Rain Mountain Chinooks

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 or Siberian Husky. Yes, Chinooks are a northern breed and are close relations of both Malamutes and Siberians, but there are some differences. The Siberian is the racer of the sled dog breeds, along with the Alaskan Husky. 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 the Malamute, but they are very capable of pulling a heavy load for a long distance at a very good clip.

The Chinook also 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. 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.

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 will see Chinooks with up ears, down ears, one up and one down, and everything in between. And no, it is 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 a milkshake. Personally I love the fact that Chinook ears are all over the place because they are all so expressive. Thunder has ears that are basically 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 can take a little longer to make a final decision. All our breed standard says is "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 and they are the right size and shape and come attached to the head and not a leg, it really doesn't matter.

You may also see a Chinook in your neighborhood 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 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 a heavy undercoat if the Chinook lives in a warmer climate. A Chinook that lives in Florida will never have as thick a coat as a Chinook 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, nor do they enjoy it much. Remember this is the breed that survived Antarctic winters.

Chinooks are for the most part various ranges of gold in color, which we call tawny. Other colors do happen with regularity. 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 Chinooks that are gray and tan or black and tan. The tan markings will be like those of a Doberman or Rottweiler. If you look through historical photos of Chinooks you will see many of these dogs in the early days of the breed and 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 eleven years now.

Daily Life

If you have any other questions about what it's like to live with a Chinook, don't hesitate to ask. Remember that as wonderful as they are, they are still dogs after all.

Exercise: Be prepared for a dog that puppy like enthusiasm and energy well into their twilight years. They are not hyper and don't require excessive amounts of exercise, but they are active throughout their whole lives. As far as exercise, Chinooks are willing to pull a sled all day OR hang out and watch television. But the more exercise you give your Chinook (or any dog for that matter), the better behaved they are. A tired dog just doesn't get into trouble. I also believe in giving them mental exercise as well as physical. Thunder thinks a Buster Cube is the best indoor exercise while Holly likes to think of new and interesting places to hide bones or raid the garbage can. Dog class, walks in our neighborhood, rides in the car, and frequent runs on my friends' farm help keep my gang in shape and mellow.

Grooming: The biggest grooming requirement with Chinooks is keeping their nails trimmed. They have thick, strong nails that need to be trimmed frequently. Otherwise their coat is very good at repelling dirt and odors. (Though mine love to roll in anything stinky they find on walks!) I bathe them about every two to three months (unless they have rolled in stinky things in which case a bath is immediate) and brush them daily when they are "blowing coat."

As far as "blowing coat," Chinooks don't shed a lot on a daily basis but do shed all their coat at once once or twice a year. That is when you'll realize just how much hair they really do have as your dust bunnies will be the size of a cat. While blowing coat, I brush them daily. The rest of the year their shedding is minimal. The biggest shedders are females who have not been spayed. This would be followed by intact males. Neutered males shed the least. If you are wearing a black wool suit and trying to get out of your house to an important meeting, you will have golden hairs on you when you least desire it though they shed less than many other breeds in general.

Digging: Since they are a northern breed, they do have the instinct to dig a bed in the dirt. They are not prone to as much digging as terrier breeds but be prepared. My Chinooks and I have a truce -- I let them dig a two-dog-underground condominium in their pen and they don't dig in my flower beds. Digging is something a Chinook will do when it's bored. I have never had trouble with my Chinook jumping over my fence but I have had a few who would dig a hole to China that would lead them out of the yard en route.

Barking: Chinooks are not huge barkers. If mine bark when out in the yard, other than to insist I let them back in with me right away, they usually have a reason, such as aliens invading the park behind us or Communists taking over the vegetable garden. But they do talk. You will rarely be in doubt as to what your Chinook is saying to you as they make their point very clear. You will be amazed at the depth of conversation you can have with a Chinook Instead of barking they will roo and woo and mutter with the occasional small woof thrown in. They are not full time sing-at-the-moon huskies but will burst into song with any invitation. Mine will set off a sing at various points throughout the day though probably more often in the house in a "Hail, hail, the gang's all here" song after breakfast or just before bed.

Because they are talkers, it takes a bit of time to get pups used to when they can talk and when they can't. With a young pup, there will be some verbal complaining when they first learn about their dog crates or going to bed at night. By far the most successful means I've had of getting through this is to let them cry it out if need be. Ignoring bad behavior and rewarding the good is one of the better training methods with Chinooks especially where whining is concerned.

Other Chinook Info and Quirks:

Chinooks bounce. Though none of mine have been fence jumpers, they bounce when they are happy. Even my 12 year old Chinook bounces like a puppy when she sees me getting her dinner ready.

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. There may be other organizations that say they are a Chinook registry but not if you read the fine print. 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 also am a member of two of the COA's committees, the Working Dog committee which is setting up a program for Chinooks to ear titles for their unique capabilities, and the Rescue Committee which helps place Chinooks in need of homes. 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 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. Education is a major tool of the Federation. Chinook fans who are not breeders are encouraged to join as Supporters. The Federation will become more important as the Chinook works it's way through the American Kennel Club's Foundation Stock Service to eventual AKC recognition. I serve now as the secretary on the IFCBE Board of Directors.

The Chinook's role in the AKC is a very limited one at this time. The Foundation Stock Service is a listing service for breeds that hope to someday gain AKC recognition. This is not a registry for Chinooks. It is a registry for the breeds it officially recognizes in its seven groups, such as Labs, German Shepherd, poodles or the other 150+ breeds. As a listing service it provides rare breeds without a registry the first steps of organization of their records. For breeds not recognized by the UKC, the AKC FSS is a valuable service. I do believe and want to see the Chinook officially recognized by the AKC someday. For now though, the UKC provides excellent service to us as a registering body and does register the vast majority of purebred Chinooks. So if you are told that your Chinook is "AKC registered" please check again as to how they define this.

As of January 1, 2004 the Chinook is eligible to compete in what AKC calls "companion events" -- tracking competitions, obedience trials, and agility. This is a great first step. There is still no AKC standard for the breed nor has an AKC parent club been selected. We have many years of work towards the goal of being officially recognized by AKC. I am actively working with other members of the International Federation of Chinook Breeders and Exhibitors on the future of the Chinook in AKC.

Another breed club exists called Chinooks Worldwide. I am not a member of this group. They ascribe to a different breed standard than those of us who register our dogs with the United Kennel Club. They do not show Chinooks in conformation or promote the objective evaluation of their breeding stock by outside evaluators. They also use a different criteria for determining what is a purebred Chinook than the other Chinook breed clubs do and many members do not register their dogs with the United Kennel Club. They are opposed to colors other than tawny even if the Chinook is excellent in every other way. They put a great emphasis on size and, in my opinion, are sacrificing traits such as soundness and genetic health as a trade-off. This has resulted in a near split in the breed between two standards and two populations with very little mixing. My personal belief is that the Chinooks with UKC registration, whose parents were critically evaluated by outside, impartial experts prior to being bred, and who have pedigrees backed up by DNA profiling of their ancestors, are the better dogs.

So I hope that this tells you a little about what a Chinook is and isn't. For detailed information on our breeds history, standard, and more, consult the websites given above. Or feel free to email questions.

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Photos above: Top - I'm not sure who took this photo of the original Chinook but it is quite a well known one and the copyright has expired. Above left -- Ch. PR Hickory Hill Spring Rain, known as Bella, cuddles with Andrew; photo provided by Pam Chambers, Spring Creek Chinooks. Above right -- Grand Ch. PR Hurricane Chaser, a buff Chinook, with Anna and Zale Filce. Chaser is owned by Joyce Maley of Hurricane Chinooks, photo provided by JoAnn Filce. "Tongue" photos, left -- Ch. PR Mystic Sahalee Rain, a gray and tan Chinook; photo by Linda Leeman, reprinted with permission. Tongue photo right -- PR Rain Mountain Cowichan Gromit, owned by Tom Johnson, photo by Ginger Corley. "No Neck" photo -- provided by Tom Christiansen and Janet Floyd.
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Rain Mountain Chinooks is located in Washington state.
Please contact Ginger Corley for additional information about Rain Mountain Chinooks or any of the information you see here.