The Alaskan malamute originated from the Arctic region. For many years, this breed of dog had relied on the common foods of the region, such as whale meat, salmon, seal meat, and halibut. Even in the resourceful world of today, such foods are hard to come by, and they are definitely not available in commercially prepared dog food.

Today, the recommended diet for the Alaskan malamute is a combination of rice, lamb, poultry, and fish. These four food sources provide high mineral content as well as the natural oils which are essential for a healthy Alaskan malamute. It's the ideal base diet for the malamutes. The worst blends of food for the breed are soy-based food products, such as yellow corn, beet pulp, beef, and beef by-products.

When looking for pet foods for your Alaskan malamute, the following vitamins and minerals work best for this breed:

Vitamin A Beta Carotene

Vitamin B-1 Thiamine Mononitrate & Yeast

Vitamin B-2 Riboflavin & Yeast

Vitamin B-6 Pyridoxine Hcl & Yeast

Vitamin B-12 Cyanocobalamin & Yeast

Vitamin D D-activated Sterol

Vitamin E dl-alpha tocopherol acetate

Biotin

d-Calcium Pantothenate

Folic Acid

Niacinamide

Para Amino Benzoic Acid

Calcium Oyster Shell & Di-Cal Phos

Copper Gluconate

Iodine Sea Kelp

Iron Ferrous Fumerate

Magnesium Magnesium-Gluconate

Manganese Manganese-Gluconate

Phosphorus Oyster Shell & Di-Cal Phos

Potassium Potassium-Gluconate, and

Zinc Zinc-Gluconate.

It is important to note that your Alaskan malamute should not be given Vitamin C supplements such as calcium ascorbate, ascorbal palmitate, ascorbic acid, and sodium ascorbate. Vitamin C supplements can damage its liver and kidney.

An Alaskan malamute only needs a small amount of food to travel long distances or work long hours. This is especially true in Arctic conditions. The high metabolism rate of an Alaskan malamute converts food to energy very efficiently. It usually needs less food compared to other breeds of similar size or weight. As such, it is very easy to over feed an Alaskan malamute. If your Alaskan malamute is rather inactive or already old, you should not use an active dog diet because it will only make your dog fatter and more sluggish.

Another factor to consider is that an Alaskan malamute can be overfed due to its high motivation for food. It will even steal food if the opportunity arises! An Alaskan malamute will not stop feeding until it is bloated, and this will lead to serious health problems. It cannot be free-fed, and you should be not be fooled into giving it more food because it is very good at "begging" for food. Some Alaskan malamutes have even developed techniques on how to beg for food. Of course, you cannot underfeed it either. It's important that you know the right amount of food to feed your Alaskan malamute every day.