Despite their magnificent northern good looks and delightful sense of humor, Alaskan Malamutes are not what you would call "starter dogs." Of all the breeds of dog, the Malamute maintains the distinction of displaying the greatest difference between its cuddlability as a puppy and its potential intractability as an adult dog. Malamute pups are seductively deceptive, luring unsuspecting owners into a feeling of lovable overconfidence: fluffy, snuggly-cuddly dogs that are quick to learn and easy to train.

Unfortunately, even though Malamutes are incredibly smart (certainly the fastest learners of all the breeds) they are also the fastest to forget. Things begin to deteriorate as the pup approaches adolescence, during which Malamutes can excel in canny improvisations during domestic training - the first step of a lifelong quest to do it their way. But it gets worse. Malamutes collide with full-blown adolescence, and seemingly overnight, they develop into large, strong wily adults that can be tricky to handle.

So it was with my first Malamute, Totemtock's Omaha Beagle CD. Omaha was a beautiful puppy who was easy to handle and quick to train. He sat promptly and willingly, settled down calmly and heeled like a dream. More importantly, he was people-friendly, dog-friendly and well-behaved around the house and garden. Then, wham! He crashed headlong into adolescence and started to pull on his leash, howl at the moon, trim carpets and dig in the garden. Moreover, he went about these activities with a vengeance. What happened to that calm, quiet pup of yestermonth who heeled beautifully?

How could I have been so stupid? Of course Omaha would want to chew and dig and vocalize - he's a dog. What did I expect him to do? Needlepoint and crosswords? Of course he would want to howl and pull on leash - he's a Malamute. In fact, it was the howling and leash pulling that tipped me off to simple solutions. His behavior made me realize that his so-called "problems" were perfectly normal ingredients of any dog's natural behavior repertoire that simply occurred at inappropriate times.

I trained Omaha to perform each "problem" behavior on cue to help redirect each doggy activity to some appropriate setting. All of a sudden, the behaviors were no longer problems. For example, I encouraged him to howl through the sunroof whenever we were stopped in rush-hour traffic on the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge. He was happy, and I was happy. Also, he had less of an urge to howl at other times.

Similarly, I allowed Omaha to indulge his pulling habit by occasionally instructing him to pull me along on walks - very useful when trudging up hills. He also was allowed to pull me while I was on skis or in a sled. Now he was more inclined to walk by my side when heeling. Stuffing chew toys with treats nattily solved the chewing problem. An in the garden, I built Omaha a digging pit with hidden stuffed-chewtoy treasures. We were back on track again - living in harmony. Omaha enjoyed his life as a dog and a Malamute, and I enjoyed life as a Malamute companion.

The resolution to Omaha's problems taught me more about dogs than I had ever learned during my veterinary education or while I earned my Ph.D. in dog behavior. This information stood me in good stead when it came to raising my second Malamute, Phoenix. This information made her training as easy as it was enjoyable. And it provided brain fodder for my many books and videos on dog behavior, which has enabled numerous dog owners worldwide to enjoy dog-friendly and user-friendly training techniques.

I have lived with only two gorgeous Malamutes, but I have trained at least a couple of hundred. Even though I am hopelessly biased, believing they can be the most delightful of canine companions, I would be the first to admit that Malamutes are not for everyone. Malamutes are quite large and very strong, and they tend to approach training a little differently than other breeds. People call this trait stubbornness, while Malamutes seem to look at it as creative thinking.

Regardless of the terminology, intelligent prospective owners familiarize themselves with the Malamute point of view before they get a puppy. Remember, Malamute puppies grow up quickly, dramatically changing from puppyhood to adolescence within three to four months. For goodness sakes, do not make the same mistakes that I made. Do not use your first Malamute as your practice dog. Make sure you know what to expect and what you are going to do before you get a cute, cuddly pup. Find out how any dog is likely to act as an adult, and especially find out how adult Malamutes are likely to act.

Good Malamute owners need to be dedicated and well-prepared, with gray matter as active as their lifestyles. Do a lot of research about breed specifics and training beforehand. Make sure you are perfectly familiar with lure and reward training techniques and, specifically, that you feel comfortable training a dog that may be significantly stronger and probably larger than most family members - a dog that can easily pull several thousand pounds.

Make sure you know how to redirect your pup's natural doggy behaviors to appropriate and acceptable outlets. Most importantly, make sure you know how to socialize your puppy, and train it to be friendly with people and other dogs. Because, if your Malamute is not friendly, you will have an enormous problem on your hands.

To learn how to teach basic manners and prevent the most common behavior and temperament problems, audit a local puppy-training class. The quickest and most revealing source of Malamutian information may be obtained from taking a real-life Malamute 101 course: Locate six Malamute owners, talk to them and test-drive their dogs. I learned so much from Omaha. Think what you can learn from six Malamutes. Moreover, pet owners will gladly forewarn you of all the problems they encountered as well as offer preventative advice. Learn from other people's mistakes and make sure your Malamute puppy enjoys the luxury of growing up with an educated owner.

If you cannot handle the adult dogs, do a lot more research before you even think of getting a puppy. If you find adult Malamutes easy to handle, you are in for a bit of a giggle with your new Malamute puppy.