My sister has owned a Malamute (the breed involved in this latest tragic incident) for the last 3 years or so.
We've always been a family of dog owners and pride ourselves on the temperament of the dogs we've had.
However, when my sister started expressing an interest in purchasing a Malamute the local breeders (to there great credit) were completely honest about the type of dog that they are. In order to ensure that the dog became a great family pet the whole family had to show it that it was at the bottom of the pecking order. This had to be done over a period of time through various methods but it was absolutely vital that it had to know its place right from the start. It's now a fantastic family pet.
A Malamutes pack mentality is deeply ingrained. The distance from it's wild/semi domesticated past is very much shorter than your average Retriever or Labrador and this needs to be taken into account before you commit to accepting one into your family.
Regardless of how well integrated the Malamute in the news story was previously, to introduce another pack member, in this instance in the form of a baby, would have had a significant affect on the dog.
I can't begin to imagine how the parents are feeling at the moment and my heart goes out to them but you can see how this dreadful incident could have come about.
Yes. The Malamute is a leader, not a follower. They are not a breed suitable for weak, novice owners who think that they can be treated as another human.
And the same goes for many other breeds too; Any type of Husky, Rottweiler, Akita, Pit Bull - all of these breeds are potentially very dangerous because they have all been bred for a specific purpose that involves standing their ground and being aggressive.
Gundogs are generally the LEAST likely to be dominant, but the male Weimerana can be extremely difficult.
Most people probably think that Border Collies are the ideal family dog, but these are the people who have never actually seen one at work - how many people actually know what's in the dog's mind when it herds sheep? How many people realise just how tough and courageous the Border Collie needs to be when controlling tups, cattle and especially pigs? And what the hell do people think that Jack Russell's were bred for?
At the end of the day, my personal view is that until people wake up to the fact that every dog has been bred for a purpose, and stop getting a dog just because it looks pretty or costs a lot of money, aggressive, dominant dogs will continue to cause these problems. And I also feel strongly that the basic cause of these problems is largely down to the breeders, and standing behind them, The Kennel Club, because most of them are far more concerned with appearance than with character, personality and good health. Many years ago, when I trained problem dogs, I was called out to a Rottweiler that was aggressive. As soon as I walked through the door the problem was obvious - it was in so much pain, due to poor breeding, that it couldn't allow itself to be touched.
