The Alaskan Malamute in Norway

The very first two Alaskan Malamutes came to Norway just after the second world war. Little is known about the origin of these dogs, but since none of today’s dogs descend from these first imports, this is of minor importance.

After the second world war oberst Reistad took home two Alaskan Malamutes from Canada (1945). These dogs got one litter, and two of these puppies again got one litter each (3+2), but only two of these last litters grew opp.

One of these malamutes, "Nimrod" became Norwegian, Swedish and Finisch UCH. I received some pictures which show the strenght of these dogs. They were 1,5 years old when they pulled this heavy load many kilometers, partly through deep snow.

The Norwegian "Trekkhundklubb" used all six dogs in their ambulance -service in Oslo’s nordmark. They were very satisfied with their workcontribution and they had an excellent temperament. Unfortunetly Mr. Reistad’s wife knew very little about their background, and by the NKK there is not much information.

Alaskan Malamutes in Norway.

The breed reappear in Norway in 1973 , when seven dogs from Wakon kennel’s were imported by mr. B.Kiønig. These dogs were:

The first litter was born on 9^th of November 1975, seven males and two females. The first litter was born on 9^th of November 1975, seven males and two females. The first litter was born on 9^th of November 1975, seven males and two females.

At the same time another person was interested in the breed; mr. Øyvind Moen. He had a friend who was a sled dog driver and he heard from him about a breed called Alaskan Malamute. He decided to take a trip to USA and get to know these dogs better. He found the breed very interesting, particulary dogs of the "old type", and he decided to bring a dog back to Norway. He took his time because he wanted a very good dog that was healthy and bred from HD-free parents. At last he ended up with the Tote-Um kennel, and imported:

Tote-Um’s Alaska Snobird (Tote-Um’s Arctic Panther x Polarpaw’s Sno-cloud of Tote-Um.) She became Norway’s first champion.

The breed did not have a good start in Norway, illness and hereditary defects put the breed to a hard test. A lot of these first dogs were taken out of breeding, and the future for the Alaskan Malamute did not look very bright.

Fortunately we had a group of very enthusiastic people who worked together to solve the problems. Deciding to take a lot of dogs out of breeding in so small a population was not easy, but because of this decision we got a population which was healthy, nearly without HD and other hereditary defects.

Mr.Moen imported three more dogs:

These dogs became the most importent foundation dogs in Norway, and can be found in more or less all Norwegian pedigrees. They became the foundation dogs for the TOPKOK kennel.

Some of the other early imports were:

These last three dogs, imported from Alaska, lived in the very far north of Norway. They were a different type than the "Tote-Um" dogs in the south. Thule and Kenkea got four litters together, they were never used with other lines. The breeders in the south which dominated the market, did not like this type, so today there are almost none of these dogs left. Mr. Kåre Holmsen imported Tulugak, and bred a litter with an offspring of Kenkea and Thule. They got 13 offspring, but the ones used in breeding got "watered out" by the existing lines. Today there are no dogs left after these lines, but you will find them on some pedigrees.

Other important imports to Norway:

These dogs got importerd from USA but got a litter in quarantaine first, in Great Britain. They came to mrs. Parker from Seacourt kennels, the Seacourt Christmas litter. Wolf was doing well in Norway, and became INT.N and D Uch, but Mitzy had not the temperament the breeder wished and was put down. Wolf was used in breeding three times and got 18 offspring, Mitzy was bred once and got eight offspring.

The next to dogs got imported as frozen semen:

These different imports have resulted in a fine genetic variation, but we still have to be careful not to use the same dogs too much. The population of registered Alaskan Malamutes in Norway is at present estimated at 900. A total of 1489 were registered Dec. 1997, but deaths are not recorded.

There have been born 246 litters.A variety of different breeding lines are now present in Norway. However, Tote-Um dogs of the TOPKOK kennel is quite dominating, as dogs from the NAJANIN kennel, which foundation dogs are all TOPKOK lines.

Norway does at the moment not have any "big" breeder. Some has more dogs because of participating in sleddog races, but none has more than approximately ten Most people has 1-2 dogs.

Use of the malamute

The Alaskan Malamute is primarily a family dog and a good companion on trips in the woods and the mountains. The average Norwegian family is very active outdoors, and many have found the Malamute a versatile and enjoyable dog. The dogs are used for backpakking, ski-pulling, pulling of smal Norwegian sleds (pulks), and a very few dogs are training obedience. A considerable number of dogs are seriously trained as sledge dogs. Topkok’s Eagle Bumper (by Orm’s Dorms Moosmoos of Tote-Um x Tote-Um’s Ballard Queen) would have been a dog which could easily become sleddog champion, if the titel was available at that time. He was a great sleddog who participated in many races. He was a very good lead-dog. His go-on spirit and working ability is seen in most of his descendants. Bumper and Nuna (Tokok’s Klondike Nuna) are the only two malamutes who have accomplished the hardest race in Norway "Finnmarks-løpet".

Finmarkløpet is a long distance race in the north of Norway and was at the time 1000 km long.

The Norwegian Alaskan Malamute in numbers:

Registration: