Puppies have to be carried, but I've never had any trouble getting adult dogs up and down elevators even when they are by themselves. Not sure how they reach the correct buttons, but they manage.
"Go home Sparky, we'll catch up with you later."
"Woof!" :p
Just a Go Home command might not do it though, "Home" on a highrise building could be some spot outside or in the lobby. Go Here to a spot in the apartment might be required, or direct the dog to do something else upstairs. Or maybe the lot needed to be reset or some pet jigs (invisible objects) showed up blocking the elevator and needed to be flushed out using MasterController or the Edit Town bulldoze, replace with a copy method.
Edit: Malamutes are awesome, by the way! :)