** About Us **

* RUHMANNS' ALASKAN MALAMUTES * * About Us * * About the Alaskan Malamute * * Kennel Operation * * Puppies for Sale * * Contact Us * * Adult Alaskan Malamutes Available for Adoption * * Available Sires * * APOLLO * * AURORA * * BARON * * CHEYENNE * * CHINOOK and YUKON * * DAKOTA * * GIZMO * * ISIS * * KISKA and SKYE * * LEXUS and MERCEDES * * NAKITA * * NAKOTA * * NALI * * NESSIE * * PUMPKIN * * SHILOH * * SHINOOK * * TUNDRA * * Slide Show * * Photo Albums *

We purchased our little "piece of paradise" in the country about 12 years ago, consisting of a modest home nestled amongst 25 acres of woods with a 1-acre pond full of Catfish, Crappie and Bass.

We are avid animal lovers and have a variety of pets, including 3 macaws (a Blue/Gold; a Green Wing and a Catalina), a parrot (a yellow-naped Amazon), a Cockatoo (an Umbrella), several cats, a few ducks and, let's not forget, our family of Mals.

I am a staunch advocate for the protection of wildlife and the preservation of our natural wilderness for future generations, including the re-introduction of natural predators to balance the ecosystems of our animal kingdom. My grandfather was my inspiration as a child.  Although an avid fisherman and hunter throughout his life, it was not for sport but to feed the family.  At an early age, I was taught that mankind was created as the "Caretakers" of the FIRST of His creations, those being the Earth and its wildlife and that it was our responsibility to maintain the ecosystems' balance by "harvesting" our nutritional needs from the wildlife created - not merely to brandish our vanity by mounting souvenirs upon our walls. I will be forever grateful to my grandfather for my childhood memories of walks through the woods and along river banks learning to recognize, appreciate and respect wildlife.

The History of Ruhmanns' Alaskan Malamutes

I have admired the arctic breeds with their plumed tails, majestic beauty and grace for many years.  Unfortunately, my grandparents preferred the small breeds as house dogs or the sporting dogs for the yard.  As an adult, I generally acquired my pets from local shelters.  I lost my canine companion of 16 years, a Shepard-Keeshond mix, several years ago.   

A few years ago, while traveling with my husband, I had occasion to meet a commercial breeder in northwest Oklahoma and fell in love with his Alaskan Malamutes.  Shortly thereafter, I decided that I wanted an Alaskan Malamute as a pet.  We thoroughly researched all available data to acquaint ourselves with the characteristics of the Alaskan Malamute and the physical afflictions common to the breed. Once we were satisfied that our lifestyle was well-suited for an Alaskan Malamute, we began our search for the Alaskan Malamute destined to become a member of our family.

We were disheartened to discover that - at that time - there were very few "hobby" breeders in our area of the Alaskan Malamute for sale AS PETS directly to "families".   Commercial breeders sell directly to pet stores or to brokers (who sell to pet stores).  "Show" breeders tend to distinguish between "show quality" or "pet quality" and only those deemed "pet quality" are available as pets, generally with mandatory spay/neuter contracts, etc.  Although the familial ancestry of our puppy was important to us in terms of temperament, more important was whether the dam and sire had been OFFA-certified clear of hip dysplasia to ensure that the Alaskan Malamute puppy we selected to become a member of our family would be less likely to suffer the crippling and painful effects of hip dysplasia.  A "champion bloodline" was of lesser importance to us for the reason that radiological exams for OFFA-certification may not be obtained until a dog is a minimum of 2 years of age.  In most instances, championships are acquired during the first 2 years of a show dog's life and, thus,  a "champion bloodline" is evidence of outward beauty and temperament - not necessarily evidence of structural soundness.  Frankly, Alaskan Malamutes deemed "pet quality" are as likely to be "champions" if properly trained and groomed regularly - but are not given the opportunity to compete because AKC does not permit altered (spayed/neutered) dogs to participate in events (thus, the TRUE reason "show breeders" require mandatory spay/neuter).  My husband and I have neither the funds nor the time for dog shows - we enjoy attending dog shows, but participating in competitions is costly and time-consuming. 

After searching for a couple of months, I traveled again to the commercial breeder I had previously met.  I visited with the adult Mals, particularly, the parents of the litters available to select from.  I was able to spend some time interacting with the adults and evaluate their temperaments and, once I had determined the dam/sire whose personalities (yes, Alaskan Malamutes have personalities) were most compatible to our own, I reviewed the parents' health records and searched the OFFA website to verify the structural soundness of the parents' ancestors (imagine my surprise when I discovered that several of his Alaskan Malamutes had "champions" in their ancestry!).  I, then, selected a silver/white female and brought her home (our first "Nakita"). She quickly won our hearts and rewarded us daily with her "puppy antics". However, we soon realized that she needed a companion of equal energy ... the older dogs we had at that time simply couldn't keep up with her and, indeed, were irritated by her boundless energy! So, we placed ourselves on a call list for an unrelated male and waited. Finally, we got the call, traveled to northern Oklahoma and selected Dakota (black/white) and, again, waited until we could pick him up and bring him home. Unfortunately, about 2 weeks prior to picking up Dakota, our Nakita was stolen!  We traveled a third time to northern Oklahoma and selected our next Nakita.  She and Dakota had been inseparable since they were puppies and produced many beautiful and healthy puppies. Dakota has since self-retired and, sadly, Nakita passed away on May 15, 2009 - just a few weeks short of her 10th birthday.  Dakota will soon be 11 years old and shows no sign of slowing down ... just no longer interested in re-establishing himself as the "alpha" male.  He has become our house dog and is quite content to "reign over his domain".

Since that time, our family of Alaskan Malamutes has grown considerably and we are pleased to enable those who, like us, appreciate and admire the breed to welcome an Alaskan Malamute as a member of their family at a reasonable cost.  To date, we have been fortunate to meet many people who share our love of the breed - most of whom have had Alaskan Malamutes in the past and simply admire this majestic canine!