agile for his size and build.
When viewed from the side, the hindquarters
exhibit strong rear drive that is transmitted
through a well-muscled loin to forequarters. The
forequarters receive the drive from the rear with
a smooth reaching stride. When viewed from the
front or from the rear, the legs move true in
line, not too close or too wide. At a fast trot,
the feet will converge toward the centerline of
the body. A stilted gait, or any gait that is not
completely efficient and tireless is to be
penalized. |
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COAT
HAIR : The Malamute has a thick,
coarse guard coat, never long and soft. The
undercoat is dense, from one to two inches in
depth, oily and woolly. The coarse guard coat
varies in length as does the undercoat. The coat
is relatively short to medium along the sides of
the body, with the length of the coat increasing
around the shoulders and neck, down the back, over
the croup and in the breeching and plume.
Malamutes usually have a shorter and less dense
coat during the summer months. The Malamute is
shown naturally. Trimming is not acceptable
except to provide a clean cut appearance of feet.
COLOR : The usual colors range from
light gray through intermediate shadings to black,
sable, and shading of sable to red. Color
combinations are acceptable in undercoats, points
and trimmings. The only solid color allowable is
all-white. White is always the predominant color
on underbody, parts of legs, feet, and part of
face markings. A white blaze on the forehead
and/or collar or a spot on the nape is attractive
and acceptable. The Malamute is mantled, and
broken colors extending over the body or uneven
splashing are undesirable. |
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SIZE / WEIGHT
: There is a natural range in size
in the breed. The desirable freighting sizes are
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Males : 25 inches at the
shoulders - 85 pounds (63,5 cm - 38 kg).
Females : 23 inches at the
shoulders - 75 pounds (58,5 cm - 34 kg).
However, size consideration should not outweigh
that of type, proportion, movement and other
functional attributes. When dogs are judged equal
in type, proportion, movement, the dog nearest the
desirable freighting size is to be preferred. |
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IMPORTANT SUMMARY
:
In judging Alaskan
Malamutes their function as a sledge dog for
heavy freighting in the Arctic must be given
consideration above all else. The degree to
which a dog is penalized should depend upon
the extent to which the dog deviates from the
description of the ideal Malamute and upon the
extent to which the particular fault would
actually affect the working ability of the
dog. The legs of the Malamute must indicate
unusual strength and tremendous propelling
power. Any indication of unsoundness in legs
and feet, front or rear, standing or moving,
is to be considered a serious fault. Faults
under this provision would be
splay-footedness, cowhocks, bad pasterns,
straight shoulders, lack of angulation,
stilted gait (or any gait that isn’t balanced,
strong and steady), ranginess, shallowness,
ponderousness, lightness of bone and poor
overall proportion. |
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FAULTS
:Any departure from the
foregoing points should be considered a fault
and the seriousness with which the fault
should be regarded should be in exact
proportion to its degree. |
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ELIMINATING FAULTS
:
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Aggresive or overly shy.
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Blue eyes. |
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Any dog clearly showing
physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be
disqualified. |
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N.B.
: Male animals should have two apparently
normal testicles fully descended into the
scrotum. |
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630 del 23/11/2005
