What's a Chinook?

The original Chinook himself,
progenitor and namesake of the breed

What They Are and What They Aren't

Sometimes it easiest to tell people what a Chinook is NOT. It's not an Alaskan Malamute, Alaskan Husky, or Siberian Husky. Yes, Chinooks are a Northern breed and are close relations of both Malamutes and Siberians, but there are differences. The Siberian and Alaskan Huskies are the racers of the sled dog breeds, along with the newer Eurohound. The Malamute is a freighting dog. The Chinooks was designed to be "the gentleman's carriage horse" of sled dogs. They may not go as fast as a Siberian or Alaskan, nor pull as heavy a weight as a Malamute, but they are very capable of pulling a heavy load for a long distance at a very good clip.  They are the general purpose and middle ground of sled dogs.

The Chinook differs from these breeds in temperament. In addition to the Northern breeds in their background, herding breeds were also introduced in order to make them a more "biddable" breed. Northern breeds need to be very independent as they work perhaps thirty feet in front of the sled driver. But that independence can also be a challenge when you're not attached to a sled. By introducing genes from herding breeds such as German Shepherds and Belgian Shepherds, the Chinook became more people oriented and more amenable to training. They love to be with their families and are known for not being dog aggressive. They take easily to training when it is handled in a positive fashion.

The Chinook temperament is what makes them so special and growing in popularity as family pets. I often explain them to people as "the Golden Retriever of sled dogs." They love people, love to be with them, and are willing to both spend time playing in the snow or lying on the couch watching television.  Yet you still get the independant spirit of a Northern breed.

Ears and Color Don't Pull the Sled

You'll also notice some physical differences between Chinooks and other Northern breeds. The Chinook doesn't necessarily have erect ears. Rather our ears are all over the place. You'll see Chinooks with up ears, down ears, one up and one down, and everything in between.  And no, it's not possible to predict what the ears of a pup will look like when it's fully grown until it's at least about five months old and has finished teething.  When you are looking for a pup, you can't order up earset like you do the flavor of your milkshake.  Personally I love the fact that Chinook ears are "catty-whompus" because they are all so expressive and each dog looks like an individual.  Thunder has ears that are down but when he's happy or excited, especially if he's around a girl dog he likes, he will throw one mostly up (though still somewhat out to the side like an airplane with only one wing).  Puppy ears especially can change every day.  If your pup's ears go up right away, it will probably have up ears for life but other earsets take a little longer to make a final decision. This is all perfectly acceptable and our breed standard simply says "for aesthetic purposes only, a matched earset is preferred."  Yes, a Chinook with one up and one down can look a little comical.  But as long as they have two of the right size and shape, attached to the head and not a leg, it really doesn't matter.

You may meet a Chinook and think, "That can't be a sled dog, it doesn't have enough hair!" Trust me, Chinooks have enough hair. Like other Northern breeds, they have a thick double coat. But the Chinook's coat lies flatter to it's body than other breeds and, when showing our dogs in conformation, we don't blow out the coat to make it look fluffier. One of the reasons that Chinooks make such great pets is that they are adaptable and that includes not developing the heavy undercoat if they live in a warm climate. A Chinook living in Florida won't have as thick a coat as one that lives in Maine or Montana. Even here in the northern latitudes near Seattle, my Chinooks don't develop a very heavy coat unless we are having an exceptionally cold winter, despite the fact that they spend much of the day outside.  And when we take our dogs to shows, we don't use blow dryers to fluff up the hair.  We tell people we are fans of a natural look but mostly it's because we are too lazy to spend the time foofing with them and they enjoy foofing much anyway.  Remember this is the breed that survived Antarctic winters.  We take pride in having a natural dog.

Chinooks occasionally crop up with longer than average hair.  For those of you who are new to the world of sled dogs, please take note.  Sled dogs can have too much hair.  Excessivly thick hair would means the dog could overheat while running.  It could also, if the wrong texture, allow snow to collect and clump which is especially bad if it happens between the pads of theirfeet.  Long coats in Chinooks can be a variety of lengths.  Depending on the overall quality of the dog, they will still compete in conformation shows and possibly be used for breeding.  Other Northern breeds, such as the Siberian Husky and Alaskan Malamute, have long coats crop up occasionally too.  In the Chinook this long coated gene may be from one of the sled dog ancestor breeds or could also come from the Belgian Shepherd genes since Belgians have long coated varieties as well.  Though possibly not the ideal and I don't know of anyone who breeds for the longer coat, there is nothing wrong with it or the Chinook if correct in every other way.

Chinooks are usually various ranges of gold in color, which we call tawny.  Other colors happen with regularity though too.  If a dog is very pale colored, off white with gold overtones, we call it "buff."  The two colors don't have a definite demarcation between them other than buff colored dogs don't have black guard hairs and tawny ones do.  A buff Chinook can even be darker than a tawny one.  In addition we occasionally get gray and tan or black and tan pups.  The tan markings will be like those of a Doberman or Rottweiler.  If you look through historical photos of Chinooks you'll see many of these dogs in the early days of the breed.  The dam of Chinook himself was a gray and tan husky.  Of course I am completely prejudiced because of having lived with a gorgeous gray and tan Chinook for thirteen years now.

Other Chinook Info and Quirks:

• Chinooks bounce.  Though none of mine have been fence jumpers, they bounce when they are happy.  Even my 13 year old Chinook bounces like a puppy when she sees me getting her dinner ready.

A BrownStone pup

Pippa Passes Clark

Hurricane Cheechako (Chako) always bounced when he was in harness

• Chinooks have long tongues.  It seems that every time I'm ready to take a classy, dignified photo of one of my Chinooks, their tongue hangs out clear to the ground as soon as I snap the shutter.  The long tongue serves a purpose -- when they are running the tongue allows the dog to cool itself since dogs don't perspire like people.  the give off heat through their pads, tongues, and some of the areas with little hair, such as on the belly.
  
  

  What could have been a dignified photo, Ch. PR Mystic Sahalee Rain (Photo by Linda Leeman)	Another great tongue, Holly's son, PR Rain Mountain Cowichen Gromit

  .
• Some Chinooks appear to have no neck bones.  Seeing this induces pain in me because I have had most of the vertebrae in my neck fused and can't even see what's on the top shelf in the kitchen.



Mahng Odei Outlaw Camas demonstrates
his lack of neck bones to Tom Christiansen

• Chinooks lick.  They love people and feel the urge to wash their faces.  They also will frequently clack their teeth.  They do this to add emphasis to whatever it is they are saying.  "I want my dinner NOW!" is something said quite often in my house.
• Though they are not aggressive, Chinooks will put their hackles up for what seem like silly reasons.  When wrestling with their friends, Chinooks may put their hackles up in an effort to look bigger.  Or when walking into a new room or building for the first time.
  

Breed Clubs

The Chinook is registered with the United Kennel Club .  The Chinook Owners Association is the parent club of the UKC Chinook.  I've been a member of the Chinook Owners Association since it was organized in the late 1980s.  I was on the Board of Directors for many years and am still a strong supporter.  I strongly encourage everyone who is interested in the Chinook to join the COA as it is the best way to meet others, get information, and stay abreast of what is happening in health advances affecting our breed.

The International Federation of Chinook Breeders and Exhibitors/American Chinook Club was established to develop venues for working and exhibiting Chinooks in venues other than the United Kennel Club.  Membership in the "Federation" as it's usually called is also valuable for people who are not showing and breeding.  The Federation provides a forum for Chinook breeders to work together to produce better Chinook dogs. I serve now as the secretary on the IFCBE Board of Directors.

Beginning January 1, 2004 the Chinook became eligible to compete in what AKC calls "companion events" -- tracking competitions, obedience trials, and agility. As for full AKC recognition, it's like sausage and politics -- not always a pretty sight.  For the latest news, please click here.