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Anonymous
I own a female malamute and live in Sydney Australia. She seems to handle the heat fine, I just leave out plenty of water and if it gets too hot, she stays inside with the aircon on. Other than that she digs herself a hole in the cool dirt in the shade of one of our trees and just sleeps for most of the day. Walking in the afternoon/night is a best thing to do. I've found that other dog owners in the area who do not understand malamutes are terrified of getting close due to her size. She would never attack another dog needlessly but they wouldn't know.
My malamute is extremely placid for the breed but even she HATES cats. She doesn't mind birds or other small critters (they even eat out of her bowl and she doesn't care) but she'll probably kill a cat if she caught one. If you get the malamute as a puppy, it might get along with your cat as long as your cat had no objection to it.
They are not 'bad ass'. This is one of the closest dogs you can get to a teddy bear. They're headstrong, stubborn as a mule and can be extremely lazy. If you ask them to do something and they don't see a reason to do it, they won't. They're very independent dogs and only get along with similar breeds (such as the Husky)because they're more 'pack' orientated. Some malamutes dig or jump(up to 6ft) so you'll have to have a secure fence. Most malamutes are extremely curious so one they're let out, there's little chance of it coming back on it's own.
They are wonderful dogs to own. I've already decided that I will always own at least one malamute. But keep in mind they are hard work to keep, extremely strong, grow very large, eat a lot and due to their size, vet bills and the cost of the dog is fairly expensive.
Good luck. Trust me, you'll need it.
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