My 21month old alaskan malamute has recently had a skin problem under his left ear, and has been taking prescribed medication, but his personality has changed, he has gone very grumpy, does not want to come inside and and keeps having a go at my 17 week old puppy. Usually, they get on very well and play together, tonight, he saw another dog that he has been brought up with and he started fighting and we had to split them up. Could it be the medication that's causing this?

What is the medication - ask the vet - some meds do have possible aggression as a side effect, equally if he is under the weather then maybe he is feeling grumoy for that reason.

Just a thought...  Is the skin problem wet ezcema (hot spot)??  Wonder if the 17 week old has contributed to this by licking/tugging at his neck? (as puppies do)  This might explain his reluctance to allow this to continue.

The agression towards the other dog you mentioned - if it is the same sex - is somewhat expected in a Mal and indeed is written into the Interim Breed Standard (1978) which, as far as I am aware, remains in use until 2006 when the breed gains champion status.

Your baby is growing up methinks!

Good luck :-)

It is also possible that he is displaying well known male Malamute traits which include not getting on with other males. Please feel free to contact me if you want to chat :) My email is [email Melodysk@Icebaymals.co.uk]HERE[/email]

I agree that the fact your boy is picking on a puppy may be because he is under the weather and the pup is aggravating him around the sore area. Even a male Mal tends to accept puppies.

As far as his "friend" goes, it sounds like the honeymoon's over. I have two Mals who loved each other and were the best of friends until earlier this year - and now they are apart permanently :( The youngest was about the same age as yours, and he just decided it was time to test who was Boss!

I assume by your comment about being grumpy and not wanting to come in, that he has started to question your right to tell him what to do! Some Mals do, some don't, but you need to remain firm and consistent at all times. You could find that castration will calm him if he's a dominant male, but if you aren't sure, take him along for a Tardac injection (a sort of chemical castration) and this will give some indication whether castrating him would ease your problems.