This is a family dog, with strong positive attributes towards children. A pack animal by nature, who establishes a pecking order within the ranks of a group. An independent attitude makes this dog just as comfortable on it's own as with people and other dogs.
These dogs will not continuously seek attention and affection, but rather be pleased by your arrival home,greet you joyfully, receive the amount of attention they feel is appropriate,and then go off to do their own thing.
They will not follow you everywhere, or stick to your leg like glue.Unless you have food they want.Stubborn by nature, many have mistakenly labeled them as untrainable, and lacking in intelligence. Nothing could be further from the facts. These are some of the most intelligent of the canine kingdom, with the ability to test the endurance, patience, willpower, and ingenuity of the most advanced trainers, breeders, and owners. A Malamute must be shown the reason for being made to do certain things.
Malamutes are generally loving, gentle, and as the standard indicates, playful. Sometimes so-much-so that they can tend to get into mischief when bored. As puppies, this is usually not a problem. As they grow to full mature size, they can become harbingers of destruction, when not given guidance and direction. A full grown Malamute, with un-directed energy to burn, is sometimes akin to a run-away locomotive. This indicates that obedience training, and socialization training is mandatory, should you not care to have splintered furniture, and neatly excavated craters in your yard.