Malamute “mom” here. Or should I say, owned by our malamute? 
We have a husky who live up the street. If you put them side by side, you’d see the difference.
As previous posters have said, size is the first factor. Think of a malamute as an 18-wheeler – large, broad, extremely strong. These were dogs who pulled a great amount of freight for long distances. Our Jack weighs around 135 lbs. and comes up to my mid-thigh at his withers. Include his great big fuzzy head, and he comes to my hips. I’m 5’3". He’s considered extra-large, though. Our dearly missed Missy (aka Woo Girl) was about 85 lbs. and slightly shorter.
Mals, as a rule. have either brown or amber eyes. Huskies almost always have piercing blue. Some have one piercing blue eye; the other, brown.
Again, the temperments are different, yet similar. Mals generally love everybody, but their size tends to put off some people. Jack’s love of people goes as far as wanting to jump up in a great big “HI!” However, he doesn’t realize his own strength. Huskies tend to be a bit more wary at first. They also are more high-strung, according to our neighbor husky mom. Both, though, have incredible amounts of energy. If you’re the active outdoorsy type, they’ll stick to you like glue. They both can jump fences if given the chance, some higher than 6’. They love to dig. They’re also both very food-centric, which makes sense, given both their histories.
Shedding? OMG, if I were a knitter, I would probably have a trillion sweaters from both Missy’s and Jack’s fur alone. A previous poster mentioned something about mals shedding year round as opposed to huskies – that I don’t know, but the more a mal spends time indoors, the more constant the shedding (it’s called “blowing”, btw, in breeder terms). Mals and huskies don’t shed in the usual sense. They “blow” their coat via chunks of fur (we cal them “pluckies”) which can be found anywhere and everywhere. I’ve come to the conclusion that mal fur is a fact of life ::shrug::
And the talking! OK, it’s “woo woo” talk, but talk nevertheless. Females are much more talkative than males – heck, I can’t tell you how many “conversations” Missy and I had, whether while watching TV or in the car. Jack only “talks” when he’s either excited or knows we’re nearing the park during a walk. His woo-wooing can split an eardrum :eek:
In short, mals are big. They’re fuzzy. They’re active. They’re also extremely intelligent. And I, who grew up with German shepards and never dreamed of having anything but as an adult, have been completely won over.
::great big fuzzy funny woo grin next to me as I’m typing this::
