Chinook

Of all the dog breeds in the world the Chinook is my personal favorite because of his affectionate, calm and people oriented personality. The Chinook was developed in Wonalancet, New Hampshire in 1917 by Polar Explorer Arthur Treadwell Walden. Walden’s foundation dogs used to develop the Chinook included a female Greenland husky descended from Admiral Peary’s lead dog, and a male mastiff – type farm dog. The resulting litter was of three pups one of them was named Chinook. When Chinook got older he was bred to Belgian Sheepdogs, German Shepherd Dogs, Canadian Eskimo Dogs and perhaps other breeds. The progeny were bred back to him to set the desired type and he was apparently a strong reproducer of his own traits. Walden succeeded in creating an American breed of sled dog with power, endurance and trainability, with a friendly, gentle nature, and with a distinctive tawny color. In 1927 Walden was appointed to head the lead dog driver and trainer for Admiral Byrd’s first expedition to Antarctica, Byrd described Chinook and his 16 sons as the backbone of the expedition. Sadly Chinook was lost in Antarctica on his 12th birthday in 1929. The Control of the core breeding stock passed from Walden to Mrs. Julia Lombard and from her to Perry Greene in the late 1930s. Greene, a noted outdoorsman, bred Chinooks in Waldoboro Maine, Rare and closely-held by Greene who was for many years the only breeder of Chinooks, the population dwindled rapidly after his death and in 1965, the Guinness Book of World Records recorded the Chinook as the rarest dog in the world. By 1980 there were only eleven breedable Chinooks left. Breeders in Maine, Ohio and California divided the remaining stock and managed to save the breed from extinction. Today there are over 1000 Chinooks in the world. In 1991 the breed was recognized by the United Kennel Club, they became the official state dog of New Hampshire in 2009 and became a member of the AKCs Miscellaneous Class in 2010. Whether a Chinook is running in a team on a snowy trail, earning show titles in the ring, running an agility course, hiking on a desolate mountain trail, or snuggling on the couch with a beloved family member, the Chinook is the ideal all purpose canine companion.

The dog in this photo is named Bucky he belongs to my friend Ginger Corley who has been breeding Chinooks since 1988 in WA. I show her dogs in dog shows from time to time she even brought couple of her dogs to my vet class when we did a dog breed comparison( I had to compare the difference between the Anatolian shepherd and the Chinook) and every one loved working with them, if you’re looking for a hard working affectionate dog that can go hiking, pull a sled or curl up with you this maybe the dog for you.