The puppies got their first meal from somewhere other than their mother and their first baths today! Last year, our litter screamed and cried during their first bath so we were expecting the same from these pups; we couldn’t have been more mistaken. They were all calm and quiet for their first bath, which they needed, since they’d almost all crawled in their first meal!
I want to take a few moments to address safety for your new Malamute puppy. Malamutes are intelligent and naturally curious. This is even more true with puppies than older dogs. Curiosity can lead to mischief, destruction or worse.
When you’re preparing for your new puppy, you must puppy-proof your house. Just like with a new child, anything that can be of harm to the pup needs to come up where they can’t reach it.
Puppies chew. They chew things like electrical cords – a good sour apple spray or a spray called “Phooie!” are necessary for all the things like the lamp power cord which you can’t pick up out of the way. You can usually use these sprays on furniture, too, without damaging it. You’ll have to spray no-chew items down at least weekly. Beware, though, some Malamute puppies like the flavor!
Books on the lower shelves, corners of table legs, ottomans, these are all targets for puppy teeth. Gently remove the puppy from what it is chewing on and give it an acceptable substitute, like a rope chew toy. You can train a lot of chewing out pretty quickly.
You’ll need to be aware of wires outdoors, too. One of the pups we sold, Dexter, discovered the coaxial able for his parents’ television and internet running through the back yard. He chewed through it twice before they got it placed where he couldn’t get to it. A lot of times, boredom is a factor in chewing, too – make sure your pup has toys it knows are just for him!
Small pieces of clothing are targets for Malamute teeth as well – even adults. Socks are a favorite. A Malamute is capable of swallowing a sock whole. This could go one of three ways: the dog could throw up the sock., the dog could poop out the sock, or, worst case scenario, the sock could cause a very painful and life-threatening blockage that has to be surgically removed. We had this happen to another puppy we sold; she managed to swallow a sock and a pair of thong underwear, which had to be removed surgically. As your Malamute grows, make sure things like these are not where he can get his mouth on them! Again, take the object away and replace it with an acceptable chew toy. Training goes a long way here.
Malamute puppies are curious, especially when they smell something that could be food. The saddest result we’ve ever seen of Malamute curiosity happened to a pup we sold named Cheyenne. This was something you absolutely would never ever think could happen, but after a little research, we found out it happens more than you think. Cheyenne figured out how to open the lazy Susan in the corner cabinet in the kitchen. She figured out that there was people food there. She got hold of a box of cereal, got it open and got her head stuck in the box, where she suffocated and died. This was absolutely shocking to her owners, and to us. We’d never heard of a puppy suffocating by getting its head stuck in a cereal box, but that is exactly what happened. It was a terrible tragedy, and a scenario you’d never think of, which is why we share the story as a word of warning to our new owners.
Think ahead of your Malamute puppy – they’re curious, they’re smart and you’d swear sometimes that they actually have fingers. Plan and prepare to puppy-proof your home so tragedy does not strike your Malamute and your family! A little forethough on your part will spare you from many troubles with your Malamute puppy.
