Definitely I always thought this like he didn’t even give Balto a chance I think that if he would’ve been a bit nicer to Balto then he would’ve actually gotten to like him and befriend him
In fact, I never understood why other dogs messed with Balto just because he was a wolf dog, Balto must have been not only bigger and stronger but also more beautiful than Steele, and for a malamute he looks more like a normal husky.
Fun fact, Balto was animated smaller than steele to give him a more humble appearance as the movies protagonist. Because ordinarily wolf-dog half- breeds are actually much larger than malamute's. I had a pedigree red wolf growing up and even when I was a teenager at 6' she was still huge on her hind legs.... but I loved her very much.
