Conscientious and concerned breeders regard a puppy mill as a place where any person(s) who produce puppies or offers older dogs for sale for the sole purpose of making money. Little care, if any, is given with regards to the future or welfare of the breed or breeds that they are selling.

The Alaskan Malamute Club of Canada recommends you avoid pet stores and puppy mills that sell purebred stock. Consider females bred every six months for their entire lifetime; life in too small a cage, stacked on top of the other which allow urine and feces to fall through; never experiencing a gentle pat, hug or kind word. These are often the origins of that pet store pup. Few pet stores or puppy mills will offer you the guarantee of quality that a reputable breeder can.

UNFORTUNATELY, PRESENTLY THE CONSUMER MUST DETERMINE FOR HIM/HERSELF WHO THE REPUTABLE BREEDERS ARE.

Most purebred puppies, even from puppy mills, are advertised and sold as Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) or American Kennel Club registered. Unfortunately, the average member of the dog buying public assumes that anything labelled "CKC" or "AKC" has got to be good and worth the price asked. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. Any informed consumer will be aware that "CKC or AKC" registration is no guarantee of the quality of the dog.

The presence of an Alaskan Malamute in your family will change your life. Research the breed, ask alot of questions and be comfortable with the person from whom you eventually purchase the dog. This is a living, breathing creature and you are entrusted with its care - make sure you make an informed decision on its purchase.

Certifications, Guarantees,
Conditions
and Contracts

Different breeders offer different guarantees, often with a variety of different contingencies. Some offer none. Ensure you understand what you are signing. Do not feel silly asking questions. The reputable, concerned breeder will gladly explain everything to you. Remember, the breeder was also once a novice.
Reputable breeders will be happy to show you copies of health certificates for the parents and possibly even the parents' parents. You must ensure that these certificates are issued by an official agency, not just the local veterinarian, and that they indicate the proper name of the dogs involved.

Most breeders will include reference to the certification details and or copies of these certifications in your new puppy's home care package.

The most common certifications for this breed include those for the Chondrodysplasia AMCA ChD, Hip Dysplasia (OFA,OVC or PennHipp certificate) and Eye abnormalities (CERF certificate).

Non-breeding contracts are a special featurte offered by the Canadian Kennel Club. By signing a non-breeding contract, you agree not to use the dog for breeding purposes. Should you fail in your agreement, the Canadian Kennel Club will refuse to register any offspring from your dog/bitch, not to mention you could leave yourself open to court action. Many breeders require buyers to sign non-breeding contract because

a) if the pup was sold as a show/breeding prospect it allows
time for the animal to mature and prove its worth as a
good and healthy specimen
b) if the pup was sold as a pet maybe it should not be included
in a breeding program.

The non-breeding contract is not as restrictive as it sounds. If the pup turns out to be a particularly good specimen, the non-breeding contract may be lifted by the mutual agreement by the parties upon the fulfillment of any conditions that are agreed upon at the time of signing the agrement.

Registration Papers
and
Pedigrees

Registration papers for your purebred dog are not an added attraction. In Canada, they are the law. You see, dogs come under the jurisdiction of Agriculture Canada and purebreds are governed by the Animal Pedigree Act. In effect, it states that if a dog is sold as a purebred, a registration paper must be provided.
When you buy a purebred pup, chances are that the registration papers will not be provided at the time of the purchase. Shortly after the pup is born, the breeder submits a Litter Registration to the Canadian Kennel Club which processes it and returns it to the breeder with applications for the individual registration of each pup. The breeder must fill these out with the name choices, colour description and the tattoo number or microchip code for each pup. Then its back to the CKC where the individual applications are checked, name choices approved, the registration papers made up and sent back to the breeder, who then sends them out to the puppy buyers. It all takes time, but if you are purchasing a 8 - 12 week old pup you should receive them before the pup is six months of age.

An educated, informed consumer would be wise to check with the Canadian Kennel Club to ensure that the pups litter has indeed been registered, or at least check up on the breeder's reputation.

The term "pedigree" is often confused with the term "registration papers" or papers". A pedigree is simply the pup's family tree. The pedigree should portray at least three generations. The breeder your puppy from should be able to show you pictures of some of your pups ancestors. You should be able to meet the mother, and if he's not from out of town, even the father. If you are purchasing a showing/breeding puppy you should be especially interested in the particular line(s) the pedigree offers, whether or not the breeding was an outcross, linebreeding or inbreeding, and what was the purpose of the breeding - what did the breeder expect to attain?

Pet Quality
vs
Show Quality

Often when potential puppy purchasers hear these two classifications they feel that perhaps they will be getting an inferior dog if they ask for a pet.
To a reputable breeder, the terms mean something different. It would be to the breeder's advantage if every pup were a show prospect, but that doesn't work out in percentages. It is more likely that the litter will turn out to be all pet than all show.

A pet has the same number of legs as the show dog, it is put together with the same number of bones, has a noise maker just under its nose, and is of GOOD HEALTH AND TEMPERAMENT just like the showdog!

So what's the big deal?

Different breeders will weigh "imperfection" differently.What will bother one terribly will be okay with another. This is when knowledge of the breed standard and a sound breeding program come into play. In the case of the Alaskan Malamute there are numerous areas to consider that can turn a prospective show puppy into a wonderful pet.

FOR EXAMPLE, A FEW AREAS TO CONSIDER ARE:

a)one or both testicles undescended (definetely a pet, all breeds.

b)coat length and texture

c)undesirable mismarks

d)dentition

e)eye colour, shape and set

f)overall size and proportion

g)top line, tail set, bone,feet

h)movement, coming and going, reach and drive, overall balance

i)angulation

j)head shape

k)pigmentation

Some breeders are not willing to make a decision on pet quality or show quality on an 8 week old puppy. If you are interested in a show puppy it is important to discuss this topic with your breeder.

Breeder Listings


The AMCC maintains a list for people looking for information on breeders/kennels of Alaskan Malamutes in their area.