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Advertising weight vs.-Real Weight

Sure is a great way to start a discussion, isn't it?

For 50 years people have been taught that there are such dogs as a 200 lb malamute. I do not believe there is or ever has been a malamute that big.

Everyone wants a big dog. And they think if they purchase their pup from a person that tells them they have a 192 lb malamute that they will be getting a puppy just like it !!! (NOT TRUE)

They also have been taught that pretty much all giant malamutes that are big have/make all big puppies which is Not True. Genes are what determines the size of your pups. see FAQ I want the largest pup in the litter - for more details. Parents play a factor but that is not the whole picture. And if you look at many other giant malamute sites their malamutes are - 192-185-220 ? NO SUCH THING in my opinion.

No dog has ever been recorded or proved that big on an IWPA scale or event or any other scale or place where the weight has been documented from a certified scale. IWPA and all other weight pull events makes a dog weigh in before they pull. No dog has ever even seen 175lbs on any scale for which I've found documentation.

And some of the biggest malamutes in the U.S. have competed against each other over the many years that dogs have been competitively pulled. And there is no proof that a dog that big existed or does exist without being overweight. I have gone through the records, and am happy to look at other existing records.

I have the largest dog I have personally seen in the U.S., Glacier. He is not fat and this is his lean average weight - but Glacier is 156. His dad's IWPA recorded FACT weight was 147. Glacier is the largest dog I have seen even at the kennels that advertise 220 lb dogs.

I have never seen females larger than Zateema or Arctic anywhere in the U.S.

I guess you can put 40 lbs of fat on any dog if you want to make him/her fat. If I did that, then I would have a 200 lb dog by making Glacier fat. But then he would be waddling and not able to perform properly and would that be his REAL WEIGHT? I THINK NOT.

Other than that -THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A 200 LB ALASKAN MALAMUTE (my opinion).

I have made the challenge in the past if you think you have a 200 lb malamute or even anything close I will come and go to the vet or scales with you to see! I will fly or drive anywhere in the U.S. if you can show me a dog that weighs that much (without being overweight). I have yet to have anyone take on that challenge.

How can you advertise you have the biggest dogs in the U.S. when others advertise 192 and such?

I guess you got your answer - because a lot of people have their dogs' ADVERTISING WEIGHTS posted and are not telling you the dogs real weight.

My point is to have people ask me so I can explain and educate why I feel I have the biggest dogs in the U.S.

It is hard to compete with competitors that show their "advertising weight" as factual. My dogs look 200 lbs, 180 lbs, ect. They are not really but I could put that they were and you would believe me. I know that's true because people see the advertising weight and because it's what they want to believe, they believe it. When they ask for a dog that big, I tell them that's their advertising weight and point them to their real weight. Why should I not tell the truth?

Many people have told me that my dogs look bigger than their real weight. And I wonder how people feel that purchase or have purchased a dog from kennels that show their advertising weights as real, and then their pups didn't turn out to be half the size the breeder told them they would. And what does an owner thinks about that breeder after they have purchased that pup on inflated pretenses?

I guess having happy puppy owners may not be first on their list? It is personally first on my list. For example - One kennel that is advertising the weight of a dog on their web site, purchased that dog as an adult from another kennel. I have seen that dog in person! At one kennel the dog was 145. At the new kennel he is now 185? Hmmm... I guess there is a change of gravity in different states? You tell me how that could happen? Or are they just inflating the weights because that is what people want? You make that call.    Click here for another example from that kennel

All I am doing is giving you something to think about - and a web site full of information to back up what I say. And I am willing to put my dogs on the scale at any time and show anyone what they weigh at any time! Are these people able to say this? Or give proof that a vet saw that dog on a scale and they were that large without being overweight?

Sampson weighed 177 when he got here at Hudson's kennels. When he left he was a healthy 144. And even got as low as 136 lbs. That is 41 lbs difference. But when he was 177 he could barely move, was very grumpy, and was in pain. When he lost the weight he played, ran (not very far), and wasn't grumpy anymore because it didn't hurt.

I've had calls from people wanting to sell me adult male breeding malamutes, that start the conversation with, "he's 175 pounds". I answer, "no he isn't". Within 10 minutes of conversation, they tell me the dog is really 140 pounds. What the heck is that all about?

An additional inch in height at the withers on Malamutes, usually translates to an additional 10 pounds (on fit dogs). Weight differences then come in with how long the dog is. There is extra weight in length, less weight in shortness of length. Some dogs are heavier boned than others, making a smaller dog weigh more than a larger dog. But, none of this adds up to 200 pound Alaskan Malamutes.

Let's end the insanity on inflated Alaskan Malamute weights.

I'm concentrating on Gentle Giant Alaskan Malamutes bred for health, temperament, quality and size (not weight).

I could be wrong about all of this but have done the most research of any person I know to find this mysterious "200" lb dog. This mysterious dog may have once existed in the ice age or not as long ago as that, but well before my time. No documentation to this day says there was ever an Alaskan Malamute that large. I will always keep an open mind and wonder if one day there will ever be one of those "200" lb malamutes. In the mean time I can say My Dogs Are The Largest In The U.S.A. I dare you to come see for yourself.

See also Large Malamutes Recorded Weights Feedback

See also Large Malamutes & Their Recorded Weights