Alaskan Malamutes are beloved by many pet owners for their contrast between an honest and simple appearance and a mischievous inner personality. Although they look goofy, their intelligence ranks among the top. They are very smart working dogs with strong learning abilities—whether good or bad behaviors, they learn quickly and often show a proud little expression. This can be troublesome yet amusing. With such a clever mind and high plasticity, if you want a smart and obedient Alaskan, you must start proper training from a young age.

① Toilet training. Train them to relieve themselves at designated spots. Dogs’ noses are very sensitive to scents, so owners can use this to their advantage. Prepare a mat (newspaper, pet pee pad) in a corner of the house that carries their own waste scent. When the owner notices the dog showing signs of needing to relieve itself, immediately take it to the prepared spot to help it become familiar with the scent. Next time, it will go to the designated spot by itself. For Alaskan puppies, take them to their special “bathroom” half an hour after eating or right after waking up. Repeated trips will naturally lead the smart ones to always relieve themselves at the appointed area. One important note: after they finish relieving themselves, the owner must clean immediately, but not too thoroughly—the mat should retain some scent as a “guide” for next time.

② Clarify who is the leader. Owners need to make the dog aware—the owner is the one who provides food. The Alaskan’s “devilish nature” should not be underestimated; bad temper cannot be indulged. If you let it believe “the owner will allow me to do whatever I want unconditionally,” it will slowly develop a sense of dominance. An Alaskan with this mindset is hard to obey your commands, making further training even more difficult.

Owners need to assert their leadership clearly and let the Alaskan know it must listen to the owner, and disobedience is wrong. This training can start by addressing the dog’s natural food guarding instinct. The owner can feed by hand or give food at fixed times and amounts, signaling feeding with a cue sound. If the dog acts stubborn by refusing or eating only a little, the owner can decisively remove the food bowl—no amount of whining will help.