My husband & I are considering getting a 2nd dog. We have a 6 year old mutt (we were told he's a beagle/sheltie mix). Hubby was looking at min pins because he's had one before. I just checked our local shelter's featured dogs on Petfinder & saw that they currently have a 2 month old alaskan malamute mix. There is no picture & it does not say what they think he was mixed with.
I've always thought alaskan malamutes are so cute!! I would love to have one, but I of course want to make sure we will be able to handle one and keep him happy.
We do own our own house on 1 acre land. The majority of the backyard is fenced in already. We also have a 6 year old daughter who will want to play with him :)
Has anyone ever had this type of dog & could tell me more about them & what they require?
Any help on min pins is welcome as well :) Thanks!
Thanks for the responses! My husband called and the Alaskan Malamute puppy was already adopted! Solves that question for now! ha! Probably wouldn't have been a good breed for us tho.
Still considering a min pin. My husband has had those before. We are only looking at shelters in the area. I refuse to pay a bunch of money to get any dog from a breeder!
Husband also found a Pit Bull Terrier/Labrador Retriever Mix puppy at a nearby shelter that we are going to look at. So I guess we aren't sold on any one breed! hehe
UPDATE: We ended up getting the pit / lab mix. She is such a sweetie :) About 12 weeks old now I think. We are trying to crate train her. She's doing better, and has calmed down a little haha Loves our daughter too :)
No advice about these breeds. But hope you'll be able to go SEE the puppy before agreeing to adopt him. Sorry, had a bad experience with 'rescue' groups who use Petfinder and Adopt-A-Pet.
Hope you get the perfect pooch!
:)
I would say call and get more information on both dogs from where they are, how they are with kids and other dogs. They may know and for the mix may or may not adopt out to a family with kids, just depending on the individual dog. Both breeds can be sweet and I have seen both with some temperament issues, really depends on the dog. If the mix does have a lot of malamute in, be prepared for hair!
How is your dog with other dogs, does it care about their size? Also make sure you have all been around min pins, their hair is so short on some that it can cause irritation. That might not be a big deal and you may not have any issues (two or three breeds will make be break out, not bad, just that it is there). I would say check in and maybe visit the puppy. If you are thinking about a min pin from a breeder or rescue, go ahead and make contact there as well. If nothing else two more dogs, three is always a nice happy number :) One for each of you.
malamutes have a TON of energy and a TON of hair. seriously. i was so disappointed because my sil just thought huskies (not the same breed but very similar) were just sooooo cute - and spent hundreds (if not thousands? i never asked) of dollars to purchase one from an out of state breeder (i get that's not what you're doing - kudos for looking at a shelter!) -then guess what? the dog had too much energy and shed everywhere and they got rid of it. she was an escape artist and jumped the fence. think about a dog that was bred to run for days - not hours, days - at a time. if they don't have an outlet for that energy is when they start escaping, destroying things, tearing up the yard or house, etc. it's not a "bad" dog - that's just how much energy they have and it MUST have an outlet. not the dog's fault. GRRRR. google both breeds and do your research. i don't know much about minpins (except they are sooo extremely small and fragile) but you are talking about two VASTLY different breeds, so do your homework!!!!! this is a dog's life you're talking about. good luck with your decision, and good job taking time to make the right one.
Malamutes NEED a ton of exercise. They were bred to run. Land is not enough. They require intense walks every single day. Like I said, they are runners. If they even have an inch to escape, they will take off. (It is VERY difficult to train this instinct away.) They need to be trained. They can be difficult to train. They are incredibly intelligent, but need an owner experienced with dogs, to be trained properly. They are really good family dogs, but require much training, exercise, and mental stimulation.
Min pins are really not a good dog for little ones. (You can do a google search for their temperament. Even wikipedia probably has the basic info.)They are a very assertive dog, escape artists, and good watch dogs. They don't care for strangers. Your daughter is 6, so the min pin might be OK with her. All her play would need to be supervised until she has a very good hold of how to play with this dog. Really, though...min pins are better for adults and preteens to teens.
Really, I suggest a little mutt. They are the best as far as health concerns. One breed is not typically super dominant over others they are mixed with. Any dog you get, you should invest in training. Children need to take part in this. Most dog bites happen, because children don't know how to be around their dog.
My friend as a Malamute. She is friendly to people but doesn't like other critters. Chances are he will be a large dog with a long coat that needs regular grooming. They dig. They shed a lot. They also can overheat in hot weather. I think they are prone to certain health problems but I'm not sure what those are. That's about all I can tell you.
I have a Min Pin Jack Russell mix. He's energetic and smart. He can sometimes be an escape artist. Min Pins are usually easy to train. My dog is great with kids and other dogs and cats. He doesn't shed much. Min Pins are little guard dogs. They bark and are wary of strangers. My dog warms up to strangers quickly but he is leery of them at first. He weighs about 16 pounds but I think the norm for a pure bred Min Pin is 10 pounds...so a little guy who thinks he is a 50 pound dog.
My thought would be to stay away from both... and pick a breed or cross that is more family oriented (lab, boxer, retriever, etc).
Malamutes are not as easily trainable as other dogs, they also need lots and lots of exercise and love to roam (not necessarily good for the dogs health & safety though!). If you're in a hot climate it can be really hard on them (they are bred to be able to survive and even thrive in the coldest climates), and they tend to shed a lot of fur they shed. They are beautiful and can be wonderful but may not be a great fit for you.
The Min Pin and similar breeds can be easily hurt/injury by active children, and can be very nippy and not always be tolerant of children's high energy and movements.
Glad you didn't get the malamute, they are not good breeds to have with kids.
Malamutes and Min Pins can be wonderful with kids, as well as Pit/Lab mixes! I have been in rescue for eighteen years and I can tell you that it really just depends on the personality of that particular dog. Individual experiences are just that - individual. For example, I have known a lot of very protective child hating Pomeranians, but I have also known a lot of super friendly, bubbly, love-everybody Pomeranians.
One thing to consider is if you are okay with the hair if you get a double coated breed like a Malamute, Shepherd, Husky, etc. When they shed it is like a cotton dispenser - you pull out a tuft of hair and another one pops up in its place! Hair is everywhere. Grooming helps, but you really have to be okay with dealing with the hair and many people aren't, which sometimes means the dog ends up being homeless. If you get something like a Shih Tzu, Schnauzer or Poodle, know that you are going to have to shell out the money to get it groomed every month to month and a half. Just things to consider, though I feel like I'm preaching to the choir with you since you are already asking before getting the dog! =)
If you have an acre fenced in and the dog gets to spend time in the house, you probably won't have to deal with an escape artist, but the dogs who are the best fence jumpers are Huskies, German Shepherds, and Golden Retrievers. I have seen all of the above scale a stockade fence like it was a ramp.
Generally, the little dogs aren't as good with young children because the kiddos like to pick them up and before they have the skills to do it gently, they can hurt the dog and the dog starts to respond by not wanting the child to get near it and/or growling/biting.
One thing I always highly recommend when I talk to kids the age of your daughter is teaching her, "open arms". When the puppy/dog wants to leave and they are in the child's lap, teach them to not hold it down because it won't want to come back. If they let the puppy go, it will run back to them.
Look into crate training if you get a puppy. My favorite puppies are the ones who belong to OTHER people, LOL! They take a lot of patience and training to become well behaved family members. And remember some puppies aren't actually adults mentally until they are around 2 years old. People get frustrated when they are still chewing, etc, when they are a year old because the dog looks like an adult on the outside, but on the inside it's still just a puppy. So be sure to crate train and be consistent. If you aren't you will be like me and come home to your brand new living room furniture chewed up by your ten month old Standard Poodle who was never told the furniture isn't a doggie toy (my stupidity, not his!). =/
Thank you, thank you for considering a shelter dog! They are the best!!!
i had a min pin and would rather get at the very least a slightly larger dog for my daughter because they can be hurt easily. My 5 year old wants a dog so bad, but she wants one to play with, go swimming with and so on, a min pin wouldnt be able to do any of that...think about what your family wants in a dog. an insanely cute hyper lap dog or a bigger one maybe a little more mellow ?
We have a min pin and he's the best dog either of us has ever owned! Smart, sweet, protective. And doesn't shed :) great with our kids, even when they were smaller. Amazing, great dogs. I personally wouldn't get a pit bull mix, especially an older one who has been raised by someone else. My friends daughter was just horribly bit in the face by a cairn terrier, just as a reminder that not all dogs like kids. I wouldn't take the chance with a known aggressive breed.
