Alaskan Malamute

Alaskan Malamute

Alaskan Malamute.
Common nicknames	Mal or Mally
Origin	United States (Alaska)
Traits Weight Male 85 pounds (39 kg) Female 75 pounds (34 kg) Height Male 25 inches (64 cm) Female 23 inches (58 cm) Coat Thick, a double coat, with plush undercoat Color Gray, sable, black, or red, always with white, as well as all white Litter size 4–10 puppies Life span up to 16 years
Classification / standards FCI Group 5, Section 1 Nordic Sledge Dogs #243 standard AKC Working standard ANKC Group 6 – (Utility) standard CKC Group 3 – (Working Dogs) standard KC (UK) Working standard NZKC Utility standard UKC Northern Breed standard
Notes	State dog of Alaska
Domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris)

The Alaskan Malamute /ˈmæləˌmjuːt/ is a large breed of domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) originally bred for hauling heavy freight because of their strength and endurance, and later a sled dog. They are similar to other arctic breeds, such as the Greenland dog, Canadian Eskimo Dog, the Siberian Husky, and the Samoyed.

The first dogs arrived in the Americas 12,000 years ago; however people and their dogs did not settle in the Arctic until the Paleo-Eskimo people 4,500 years ago and then the Thule people 1,000 years ago, both originating from Siberia. Malamutes were thought to be created by the Malemiut Inupiaq people of Alaska's Norton Sound region, who were a Thule people.

The Malamute has been identified as a basal breed that predates the emergence of the modern breeds in the 19th Century. A study in 2013 showed that the Alaskan Malamute has a similar east Asian origin to, but is not clearly related to, the Greenland Dog and the Canadian Eskimo Dog, but contains a possible admixture of the Siberian Husky.

In 2015, a study using a number of genetic markers indicated that the Malamute, the Siberian Husky, and the Alaskan husky share a close genetic relationship between each other and were related to Chukotka sled dogs from Siberia. They were separate to the two Inuit dogs, the Canadian Eskimo Dog and the Greenland dog. In North America, the Malamute and the Siberian Husky both had maintained their Siberian lineage and had contributed significantly to the Alaskan husky, which showed evidence of crossing with European breeds that was consistent with this breed being created in post-colonial North America.