All About
Chinook

Chinooks are smart, versatile and highly trainable. However, they are strong-willed and can be a bit pushy. Almost every Chinook requires correction in order to avoid taking a dominant position in the household. This breed requires an owner with a firm but gentle hand to prevent personality and hierarchy controversies. Chinooks are high-spirited dogs that need consistent training and discipline in order to establish and maintain proper manners. Training sessions give a Chinook the opportunity to expend some of its excess energy and use its brain power for constructive purposes. Chinooks are very clever, but they are likely to resist authority in favor of their own desires. Training a Chinook requires not just five or six weeks; training needs to continue every day for the rest of the dog’s life.

Breeders recommend that the Chinook be fed a high-quality dog food appropriate to the dog’s age (puppy, adult, or senior). Some dogs are prone to getting overweight, so watch your dog’s calorie consumption and weight level. Treats can be an important aid in training, but giving too many can cause obesity. Give table scraps sparingly, if at all, especially avoiding cooked bones. Learn about which human foods are safe for dogs, and which are not. Check with your vet if you have any concerns about your dog’s weight or diet.

The Chinook’s plush double coat is fairly easy to care for. Like all mammals, Chinooks shed a bit throughout the year. Weekly brushing will help to remove dirt and loose hair and keep the dog looking his best. Longer, daily brushing sessions will be required during shedding season, which generally occurs twice a year, but happens more often with spayed or neutered animals. As with all breeds, the nails should be trimmed regularly, as overly long nails can be painful to the dog and cause problems walking and running.

Chinooks love their people and won't be happy living outdoors away from them. They're adaptable to most homes as long as their exercise needs are met.These active dogs need half an hour to an hour of daily exercise in the form of long walks and opportunities to run in large, safely enclosed areas. Underground electronic fencing is not recommended for this breed since Chinooks are so determined to get where they want to they'll ignore any shocks.Train the intelligent and sensitive Chinook with positive reinforcement techniques. He'll learn quickly if you're consistent in your expectations. Even more ideal is to work with a trainer to learn how to redirect unwanted behaviors and reward the behaviors you like.Housetraining shouldn't be a problem as long as you make it a positive experience and provide your pup with a regular potty schedule and plenty of opportunities to go outside. Crate training is a wonderful tool for housetraining and keeping your young puppy from chewing things he shouldn't.

The Chinook is a robust, healthy breed, but there are certain health conditions that it is prone to. These include hip dysplasia, cryptorchidism (the absence of one or both testes from the scrotum), gastrointestinal disorders, and allergies. Some Chinooks suffer from a condition called “Chinook seizures,” although it is generally thought to be a movement disorder and not true seizures. As with all breeds, a Chinook’s ears should be checked regularly for signs of infection, and the teeth should be brushed often.

Recommended Health Test from the National Breed Club:

When Arthur Walden bred a farm dog with a husky on his Wonalancet, New Hampshire farm, he little knew that the result would be a legendary line of sled dogs.Walden, who had been a dog driver in Alaska for a time, brought the sport of sled dog racing to New England. One of the puppies from the aforementioned litter, named Chinook after the warm winds that melt Alaska snows, stood out for his good looks, temperament, and working ability, and his puppies followed in his footprints.When Admiral Byrd was planning his expedition to Antarctica in 1928, he called on Walden and his Chinook dogs for transport. The original Chinook was part of the team.The Byrd expedition was a success, with one terrible exception: Chinook, 12 years old by then, wandered off and was never found. In the famous sled dog's honor, the name Chinook Trail was given to a portion of Route 113A that led to Chinook's hometown in New Hampshire.Walden retired after his adventures in Antarctica and passed on the job of taking care of the breed to Milton and Eva Seeley and Julia Lombard. Then Perry and Honey Greene took over, eventually becoming the only people to breed the dogs.Over time, based on their falling numbers, the Chinooks earned the dubious title of world's rarest breed, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. At one point, only 28 of the dogs remained, and it was then, in 1981, that several people began the attempt to save the breed. They included Neil and Marra Wollpert, Kathy Adams, and Peter Abrahams.They were successful, but Chinooks are still hard to find. They're recognized by the United Kennel Club and are in the process of seeking recognition by the American Kennel Club.