Big Changes Coming on Rain Mountain First, the biggest piece of news.  After twenty years here, Rain Mountain is moving north.  The house in Kirkland has been sold and I'm camping out in an apartment short term while the new property is readied.  The new place is about 40 miles north near the town of Stanwood.  The property is five acres heavily wooded with old cedars interspersed with game trails that will be grreat for hiking with the dogs. So while I'm living in an apartment this spring, I'll be back and forth to the new place as we get the junk from the previous neighbor cleared away, fencing put up, and a new mobile home built.  You can check out the progress here.  So far the dogs love it.  They already start whining and bouncing as soon as I get off the freeway. Puppy News A litter is planned for this summer though for now, I need to get myself and the dogs through a move.  In the meantime, I am looking for homes that are interested in show/breeding quality female pups.  I have a couple very nice pups coming to me this spring and summer from litters I co own.  Ideally there are folks here in the Northwest who are looking for a female Chinook pup.  If you are, please email me at ginger@rainmountain.net. We are also looking for a forever home for Mountain View Molly.  Molly is a gorgeous girl from the 2007 Labor Day weekend litter that I co bred with karen Hoffmeister and Ralph Puckett of New Hampshire.  Molly is such a gorgeous girl that any new home should be one that is ldefinitely interested in raising a litter if Molly passes all her health clearances.  Her bloodlines are valuable to our gene pool since they are not well represented yet she has the exquisite structure and strong drive to pull that we want to foster in our breed.  Right now Molly is in foster care at the old Perry Greene Kennel in Maine with Rick Skoglund and Martha Kalina.  She's doing wonderful and enjoys visiting schools and nursing homes with Rick.  Molly is the type of dog that will fit into just about any type of family situation.  For more information, contact ginger@rainmountain.net. Six month old "Mollyrocket" visits with the kids at the Southport Island, Maine Elementary School to add some life to their discussion of the polar regions, Admiral Byrd, and his expeditions.  Though still a pup, Molly is already visiting nursing homes as well and excels at cuddling.

Welcome to Rain Mountain

Welcome to Rain Mountain. Located in Washington State just outside of Seattle, my history with the Chinook dog goes back to 1987 and '88. I hope you will enjoy visiting this website and learn a bit about Chinooks in the process. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to give a shout.

In 1987 I went in search of the perfect dog. It had to be friendly, trainable, weather tolerant, and not require excessive grooming. It had to be large enough that I felt protected yet not too large to be a house dog and for me to easily handle. I wanted to try the drafting sports so a Northern breed interested me. Friends with Siberian Huskies had trouble with their dogs roaming; friends with Alaskan Malamutes had dog aggression problems; and Samoyeds had too much hair. I wanted a gentle dog that would fit in with the other dogs already in my household, which at that time included a Sheltie-Lab mix and an oversized Papillion.

My search led me from the Seattle area to Waldoboro, Maine where I purchased Northdown Skykomish, a five-month-old female Chinook pup. Soon after that, Joyce Maley asked me to take in Hurricane Cheechako. The floodgates were opened and since that time, I have been hooked on Chinooks. Nearly a hundred pups from five generations carry the Rain Mountain, Rain Dancer, Rain Runner, or Enatai name and are happy family pets. I've also shared my home with many adult Chinooks, each one leading me to understand and love the breed more.

My Chinooks and I live in Kirkland, a suburb of Seattle. There is no huge kennel facility. The Chinooks are my house mates and all pups are raised in the house too. I've been involved with dogs since I was a child, living with a Beagle, many Dachshunds and German Shepherds, and some wonderful mixed breeds. My day job in the high tech industry helps pay for dog food, show entries, and the inevitable vet bills. I'm very involved with the United Kennel Club, Chinook Owners Association, International Federation of Chinook Breeders & Exhibitors/American Chinook Club, and Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue. For many years I was on the Board of Directors of the Chinook Owners Association and edited the award winning Chinook Quarterly. I wrote a monthly column on responsible dog breeding for a Northwest canine events newspaper, the Eventer (you'll find some of my columns from both these publications in Articles and Interesting Information). I spend a great deal of time studying canine genetics and work continually on training and behavior modification techniques for dogs.

Who is Rain Mountain

Rain Mountain consists of a number of people. Primarily is Ginger Corley -- me, the "voice" that has authored the majority of this website.  Since moving to the Northwest in the summer of 2003, Carie Taylor has been a huge part of all Rain Mountain activities and I'd be lost without her help.  Carie spent a year living here and still helps out tremendously almost every day.  JoAnn Filce and her daughter Anna are "Rain Mountain East" now that they have relocated to Sandpoint, Idaho.  JoAnn and Anna provide enthusiasm, help raising pups, moral support and help in every way.  The Rain Mountain human family also includes my on-and-off roommate of many years, Chad Peterson; even though he lives in the opposite corner of the state, he still makes trips back on a regular basis to keep the house standing.  Chad and another former roommate and dog trainer, Kurt Dally. kept things rolling during the years that I was laid up from a spinal cord injury. Former college roommate, neighbor, and best friend Shannon Brimm helps with whelping litters and her daughter Sarah is in charge of playing with puppies. And I'd be lost without my vet of over twenty years, Dr. Dan Frey (Woodinville Animal Hospital); I've even named pups after Dan and his partner Alan Marsh DVM. Jessica Willcock DVM (Evergreen Veterinary Hospital and Talent Dobermans) helps out with fertility issues and acts as my back-up vet.  Behaviorist and breeder of Irish Water Spaniels (and a few other breeds as well) Colleen McDaniel, owner of the Academy of Canine Behavior has been a huge help over the years with training issues and conformation evaluations.

I've also done joint breeding projects with a number of other Chinook kennels, which makes the family even bigger. Carie, JoAnn, and I co own dogs together and Carie has her own "Moonsong" bloodline. Susan Fletcher (Frontier Chinooks) and I have our joint "Rain Dancer" line of Chinooks. If they are born here the kennel name is "Mountain Rain Dancer" (like U-WP Grand Ch. PR Mountain Rain Dancer Quinault FDX CGC) and if they are born at Susan's they are "Frontier Rain Dancer" (like Ch. PR Frontier Rain Dancer Klickitat HCT). With Bob and Connie Jones of WoodsRunner Chinooks, we have the "Rain Runner" line (such as PR Rain Runner Johnny Rebel). Joyce Maley of Hurricane Chinooks and I have collaborated on many "Hurricane-Rain" Chinooks (such as Ch. PR Hurricane Cheyenne Rain) and Kathleen Daniels of Outlaw Chinooks and I have collaborated on our "Irish Outlaws". I also have many Chinooks on co ownerships with folks such as Marne and Corine Lindhorst of High Plains Chinooks and Mary and Andy Malkiel (Laughing Mountain), John and Leslie Donais (Granite Hill), Ann Eakin and Syd Craig (Balsam Ridge) and more. Many of us joke that we are related through our dogs. Can you imagine the family reunion?

Finding Your Way on Rain Mountain

I've tried to organize information into the following sections. You may also want to follow the links to go through the website in a sequential fashion.

• What's a Chinook? will tell you more about what a Chinook is and what it isn't.
• Meet the Pack introduces you to members of the family both now and in years past.
• In the News will bring you up to date on what's new on the home front.
• Achievements is where we crow about some the accomplishments of our dogs that we are most proud of.
• Our Breeding Program will tell you more than you probably ever wanted to know about how we make the breeding decisions we do and what we feel is important in rebuilding this great breed of American dog.  
• Getting Your Rain Mountain Pup will talk you through the process of finding the perfect Chinook pup.
• Health of the Chinook provides information on genetic concerns of the Chinook as a breed and links to further health information.
• Work & Play – Events & Activities tells you about some of our activities and includes action photos.
• Friends & Family is a photo gallery of Chinooks and their families.
• Articles & Interesting Information is a list of links to more information about Chinooks, Chinook breeders, and all things dog.  When the revision to this website is complete, a site map will be located here as well.
• Contact Information – How to reach us.

Caution, this website is under constant revision and rarely has it ever been finished or every link functional.  If I didn't have the responsibility of a job, a house (also known as the 40 year old money pit), multiple dogs, and a family that needed my attention, the website would be perfect and always current.  If there is any information mentioned that you can't seem to find, give a shout and I can probably find it for you. I am also guilty of being spoiled by a broadband connection so if you are using dial-up, you may find many of the photos very slow to load.

Other Residents of Rain Mountain

Since Rain Mountain relies on a network of friends, we also maintain websites for a few other Northwest Chinook breeders:

• Frontier Chinooks – Susan Fletcher and Marian Brennan of Washougal, Washington
• Springcreek Chinooks – Pam Chambers of Seattle, Washington
• Moonsong Chinooks – Carie Taylor of Kirkland, Washington
• Seven Lakes Chinooks – Susan Shemeta and Ron Schoener of Stanwood, Washington
• Laughing Mountain Chinooks -- Mary Berg Malkiel of Boulder, Colorado
• Wild River Chinooks -- Susan Cunningham of Topsfield, Massachusetts