Hi Jolene;
It has been a little over a year and I wanted to give you an update on my "little" girl. Clicquot (klee-koe) is simply AMAZING!
She was a breeze to train. I just expect the basics - no jumping, begging, chewing, running away etc. Housebreaking her was remarkably easy and fast. She did chew a bit on one shoe but that was my fault. Now she has a huge collection of toys and a regular supply of bones - she especially likes ostrich femurs and bison knuckles!
She loves everyone especially small children and dogs. She is so gentle with anything smaller than herself. Children absolutely love her and she loves them. I take her to daycare 2-3x per week and she will run hard with her rottwieler buddy then switch gears and lay down so her french bulldog and chihuahua mix friends can jump on her. I also take her to the dog park a few times per week where she has unfortunately run across a couple of "mean" dogs. She basically gives them a bit of submission and moves on to the dogs who want to play - never any fighting.
You were right about her love of water. I take her on a loop around my property which includes a big stretch of creek. I had to reverse our pattern to end up at the creek instead of starting there because she will do hot laps up and down (in) the creek all day if I let her.
She is very content to sit at the top of the yard or on top of the small cliff overlooking the house and just survey her domain. She never tries to chase the elk, deer, fox or even the one bear that come through the property.
She is remarkably quiet for a malamute! She woo woos a bit when I come home and growls occasionally at her reflection in the window. She has a beautiful "girlie" voice but rarely uses it.
Watching her grow has been crazy - she seemed to grow straight up before my eyes. She is slender and soooo tall and soooo long! No one around here has ever seen a female so tall. I was stopped by a woman from Texas who claimed to have a 185# giant female (ummm ok) but also said her female was 2-4" shorter - that part I believe. I just met a local guy who will be getting his male in about 1.5 months and he asked (over and over) if she was "normal" for a female giant? Would his male be taller? I have to admit, it's fun to see how shocked and impressed people are with her size. Her coat is stunning as well. Not as woolly as some but long and beautiful with very cool colors/patterns.
Needless to say we get stopped for questions and asked if our (her) picture can be taken all the time. People always assume that she is a male (despite her hot pink collar) and that she is either full or part wolf. I can't tell you how many times I've passed on your web site to people with questions about giant malamutes. I try to emphasize that getting a pup like this should not be a size competition. I suggest they look for the "whole" package - size, temperament and health (looks help too) and that I personally found it at Hudsons. I have never personally seen giants from other breeders but I'm so impressed with my girl. She's healthy, happy and beautiful - to me she is perfect!
Sadly about two months after Clicquot arrived, my 15 year old female malamute (Chrissy) was unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer. She passed just before her 16th birthday in June. I was/am still devastated but in the 6 months Chrissy and Clicquot had together Chrissy passed on much of her amazing personalty to Clicquot. We spoke about this when I was trying to decide if I wanted to subject my old girl to a new puppy. You were absolutely correct - it was like Chrissy did much of the training. It makes me laugh (sometimes cry) to see Clicquot imitate Chrissy's behavior and quirks.
It has been difficult to go from 2 malamutes plus an akita/wolf (overlapping 18 years) to just 1 mal so I'm now thinking it may be time to add a little brother or sister. Of course now I'm really spoiled! I would love any advice you might have on male vs female to go with a girl like my Clicquot. Kibo and Willow are so beautiful and they look so tall - do you think they will have fluffy/woolly pups? Any other upcoming litters with these characteristics that I should keep an eye out for?
I feel so blessed to have Clicquot in my life - Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
All our best and Happy Holidays,
Clicquot and Michael Kirn December 19, 2009
