Chinook Club of America National Specialty

On July 7th the Chinooks had their AKC National Specialty at the Tacoma Kennel Club dog show in Puyallup, Washington.  I was show chair for this show and I had a couple dogs entered.  It was great to see some friends I have not seen for a while and to meet new friends.  A few potential Chinook owners also came to meet the breed and talk to breeders and some judges came to watch, examine, and learn more about the breed. Results and judges comments follow the pictures.

 Chinooks waiting ringside for the show to start

One of the things I love about the breed is how peaceful they are milling together.  A few playbows happened but we don't need to be concerned about keeping the dogs away from each other.

 Amateur Owner Handler Males- Remy and Kelvin

 Part of the Winner's Bitch lineup- Mouse is about to gait and standing very nicely is Chelan

 Remy in front and Kelvin at the rear in AOH male class

 Kate in the Bred by Exhibitor Bitch class

 Dylan in the Bred by Exhibitor Male class

 Dylan won Best of Opposite Sex to Best of Breed. I did not handle the Best of Breed winner myself so Dylan was also the Best Owner Handled Chinook and was able to compete in Owner Handler Group.  He showed very well and looked great! 

 Dylan in Owner Handler Group

 Dylan

 Dylan

 Kelvin

 Winners Bitch and Best of Breed Mouse

 Mouse in Working Group.  She had just seen me sitting ringside and I had to duck down behind some judges to hide from her.

 Mouse waiting her turn in a very large Working Group

 Mouse was just coming out of season and the Boerboel behind her was interested in her and staring at her, which made her a little uncomfortable. 

 Mouse in Group 

 Mouse  in Group 

 Seeley in Amateur Owner Handler Bitch class

 Chelan in front and Seely behind in AOHB class

 Kasute in Open Bitch 

 Kasute in front and Mouse behind in Open Bitch

 Kelvin and Remy in AOH Dog 

 Dylan and Kelvin on Winner's Dog

 Tribble in Puppy Bitch

 Tribble 

 Tribble

 Reserve Winner's Bitch lineup  

 Remy in Veteran Sweeps

 Lilah in Veteran Sweeps

 Lilah

 Lilah

 Lilah and Remy competing for best Veteran.  Lilah came out on top

CCA Specialty Results

Best in Puppy Sweeps: Moonsong Trouble with Tribbles
Best Veteran Sweeps: Moonsong Halona Delilah of Frontier

Regular classes:
Amateur Owner Handler Dog: Frontier Ice and Snow Kelvin
2nd: Rain Mountain Frontier Shuksan
Bred By Dog: Frontier Time and Tide Dylan
Winners Dog: Frontier Time and Tide Dylan
Reserve Winners Dog: Frontier Ice and Snow Kelvin

Puppy Bitch: Moonsong Trouble with Tribbles
Amateur Owner Handler Bitch: Frontier Still Waters Run Deep
2nd: Laughing Mountain Aspen Seeley
Bred by Bitch: Frontier Pure of Heart
Open Bitch: Moonsong Mighty Mouse
2nd: Frontier Halona Joy Kasute

Winners Bitch: Moonsong Mighty Mouse for a 5 point major!!!
Reserve Winners Bitch: Frontier Pure of Heart

Best of Winners/Best of Breed: Moonsong Mighty Mouse
Best of opposite sex: Frontier Time and Tide Dylan
Best owner handler: Frontier Time and Tide Dylan

Judges Comments:

Both the Sweeps Judge ( Mr. Gary Dunlop) and the Breed Judge (Mr. Lee Herr) had some positive comments on the breed and also some constructive comments on how we can improve. I was very pleased with their comments and felt they had a good grasp of the Standard and also our struggles as a small breed. All the judges, including those ringside, raved about the conformation, substance and movement on the Veteran Bitch.  They felt she was very close to what we are looking for in our females.  The Sweeps and Breed Judges liked the movement, angles, and topline of the puppy bitch showing but thought she still looked quite immature. The Judge liked the overall look and topline of the Winner's dog.  He liked the fore chest, substance, and coat on the Winner's bitch  and it was her prominent pro-sternum, which is missing in many of the Chinooks that caused him to put her up over the Winner's Dog for Breed. He thought both Winners moved well but thought the Breed winner looked a little more powerful.  There was praise for the fitness of the dogs present as the judge stated he really disliked putting hands on a working dog and having it feel like jelly. Both judges commented on how, even though this was the largest group they have seen at a show, they looked more of a cohesive breed than in the past.  I daresay a lot of this is because most of the Chinooks present were closely related! I passed on the comments from the judges on each individual dogs to the owners. Overall the biggest criticism from both judges was about the chests and how some lacked the width and/or depth/ and or prosternum wanted in a powerful sledge dog.  The breed judge also commented on how he sees some Chinooks that were more square than desired but warned us that some of our Chinooks have the proper length but it is because the dogs have a very long loin with a shorter ribcage and this can cause weakness, especially as the dog ages. The last criticism was over the lack of proper coat in some of the Chinooks- primarily coats that are too short and/or without the noticeable ruff.  These are all issues that are prevalent across the breed and breeders of aware of but with so few litters a year and diversity, health, and temperament a greater concern for many breeders, it may be a long road to get them consistently improved.  We talked about the struggle to get people interested in breeding to increase our number which will better allow us to better address these conformation issues.

It was a crazy day but a great time and many of us met for a nice dinner after the show.  I plan on heading to Oregon for a show or two coming up and hope to see more people at these Washington shows as well.