Chinook Breed Description

An Owner's Chinook Description
Klondike is my hero. Let me tell you how it happened. Everyone knows how this breed loves to work, especially when it comes to pulling sleds. I never intended to have Klondike be a working dog, but occasionally we would play in the snow and pretend we were in the Iditarod as he would pull the homemade sled.

Well, anyway, Klondike and I were up the back side of the Sierras in the little shack I bought a few years back. It's a great place to get away from the city; we try make it up there several times a year. He absolutely loves it. The shack sits up on a small knoll, about 20 yards from the creek, which freezes in the winter. You can drive about three quarters of the way up, then hike the last hour of the trip. There's a good trail, so it's really not a bad hike, and once you cross the creek the shack is almost in view.

Last December, we made our third trip of the year just ahead of a storm that had been chasing us for most of the drive. But we did beat it, hiked to the cabin and with a wood stove fire lit, we comfortably settled in. It snowed most of the night so I was not surprised to see more than two feet of snow when we woke up. By then the clouds were breaking up and blue sky was trying to find its way through. Klondike and I decided to sharpen our sledding skills a bit before breakfast. Outside, as I was slipping Klondike into his harness, the sled started to slide down the hill. I dove to grab it, but my feet got tangled up in the harness and as I fell, I hit my head on the back end of the sled as it went sliding down towards the creek.

From the amount of red in the snow, I knew the gash was pretty severe, but I really didn't feel it much. I was afraid of passing out (from either the concussion or blood loss) and knew we had to get down off the mountain in a hurry. Well, to make a short story just a little bit longer, I managed to get Klondike hooked up to the sled and pointed him in the direction of town and laid back exhausted, trying to keep from bleeding to death. I was oblivious to the difficult terrain that Klondike had to pull over; I just knew he was moving downhill and that was good. I'm guessing that after about 20 minutes I did pass out, and I didn't wake up until the Rangers were lifting me from the sled. Somehow Klondike had managed to take us directly to the Ranger station, which they said was truly a miracle, considering that most of the trip was either lateral or uphill. I know that I'm here today because of Klondike: my Chinook, my buddy, my hero.

Introduction

By crossing Eskimo dogs with smooth coated Saint Bernards and Belgian shepherds Arthur Walden, an American breeder, developed these dogs with immense pulling power. The Chinook, named after Walden's favorite dog, is extremely rare and they are in danger of extinction because their numbers are so small. Chinooks are ever willing to work, especially at sled pulling. Their strong, confident personality needs firm handling as a puppy to ensure they don't fight with other dog team members. They should be raised with children from puppyhood if they are to be a family pet. They make good watchdogs. These dogs weigh 65 to 90 lbs. and stand 21-26" at the shoulder. Grooming needs are minimal.

History

The tales, tribulations and triumphs of the early sledders, trappers and explorers to the Canadian Yukon, Antarctica and both Poles are filled with iconoclastic individuals. One such man was Arthur Walden. When he went off to the Yukon during the Klondike gold rush, he discovered dog sledding and soon became an experienced driver; in fact, he was part of Byrd's Antarctic expedition in 1929.

He began breeding a dog team prior to that adventure, and in 1917, one of a litter of pups from a Husky and a Mastiff was a dog he eventually named Chinook. Walden felt that dog was so remarkable in so many ways that he began working to use Chinook as the prototype of a new sled dog breed.

Back home in New Hampshire, he brought dog sledding with him and founded the New England Sled Dog Club, an organization that exists to this very day.

Walden's breeding stock was the one and only source of Chinooks; Julia Lombard was the next to develop these dogs and from her, Perry Greene took over the breeding in the late 1930s. Numbers remained small; after all, at any given moment, there was only one Chinook breeder. Greene died in 1963; within 20 years the dogs were close to extinct. Several breeders became involved at that point. By dividing existing stock and backcrossing with other contributory breeds, they managed to build the population of Chinooks while preserving genetic integrity and Chinook traits. The breed is recognized by the UKC but still extremely rare.

General Description

More of a Mastiff in looks than a sled dog, Chinooks do have the typical double coat for weather protection, along with webbed feet and furred pads are common to the Northern Spitz types. One identifier of the breed is the tawny color of Chinooks, which can range from light honey all the way to a deep reddish-gold.

Tight skinned (none of the Mastiff folds) the head of the Chinook features a broad skull with a moderate stop. While the muzzle does taper, this is not a pointed face dog. Large black nose is aquiline. Eyes can be any color from amber to dark brown; eye rims are dark. Wide set ears are thick and furry. A unique trait of Chinooks is an apostrophe-shaped accent mark at the inner corner of the eyes.

These are deep chested dogs, with the deepest part being just behind the forelegs. Chinooks are muscular, hard-bodied dogs who clearly show their athletic abilities. Thighs look strong.

Temperament

Because the original dogs were bred to be sled dog teams, there is no dog aggression in Chinooks. They are intelligent animals that take direction from humans and are capable to extrapolating the correct action from those directions. It is estimated that today, there are less than a thousand Chinooks; guessing that half are sled dogs, the rest are happily living as family pets.

Health and Care

Climate will dictate the density of the Chinook's undercoat and how many times a year it is 'blown'. At other times, these dogs are minimal shedders and need little more than regular oral care and nail trimming.
 

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