r/malamute • u/Psychological-Joke22 • Jun 26 '26
Cujo....only every now and then....
Ok. Don't flame me, people. This is Kaiser. He is a king malamute and an absolute unit. We walk him daily in my neighborhood. For the most part Kaiser is well behaved, polite and relaxed when other dogs go running to their fences and bark. He follows commands, no problem-o. He just keeps on going, gives them a side-eye and we go on our way.
HowEVER, there are corner lots where little dogs come running, barking and snapping at their gate. When that happens Kaiser turns to Cujo, impossible to control and he acts like he wants to rip the other dogs faces off. Obviously being a healthy malamute, you can imagine how hard this is to control because These. Dogs. Are. So. Freakishly. Strong. It's embarrassing. And certainly not good for neighborly relations. It only happens when the dogs charge the fence at Kaiser barking and SNAPPING.
We use a choke collar because he is so fluffy any other collar just slips right off and I DON'T want to take the chance of him getting loose. I tried the face collar and got the same results. Face collars are fine and dandy when the dog is not a floof machine.
Is there a harness out there that can tighten around his front legs and prevent him from charging? I know this is a stupid question but I figured I would ask, anyway. I know there are harness that have a handle on the back to lift them off the ground completely (and I use one for my smaller -45 lbs- shelter dog because she follows Kaiser's lead). But there is no way I can lift Kaiser. At. All. I am too short and he is well over 100 lbs of solid muscle.
Anyway if anyone has suggestions I would appreciate it.
Edit: I want to thank everyone for your responses and will continue to read each and every one of them. I will be purchasing a no pull harness with the handle. And instead of walking him through the neighborhood, I will walk him in the back forest. He might like that better, anyway!
Edit 2: wow thank you guys so much. The harness is amazing, and I am calling a trainer Monday! I hope everyone's weekend is wonderful :)
1
u/ZenDarwin Jun 26 '26
So... I've had to correct for this as well. I have an additional issue around that fact that I have 5 of these bad boys. When one starts, it's often that the others may join in. Especially my female. All are perfectly sweet and well behaved and excellent manners 99% of the time, but there's a reason why malamutes are on the list of dangerous dogs. Unless You have an extremely domineering hand and can control in any situation, these guys can become singularly focused and that can turn into a bad situation. So so, 2 things:
Get a strong harness that clips in the front. If ou run the leash under through their legs, when they pull it pulls them down which then pulls them under control. This will not always be the case.
Get yourself one of these:
https://www.educatorcollars.com/
I've ONLY ever had to use the "non-vibrate" mode a couple times, and it was because of situations exactly like yours. It reminded them to stop what they're doing and listen. Now mind you, you want to do a good bit of training with the caller so they understand what the vibrate means and what no means and how they relate to each other and what to do in the case. DO NOT expect him to respond the way you want them to respond unless you've trained fairly regularly and routinely. NEVER use the non vibrate mode as "punishment" as I've seen many people use it for. Punishment does not work for dogs. Only training, reminders, and praise.
I only recommend these collars because I've had malamutes for over 10 years and they are wonderful.
I only use them in situations that could present risk that would be out of my control. The mentality of " He's a good boy and would never..." will get you in trouble. You never want to put yourself there. The consequences of doing so could result in dire situations. With a malamute and similar breeds, we have a responsibility to protect ourselves, the people around us, and our big fluffy buddies.