Malamute or Papillon: The Toy Breed That Out-Trains a Sled Dog

The Papillon's 5/5 trainability is not a courtesy score awarded to a pretty toy breed. It is one of the most consistently high performers in small-dog obedience and agility, and its temperament keywords — alert, friendly, quick-witted, confident — describe a working mind in a very small body.

What that means practically is that a Papillon will learn faster than most large breeds and will keep offering behaviour long after a heavier dog has disengaged. It picks up sequences, discriminates between cues, and enjoys the process rather than tolerating it. Anyone who wants to do formal training, trick work, scent games, rally or agility can do all of it with a dog they can carry under one arm. It also means an untrained Papillon fills the vacuum itself, usually with barking and self-appointed door duty.

The Malamute's 3/5 sits at the other end for reasons of selection rather than intelligence. A freighting breed that had to make its own judgements on ice was rewarded for not consulting a handler. A Malamute understands what you have asked, evaluates it, and complies if the answer is favourable. Recall is the clearest expression of that gap: most Malamute owners never fully trust it, while a well-trained Papillon can be genuinely reliable — though its size means a bird of prey or a large loose dog remains a real risk regardless.

The two dogs also learn under different conditions. The Papillon wants short, fast, varied sessions and gets bored by repetition. The Malamute wants short sessions too, but for the opposite reason — it will simply stop cooperating once it decides the exercise is not worth the payment.

This is the most counterintuitive line in the table. The Papillon has a long, silky coat with the famous fringed ears and a plumed tail, and yet it rates 2/5 for grooming — half the Malamute's rating and lower than several short-coated breeds.

The reason is that the Papillon is single-coated. There is no soft dense undercoat beneath the long outer hair, and undercoat is what mats. Without it, the coat lies flat, tangles rarely, and needs a comb through two or three times a week concentrating on the ear fringes, the trousers and the tail plume. There is no clipping schedule, no professional appointment required, and no seasonal blow. Shedding sits at 2/5 — noticeable but light.

Compare that with the Malamute's plush double coat: 4/5 grooming, 5/5 shedding, an undercoat rake taken to the skin two or three times a week, two annual blows during which the wool comes out in sheets, and matting risk behind the ears and in the trousers if the routine slips. And a firm rule against clipping, since the coat insulates in both directions.

The single-coat structure has one consequence in the other direction. A Papillon has almost no insulation, so it feels cold quickly and genuinely needs a coat in winter weather. It also has thin skin and fine bones, so rough terrain and rough play carry more risk than they would for a sturdier small breed.

The practical upshot: if hair volume in the house is a deciding factor, this is not a close contest. A Papillon is one of the lowest-effort long-coated dogs available, and the Malamute is at the top of the shedding scale.

The Papillon's list is brief — patellar luxation, progressive retinal atrophy, dental disease, open fontanel and collapsing trachea — and it is one reason the breed reaches 14 to 16 years so reliably.

Open fontanel is the entry most people have never encountered. It is a soft spot on the top of the skull where the bones have not fully fused, a normal feature in newborn puppies that occasionally persists in toy breeds. A small persistent gap is often harmless and simply means the dog needs protecting from knocks to the head. A large one can be associated with more serious conditions, so it is worth a specific conversation with a vet if a breeder mentions it.

Collapsing trachea is the second, and it has a direct practical consequence: walk a Papillon on a harness, never a collar. The windpipe is supported by cartilage rings that can weaken and flatten, producing a distinctive dry honking cough that is worse with excitement, pressure on the throat or hot weather. Collar pressure on a five pound dog is a meaningful contributor, and switching to a harness is free insurance.

Dental disease is the toy-breed constant — forty-two teeth in a tiny jaw, crowding, plaque, early loss — and daily brushing plus periodic professional scaling under anaesthetic is what carries a Papillon comfortably into its teens. Patellar luxation is the common orthopaedic complaint and ranges from an occasional skipped step to a surgical case. Progressive retinal atrophy has DNA testing available.

The Malamute's list is longer and heavier: hip and elbow dysplasia, bloat, hypothyroidism, epilepsy, progressive retinal atrophy, hereditary cataracts, zinc-responsive dermatosis and inherited polyneuropathy. Ask its breeder for hip and elbow scores; ask a Papillon breeder about patellar evaluation and eye certification.

Both breeds rate 4/5 for energy, which surprises people who expect a toy dog to be a cushion ornament. The Papillon is busy, curious and physically capable well beyond its size — it will hike, it will run an agility course, it will keep going on a long walk when heavier dogs are flagging.

The difference is the exercise requirement: 3/5 against 5/5. A Papillon needs perhaps forty-five minutes of activity a day, and crucially a good share of that can be mental. Training sessions, scent games and trick work count as real exercise for a dog this clever, which means a bad-weather day is not a lost day and a small flat is not a limitation. Its 5/5 apartment rating is entirely earned.

The Malamute needs two hours minimum with physical resistance in it — a loaded pack, a pulling harness, a rig, steep ground, snow. Nothing indoors registers. Nothing mental substitutes. In a warm climate the Arctic coat pushes the routine to first and last light for months of the year.

Both rate 2/5 for tolerating time alone, and neither belongs in an empty house all day. The Papillon's version tends toward vocalising and anxiety; the Malamute's toward digging and escape. Its 4/5 barking rating is the Papillon's main household liability, and it is trainable at 5/5 — a reliable quiet cue and blocked window access make a real difference — but it starts from a naturally alert, announcing temperament.

On children the Malamute leads 5/5 to 3/5, and the reason is fragility. A Papillon has fine bones and can be badly hurt by a fall or a toddler's grip. It suits older children who understand how to handle a small dog.

The Papillon is one of the cheapest breeds to run on this site: $80–150 a month against the Malamute's $150–300, and $1,100–2,300 in the first year against $2,000–4,000. Cost level 2/5 against 4/5.

Every component favours it. Food is trivial. Grooming is a comb and no appointments, unlike almost every other long-coated toy breed. Weight-based veterinary pricing — prevention, anaesthesia, medication — is at the bottom of the scale. There is no professional de-shedding, no giant crate, no ramp, no reinforced fencing.

The two real costs are dental care and time. Dentals under general anaesthetic every one to three years across a 14 to 16 year life add up, and they are the intervention that most affects whether a small dog ages comfortably. Insurance premiums also climb steeply in the last third of a long life, which is the flip side of the breed's excellent lifespan.

Against that, the Malamute's costs are large and structural: food volume, weight-scaled veterinary charges, secure fencing, and equipment sturdy enough for a dog that pulls. Its grooming is free labour but consumes real hours.

The lifespan comparison deserves a final word. Fourteen to sixteen years against ten to fourteen is a two to four year difference, and for a dog bought in your thirties that is a genuinely different commitment. A Papillon is a long relationship in a small, cheap, portable, highly trainable package. If the shortlist genuinely contains both breeds, the honest question is whether you want a dog to work with or a dog to walk with — because on almost every other axis the small one wins.