Denali joined us as our 3rd Malamute in 2011 and is our clown of the pack! He's so funny I physically laugh at his antics.  The cleverest dog I have ever owned.  Taken to obedience as a tiny puppy, I thought I would give it a go, as it's something I've never done in a group before and straight away gets through puppy level to Bronze to Silver.  Unfortunately the club folded not much after so we couldn't proceed to Gold as much as I'd hoped to achieve.  He's a strange dog, very hard working, sledding all day on 30 milers and so very calm & chilled at home too.  His eyes tell you everything you need to know, he looks at the dog that's shredded the dog toy or dug another hole, so he is a great grass to the clan much to their disapproval.
He only walks to heel and many a times slightly behind, happy to be second in command.  Lead dog training gave him lots of confidence and this year he lead two Greenland dogs he had never met before, on two different excursions.  He's more cautious then our other two, and takes a little time to assess a situation, thinking first and then moves forward.  He's nosy and if were camping he's the first to bark if anyone's around, so much so I swear he's more German Shepherd than a Malamute.    This trait makes me feel very secure in our remote adventure trips!  I hope to do some long distance backpacking with him as his obedience combined with alertness will make a solo expedition very safe.
He loves being brushed from nose to tail and not fussy with food. Regularly he will leave his meaty bone, biscuit or meal for Alpine to hoover up.  A cuddle with mum is his favourite thing.  He was lightly shown as a youngster but was snapped at by other dogs knocking his confidence so I decided not to keep subjecting him to events where he started to become nervous and chose the obedience route instead. which he clearly preferred! Working and listening is his thing, and mixing him with unfamilar sled dogs has really made him more relaxed and content, so I may bring him back to a show again and see how he feels. For now I enjoy planning more backpacking and completing his final Lead dog  leg title from America.  in 2018 he has decided that he's not too keen on working as much as previous years and is looking to be retired from sledding next season should he still feel its no longer for him.  A day trek sledding of 10 miles with pack up seems to be his favourite distance level.  We never push a dog, they work by choice and go as far as they feel on the day regardless of our own preferred mileage.  He decided in his later years that he did want to work again, so training commenced in Sept 2022 building up mileage to see if I could get him in shape for 2023.  He nailed it.  Was as fit as a butchers dog!  No vet has every believed his age.  He was the main leader in March 2023 on our Swedish adventures, completing 160 miles in harness in a month.  He is number 12 in the World for his Working Lead Dog Advanced. WHAT A BOY.... the body of a teenager we all say.  July 2023 Denali started with an random cough and occassional clear regurgitation and foam.  He then started declining in internal health with random vomiting, which lead us to exploration with two veterinary surgeries, we lost him 16th February 2024. 

Show career:

Scunthorpe Trent Toy    06/12/11  Match night     Puppy Walk 17 weeks old 1st/8
Scunthorpe Trent Toy    01/03/12  Match night   Puppy 1st/8  Won Best Puppy in Match
Scunthorpe Trent Toy    01/03/12 Match night    Open    1st (against adults) Won Dog of the year qualifier

Working career:

05/01/12  Puppy obedience passed
27/05/12  Bronze obedience passed
11/11/12  Pulls 1000 lb in Novice weight pull
25/11/12 Pulls 1000 lb again in Novice weight pull
31/07/13  Working team dog - WTD
01/05/14  Silver obedience passed
08/06/14  Working pack dog - WPD
16/02/16  Working pack dog AMWA AWPD'B
25/08/16  Working team dog advanced -WTDA