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In the twenties, just while the Seeleys were
acquiring dogs for their kennel of Alaskan
Malamutes in New Hampshire, a man called
Paul Voelker was similarly operating for
his kennel in Marquette, Michigan, known
as M’Loot kennel.
Voelker had spent most of his life breeding
and training dogs and had become
familiar with a good number of breeds.
Now he was looking for something
different, so he began to breed a new
kind of dog, which he called
“Malamute”. The Malamutes of M’Loot kennel
had different origins: some dogs
had been purchased in Alaska, some from
the Army in Montana, others from
Mackenzie River Huskies in Minnesota
and two bitches came from a litter of
an all white Canadian Eskimo Dog. In
a kennel brochure Voelker writes that
his foundation dogs, both males and females,
came from the film industry in
California (Barbara A. Brooks and Sherry
E. Wallis, "Alaskan Malamute -
Yesterday and Today").
Owing to their different origins, the M Loot
Malamutes were not so uniform as the Kotzebues.
While the Seeleys’ Kotzebue strain included
only dogs of grey and white colour, the colours
of the M’Loots varied from black and white
to silver grey and white. The M’Loots were
also heavier and taller than the Kotzebues.
Like the Kotzebues, however, Paul Voelker’s
M’Loots had a thick straight coat, a bushy
tail carried over their back like a plume
and straight ears.
Just like Eva Seeley, Paul Voelker was
a skilful sleddog driver and his M’Loots
were excellent work dogs and received
many an official recognition for their
performances. Unlike Eva Seeley, Paul
Voelker didn’t breed only excellent
sleddog subjects. M’Loots were mainly
publicized as excellent companion dogs,
ideal for whoever was looking for a dog
which was so beautiful and
eye-catching as to make people stop in
the street (ibidem).
Paul Voelker’s M’Loots became popular
thanks to his kennel advertisements
and lots of dogs were sold to lots of
houses all over North America. As
Voelker said: “The best examples of the
greatest breed have become perfect
company dogs for the families in different
places from the north in Alaska
to the states exposed to the sun in Florida,
California and in New Mexico in
the south”
M’Loot dogs were not bred only by Paul
Voelker, but also by other breeders,
who used them as the foundations of their
breeding programs. Other M’Loot
dogs soon became influential: Gentleman
Jim, who became famous for his
service in World War II, Silver King
and Silver Girl, and a dog called
Mikiuk, bred by Paul Voelker and owned
by Raplh and Schmitt of Silver Sled
Kennels in Wisconsin. Mikiuk was crossed
with a bitch called Noma; this
combination bred two important champions,
Ch. Mulpus Brook's Master Otter
(the first Alaskan Malamute to come out
on top in show groups) and Ch. Ooloo
M'Loot (the first bitch to get a
champion title in the history of the breed).
Both of them were owned by Silver Sled.
Another important combination was between
a dog called Nanook and Ch. Ooloo
M'Loot. Two puppies were whelped
by this mating: Ch. Nanook II and Ch. Gyana.
The descendants of these first M’Loots
became later the foundation dogs for
many a kennel and are the ancestors of
lots of today’s Malamutes.
In 19?? the American Kennel Club reopened
the Alaskan Malamute breed to
registration. This decision delighted
the owners of M’Loot and Hinman-Irwing
dogs. They had been possessing dogs that
were not officially recognized as
Alaskan Malamutes. Eva Seeley’s followers
and the Kotzebues’ fans, instead,
strongly objected to the decision. In
their opinion only Kotzebues were
really representative of the breed. In
order to be AKC registered, the
owners of the “new” Alaskan Malamutes
were to show their dogs till they
reached 10 points. Strangely enough,
no dog personally owned by Paul Voelker,
Dick Hinman or Dave Hinman was ever registered.
In all cases, many of the
breeders that had based their breeding
programs on M’Loots and many owners
that had bought their ‘original strain’
dogs managed to have their Malamutes
registered.
After 1950, most Malamutes had evolved
thanks to the mingling of Kotzebues,
M'Loots and a little Hinman-Irwin.
Some breeders, however, kept crossing
pure M’Loots only. Among these was the
Canadian breeder Lorna Jackson, owner
of Lorn Hall kennel. Lorna bought her
first dogs directly from Paul Voelker,
and one of these, Oogorook M'Loot,
was the first Alaskan Malamute to become
a Canadian Champion. Oogorook has also
been the first all white Alaskan
Malamute that became a champion in the
history of the breed.
Another breeder that went on breeding
pure M’Loots was Jean Lane, owner of
Mulpus Brook kennels. Like Eva Seeley,
Jean Lane practised sleddog and bred
Alaskan Malamutes and Siberian Huskies.
Her Malamute breeding program
produced Ch. Mulpus Brooks The Bear,
purchased from Bill and Lois Dawsons of
Kobuk kennel. “Bear” was the first Malamute
to win first prize in the show
group (B.O.G.) in 1954. He was also the
sire of Kobuk's Dark Beauty, a black
and white bitch owned by Mr. and Mrs.
Rifkind, from Kodara kennel. Kobuk's
Dark Beauty is one of the most important
dams in the history of the breed,
and she bred Ch. Sno-Crest's Mukluk,
the first Alaskan Malamute to win a
Best in Show in America.
In 19?? AKC suddenly decided to close
breed registration again. A lot of M’Loot
owners who hadn’t yet shown and registered
their dogs were bitterly
surprised.
To achieve greater cooperation with AKC
and more influence in important
decisions, the Alaskan Malamute Club
of America (AMCA) began operating in
order to become an AKC member.
This purpose was achieved in 1953, when
AMCA received a letter from AKC,
which informed that AMCA had been officially
accepted as a member.
After that, Kotzebue and M’Loot breeders
strove to get round their
differences, and the evolution of the
breed gradually moved toward the final
fusion of the two strains. Although she
had strongly objected to M’Loot dogs
for years, at a certain point even Eva
Seeley took an interest in what this
strain could offer and agreed to cross
Ch. Chinook Of Kotzebue with Ch.
Tuyah Of Silver Sled, an M’Loot bitch
owned by Delta Wilson Smith.
In 1960 a new breed standard was adopted
for the Malamutes, because of the
increasing number of M’Loot dogs which
had remarkably influenced their
aspect.
M’Loots were bigger than Kotzebues, therefore
the breeders that mainly used the M’Loot
strain urged to increase height and weight
limits (the first breed standard had been
based on Gripp Of Yukon, one of Seeley’s
dogs). Nevertheless, several Kotzebue breeders
had different opinions, and the question
was eventually settled by means of a compromise:
the present standard is the outcome of that
compromise.
Reference:
Barbara A. Brooks e Sherry E. Wallis, "Alaskan Malamute - Yesterday and
Today", Alpine, 1998.
Joan McDonald Brearley, This is the Alaskan Malamute, T.F.H., 1975.
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