Alaskan Malamute Puppy Essentials | Starter Pack – Fantastic Furries
Getting a Malamute? Congratulations and welcome to this crazy rollercoaster you’re about to experience! They are truly one of a kind, and you will love them so very much.
You may be wondering what to get your Mal so here are a few bit and bobs you’ll be needing to give them a great start in life.
Mother scent
A bit of a random one to start off, but very important! The breeder should have given you something with their mothers scent on, to help comfort your new puppy when they come home, they’ll be confused and missing their mother, so this will relieve some of their anxieties and can be really comforting for them. If for any reason you were not given this when taking your puppy home then using a pheromone based plug in can be really helpful, such as Adaptil. It will release a feel good pheromone similar to the one the mother releases to her young after giving birth. This can also be useful in other stressful situations, such as being left alone, fireworks, etc.
Food from the breeder
Your puppy is a new life on this planet, which means their digestive system is still very sensitive, so that is why you’ll need to be keeping your puppy on the same food as whatever the breeder has been feeding them. This will prevent any extra tummy upsets. You should never just swap their food over suddenly and same goes for adult dogs.
Puppy pads
Puppy pads soak up the accidents and are very handy at helping them transition from toileting inside to toileting outside, you’ll really be needing these.
Bowls
One for water and one for food. Way keep the water topped up and fresh.
Comfy bed
Malamutes grow fast so you may just want to get a bigger dog bed, to help them grow into it. They may go through a phase of tearing it up so don’t opt for one that’s too expensive, unless you want to.
Stimulating toys
Such as a Kong are a great way of keeping them busy and distracted. There are various tough toys on the market too. When they go through teething, it’s important to keep them busy by having something to chew, be careful of giving them treats though as it may be too much on their stomach This early on. Only introduce puppy treats in small amounts when training.
Crate
Puppies can cause havoc to your home when you’re gone, they can chew up your walls, sofa, bed, you name it. So not only does a crate prevent this from happening but it can also be a cosy space where your puppy can feel safe. You preferably want a large dog crate, one that they can grow into because they’ll be growing fast. If you’re planning on leaving the house for a few hours your puppy will feel much better having some space to move around in their crate. It needs to be large enough to fit their bed, water and a few toys to keep them happy and busy. It can make them feel extra cosy if you cover one end of the crate in a towel, as this will darken the area to encourage feel less exposed and could help them to sleep. Make sure to leave them something that smell like you, like a T shirt, as this provides comfort.
Finger brush
Having a finger brush to clean your puppies teeth will be much easier than using a regular toothbrush. Getting them used to their teeth being brushed from an early age will be a lot easier in the long run.
Collar & lead
If you get to the shops with your pup it would be even better size them up a collar as they can try them on, but therer are various collars available online. The collar needs to be tight enough to fit two fingers underneath and no looser than that or else they can easily escape.
As for leads there are a variety of different ones you can purchase. There are regular leads, training leads, bungee leads, Halti face harness leads and extendable leads. I would definitely stick to a regular one for the time being and once they grow bigger you can decide to change it. It’s just as important that you are comfortable with the lead, as having control of a malamute can be challenging at times. As they get older you will be able to decide if you think they need a halti, as I know many owners find this useful as an anti pulling method, but not all Malamutes will need this, but they can be stubborn and have a high prey drive so sudden tugging could have you flying a few feet forward.
Identity tag
It’s important to get them an itentity tag, in case they were to go missing, you would be the first point of call if someone were to find them. Dispite what you might think, though, it is advised that you identity tag doesn’t include your dogs name, the reason for this is because, if someone were to steal your puppy/ dog then it would be far easier for the thief to train your dog and gain their trust, which you don’t want.
Car harness/ dog guard/ crate
It’s law to keep your dog restraint when travelling for their safety and yours, if they’re sitting in the back seats then they need to be fastened with a vest attached to a harness, you can purchase a car harness in a shop or online but making sure it’s a ferry size is important. If your car is large enough for a crate in the boot then this could be an option for you, but if you’re keeping them in the boot of your car and a crate doesn’t for then getting a dog guard is an option.
Grooming kit
Puppies won’t yet have the thick double coat they’d be having when they’re an adult, so until then, just use something simple like a comb to remove loose fur and knots. Here is a grooming guide for when they’re older.
