Everyone will have their own idea of what constitutes a reputable (and most importantly an ethical) breeder. Personally I expect all breeders to be current members of AMCUK as they then are required to adhere to the AMCUK Code of Ethics which was devised to promote ethical practices and to prevent the exploitation of the dogs. The Code of Ethics can be found here.

There are an ever increasing number of Malamutes born every year to parents that have had no health checks, are too young with respects to the club's Code of Ethics and bred with little thought to maintaining the breed. Sadly, several of these are bred by puppy farmers who have little interest in the welfare of the breed. The only way to stop puppy farming is to refuse to buy from them. All owners, whether you are looking to show, work or purely want a well loved pet are entitled to buy a well bred dog that you can be sure of it's pedigree and the health of it's relatives. This is the best way to ensure you should get a healthy pup that will give you many years of pleasure. Responsible breeders care about the welfare of the pups they breed, they provide life long support and most importantly they put the dogs first.

One of the first things to ask when visiting a potential breeder is WHY they are doing the mating? Are they looking to keep a pup to further their lines, to show or to work? Reputable breeders only have 1 or 2 litters per year and will have a waiting list. Any one who breeds more than this then I would seriously begin to question their motives. You also need to find out how knowledgeable the breeder is, can they tell you the main characteristics of the breed, their history, the down side of owning a breed like the Malamute (believe me there are many!). Steer well clear of 'breeders' who tell you that a Malamute will make a good guard dog - this is not at all what the breed was bred for. The breed standard calls for an Affectionate, friendly, loyal, devoted companion but not a 'one man' dog. An affectionate and friendly guard dog? Unfortunately a few Malamutes with temperament problems have been seen creeping into the breed and in my opinion temperament should be one of the top priorities.

The health of the dogs is another, very important, issue. All breeding stock should be x-rayed for Hip Dysplacia and eye tested for Hereditary Cataracts. The breeder should be able to provide you with certificates proving these tests have been done. For hip dysplacia, the dog is x-rayed once after 12 months of age and the plates are submitted to the BVA (British Veterinary Association) for scoring. The scores range from 0/0 which is a perfect hip score (i.e. no sign of hip dysplacia) to 53/53 is the worst. Anything in between this is some form of dysplacia (the higher the result, the worse the severity). The Breed Mean Score (BMS) in Malamutes is 13 - this is the mean of all the scores and is the total of both hips added together i.e. 5/6 = 11. Ideally breeders should only be looking to breed from dogs with low scores to reduce the incidence of hip dysplacia within the breed. Personally I would be suspicious of breeders breeding from dogs with scores over the BMS unless I had done a lot of research into the lines and had looked at the scores of their siblings and other close relatives. Under no circumstances would I ever consider buying a pup from a breeder who used dogs with a score of 20 and above (in America this score is classed as borderline dysplasic!). If they were breeding from high scoring dogs then they obviously do not care for the welfare of the resulting pups and you are more likely to get pups with hip dysplacia if you mate high scoring parents. Any breeder that bred from dogs with scores between 14 and 19 I would want to look into in further detail. However, just because the dogs have good hip scores does not mean they are well bred or the breeders are reputable.

With regards to eye tests, the breeder will be able to produce the individual dogs KC certificate which will be stamped by the ophthalmologist when a dog is eye tested and a copy of their eye test certificate can be produced. If the eye certificate is more than a year old, then it is not valid and the breeder should be avoided. Hereditary eye diseases can occur at any age (and have been seen to occur in Malamutes for the first time between the ages of about 9 months and 6 years). Thus the test needs to remain current for it to be valid (to remain current the eye test has to be carried out yearly).

A good breeder will be more than happy to show you these certificates and will answer any questions you may have on the health of their dogs. Beware of breeders who skirt round the health issues and who can not provide you with the certificates. Even good breeders can not guarantee that every pup they produce will be perfectly healthy and free from genetic disease, but by performing the above tests they can certainly minimise the risk.

Ask the breeder to show you all their dogs, this way you can look at the temperament of all the dogs the breeder owns/produces. Temperament is genetic therefore is imperative that both the sire and dam have good temperaments. If the breeder has been breeding for a while then you should be able to see several generations of their dogs. Personally I would completely avoid breeders who rehome their older dogs to make way for younger dogs which they can continue to breed from. In my mind a dog is for life - not just until they have outlived their usefulness :( If a breeder was doing this on a regular basis then I would question their motives. Some breeders say it is to give the dogs a better quality of life. So WHY can't the breeders offer them this same quality? Why have they had to endure years of sub-standard quality of living merely producing pups for the breeder to them sell them on so they can find a loving family who will treat them as they deserve to be treated. I wouldn't touch breeders like this with a barge pole - they obviously have no morals and are merely using the dogs as puppy producing machines. You will probably not be able to see the stud dog as very few good breeders own both the stud dog and the bitch. Good breeders are prepared to travel to use the right dog to complement their bitch, however you should be able to see the stud dog at shows or working. If not you can always give the stud dogs owner a call.

When looking for a breeder you will see that some keep their dogs as house pets and some are in kennels. It is purely personal preference as to which you prefer. I personally would go for a home reared pup over one bred in kennels and they then get used to the household environment. You should also find out what age the breeders allow their pups to go their new homes at. The majority of breeders let them go between 7 and 8 weeks of age, sometimes later. If the pups are allowed to go before this age then walk away.

If the pup is to be bought purely as a pet then most breeders will ask that your castrate/spay them at a suitable age to prevent unwanted litters. ALL reputable breeders will endorse their pups. The two endorsements that can be placed on the registration are Progency not for Registration and Pedigree not for Export. Anyone who doesn't endorse should be avoided at all costs! They do not care for the welfare of the breed and do not promote ethical breeding practices.

A good breeder will want to ask you as many questions as you will want to ask them. They will want to know your experience, your lifestyle, whether you intend to take the pup to obedience classes (a must for Malamutes!). They will want to ensure you are fully prepared for taking on a lifelong commitment and that everybody in the household is in agreement. They will want to keep in touch after you take the pup home and will always be there to provide support.

Above all a reputable breeder should strive to improve the breed. They should give equal consideration to temperament, health and conformation, never compromising on any of them.

Please note:- When viewing a litter of pups, please ensure that they are Kennel Club (KC) registered. All other registrations should be avoided as they can not guarantee the acurracy of the pedigree - the dog you are buying may not even be a pure-bred Malamute if you do not buy a KC registered pup.

© K.Parker - Koyukuk Alaskan Malamutes & Australian Shepherds 2005