new friend for our Huskey

Question
We have a Malamute/Siberian mix who is 3 years old named Drea.  We had a Sheltie for 12 years who was Drea's best friend.  We recently had to put the Sheltie to sleep and now Drea is alone during the day and I feel he needs a new friend.  Is there a Breed who will be more compatible for him or will he just do better with a big dog vs. a small dog.  He is very calm but is territorial towards males- human or otherwise(he was hit with a stick as a puppy by a young boy and has avoided ALL men but my Husband since then.)  Please give me any advice you can.  Thanks

Answer
I would definitely suggest a female as the opposite sex pairing is always great.  Puppies are good because they often come to you with no "baggage" and can integrate easier into the home.  Additionally, most dogs give puppies a little more room in their behavior and are more forgiving.  This allows more time for adjusting to a new dog in the house and can help alleviate issues.  As for breed, I always suggest similar sizes and energy levels, but beyond that, you want dogs that like dogs.  Siberians and Malamutes are pack animals, so it's never a problem to stay with them if you can handle the fur.  A lot of retrievers are good with other dogs, shepherding breeds are intermittent on their tolerance of other dogs, so be careful and do some research there.  As for smaller dogs, I would stay away from anything that is less than half the size of your dog full grown.  It's not that this can't work, but you do run an increased risk of accidental injuries during play time if a 60 or 70 lbs. dog wrestles a 15 or 20 lbs. dog.  So, find a breed that full grown should be with 50% of your own dog's weight, realizing that females are usually on the low end of the weight scale for any breed.

I hope that helps some, but do some research and feel free to write back if you think you've found something and would like another opinion.