Kathy's Blog

Happy New Year!

Kathy — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 10:11:06 +0000

Gabby finished & is a Champion. Hoo Rah!

Kathy — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 15:35:14 +0000

Gabby won a major and the last three points she needed to become a champion in Kankakee, Illinois last weekend (12/2/07) at the Kankakee River Valley Kennel Club show. Hooo rah!

Loki, Gabby’s brother, won a major last weekend as well, at the Conroe Kennel Club show in Texas. He is now a champion.

That makes three puppies from Sassy’s (Ch Wildwinds Gunnen for Glory CGC) last litter that are champions.

Kankakee, Illinois Dog Show

Kathy — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:02:56 +0000

It’s time for another Dog Show. This one is in Kankakee, Illinois. In case you don’t know where that is, here’s a link to a Google Map.

Here’s a link to the Fairgrounds.

Here’s how to get from the motel to the Fairgrounds.

SAS in the Alaskan Malamute

Kathy — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 00:54:00 +0000

Subvascular Aortic Stenosis.

SAS is a fibrous ridge located below the aortic valve. The Alskan Malamute is now at risk for this disease. Please have your dogs checked out by a cardiologist. There is a possiblity of a new study with an acorn grant being started.

If you have an effected dog please email all information to N. Matthew Ellinwood, DVM, PhD mellinwo@iastate.edu . He is a geneticist who is starting the study to find a marker gene.

It is important that we as Alaskan Malamute breeders keep the health of our dogs foremost in our breeding programs. Having had an effected dog and having to have her spayed and placed in a pet home I know the heart break first hand. This was a lovely bitch who finished her championship at 13 months of age. At 15 months old my regular vet found a small murmur. He told me he thought it was nothing to worry about.

I continued researching to find out that it was definitely SAS, which can be very minor or extremely major. It can cause dogs to faint or cause sudden death.

Let us all make sure we have our dogs hearts checked and if we do have an effected dog send the information to N. Matthew Ellinwood so he can get his grant to find the marker we need so we do not breed dogs that are reproducing this. We need to get the dogs effected and noneffected alike into the DNA databank for research.

This is an undeniable issue with many Malamutes that should be investigated and handled as a high priority if the integrity of the breed is to be maintained.

Alaskan Malamutes Are Terrific Companion Dogs

Kathy — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Alaskan Malamutes are terrific companion dogs but are not for everyone. They are playful, full of energy, somewhat independent, smart, and very loving. They are also very hairy (shedding will be an issue,) can be stubborn and are very “vocal.” At times you’ll swear they are trying to speak …. English!

You might say that they are high-maintenance pets because they require a lot of attention, a good amount of exercise and constant supervision. They are escape artists who can almost chew through a chain link fence. Not to mention that some of them like to dig … big holes.

As far their coat, they’ll shed worse than fall trees twice a year. The term “shed” is more like totally blow their coat. They actually have two coats of fir, an inner coat of short hair that keeps them warm and regulates body heat, and an outer “guard” coat that helps repel water and breaks the wind.

These guys love to be outside in the cold so it’s not unusual to see them sleeping in the snow, with snow drifts on top of them.