The Chinooks you will see on the following pages are those that are currently in the Rain Mountain breeding program. They have undergone all health certifications and the ratings of each dog are given in detail. I believe strongly that before I use a Chinooks for breeding, since my goal is to improve the breed, that each dog should be evaluated and critiqued by outside sources. In the world of purebred dogs, that means dog shows. Judges at these shows critically evaluate my Chinooks against the Chinook standard maintained by the United Kennel Club; they are also compared against others of their breed. In some situations, I'm unable to show a dog, possibly because it lives elsewhere, in which case I put it through these same evaluations in a less formal setting by having the dog evaluated by experienced breeders and experts. This latter situation is the exception. For the most part, Chinooks used for breeding by Rain Mountain will have earned their conformations championships.

Criteria for Breeding Stock

What makes a dog of high enough caliber for breeding?  First it must have a great temperament.  That is the cornerstone of the Chinook -- its wonderful, friendly, and biddable temperament.  Second, it must be healthy and come from healthy parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and beyond.  I not only screen my breeding stock for good hips and eyes but they also come from many generations of Chinooks that have likewise been screened for these same health problems.

The third criteria for whether a given Chinook will be used for breeding is its physical conformation.  The dogs you will see in this section all have good conformation.  They have well put together fronts (the shoulders, chest, and front legs) that allow them to have reach and drive when they are pulling.  They have strong, level toplines (the outline of the back) that are well muscled.  A dog with a roached or swayed back doesn't have the structural strength to pull a sled.  They also need to have good rear assemblies -- well muscled thighs, good rear angulation (the angle of the thigh, to the hock, to the ground), and legs that when viewed from the rear are straight rather than going in or out at the hocks.  

Without good physical conformation, a Chinook can't move well so movement is also looked at carefully.  When they are moving, the front legs reach out about as far as the end of the nose; this reach requires strong shoulders.  The rear legs should not overstep the front when you see the dog's side gait.  When looking at the dog coming towards you or going away from you, the dog's paws should be landing nearly in a straight line; imagine looking at their tracks in the snow and you would see the impression of the four paws in an almost straight line.  This is called single tracking.  Even though most of our Chinooks are suburban family pets, we still want them to be able to do the job they were designed to do and that is pull sleds.  A sled dog has to be able to move freely and with a minimum of effort.

Studs

The male Chinooks you will see here are available at stud to approved bitches. If you own a female Chinook and are interested in one of our males, please contact us. Stud service terms will vary depending on the female. Outside stud services are just as important to our breeding program as those litters we raise ourselves.

Brood Bitches

Our females are bred on a limited basis. It's important that they not only pass all health screens but are also mature enough to raise a litter and have the right temperament for motherhood. Most are not bred until they are two and a half to three years old at least. Typically each female will only have two to three litters over her lifetime. Litters are not planned unless we are also certain that other responsibilities in life leave time to raise a litter properly.

DNA Profiling

All our breeding stock has been DNA profiled through the United Kennel Club and have the "DNA-VIP" rating which means their DNA profile has been compared to their parents and verified that they truly are offspring of the sire and dam named on their pedigrees.  The Chinook Owners Association has been at the forefront of using DNA profiling with our dogs.  Originally we used it to verify our foundation stock where we transferred our registry to the United Kennel Club.  Now it is used primarily to identify pups permanently and to verify the sire and dam.  With DNA profiling and parent verification, it is possible to broaden our breeding programs by using multiple studs with a female and having two litters for the price of one, so to speak. DNA parent verification is used to sort out which pups are from which sires; the United Kennel Club uses a special registration process for dual sired litters.  DNA profiling is also great in case of accidental matings.

Meet the Rain Mountain Breeding Team

Since I co own many dogs with my friends, I encourage you to visit the websites of both Frontier Chinooks and Spring Creek Chinooks . On these pages you will see other Northwest Chinooks that are closely related to mine.  You will also see Rain Mountain Chinooks and other Chinooks closely related to mine on many of the webistes of Chinook breeders listed at The View From Rain Mountain -- Articles and Links .

For information on planned litters and what's involved in getting a Rain Mountain up, please see Getting Your Rain Mountain Pup .