Philosophy and History of Hurricane Chinooks Hurricane Chinooks' Vision for the Future--What are We Aiming For at Hurricane Chinooks? Where are We Now? Breeding Plan History of Hurricane Chinooks Accomplishments Contact Information I, Joyce Maley, am the owner of Hurricane Chinooks. I'm glad you stopped by to visit my Chinook dogs and me in our virtual home. You will find that I not only focus on producing great pets for families, but I also continually strive to improve the breed through my breeding practices. I test my breeding potential Chinooks against the standard in the conformation ring, and test their individual skills in performance activities, including obedience, agility, search and rescue and weight pull. I am active in the Chinook community by participating in several Chinook organizations. In addition, I strive to bring new programs to the Chinook community as a whole by developing tools that help all breeders develop their breeding programs. I developed and donated the Online Open Chinook Health Database that is available for use by all Chinook owners regardless of the registry their Chinook falls under or the Chinook organization the owner belongs to. I am a co-developer and the owner of the Chinook Breeders Forum where 60 Chinook breeders work together to learn more about breeding Chinooks. As owner of the Chinook Education Center, I developed a site that provides Chinook information to potential owners, and specific information for breeders, such as a page, free for breeders, where they can provide information on available Chinook stud dogs. I am most proud of the Online Chinook Health Database that I developed and provide to all Chinook owners who want to share information on their Chinooks to help breeders produce better Chinooks in the future. I hope you have fun while you are visiting my web site. Please send me a message if you have questions, ideas for other things you would like to see here, or problems with the site. Thanks.

My Vision of the ALL-AMERICAN CHINOOK What We are Aiming For at Hurricane Chinooks This is the vision I have for the future of Hurricane Chinooks and the Chinook dog. All my activities, including my breeding program and the projects that I donate to the breed as a whole, are aimed toward this vision. The Chinook is a true all-American dog, internationally recognized as the premier dog selected by people who want a healthy, happy, hard-working canine family member. Hurricane Chinooks are medium-large dogs of excellent temperament, health and working ability. Anyone in the family can take their Chinook out on a sledding team and will find the dog an obedient dog with an excellent work ethic. In 1927, before joining Admiral Byrd on his expedition to Antarctica, Arthur Walden, the originator of the breed, described the Chinook as "...a sleigh dog similar to the gentleman's driver of the horse fancier. Driving a team of from two Chinooks up is a pleasure that has an intrinsic value that is neither dog racing nor driving draft dogs. When all is frozen, nothing in the way of rough traveling will stop the dogs but lack of snow." Hurricane Chinooks are recreational sled dogs of average size, as described in the U.K.C. Official Breed Standard for the Chinook. Acquiring a Chinook is a guarantee of having an alert, intelligent canine companion with a superior disposition, sound body and eagerness to work and play. Puppies from Hurricane Chinooks are consistently recognized as the ideal canine companion. HEALTH AND TEMPERAMENT - THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHINOOK The modern Chinook is characterized by its gentle nature, strong attachment to its 'pack' and people, and abiding desire to please. The essential characteristics of a Chinook are excellent temperament and health. Other characteristics of primary importance are those that contribute to a sound working dog, including movement, structure, a well muscled (but not cumbersome) body, adequate lung capacity and balance, as described in the Official U.K.C. standard for the Chinook. Chinooks from Hurricane Chinooks personify the characterization of the ideal Chinook. Non-functional, superficial traits commonly used to establish 'breed type' such as coat color or ear carriage are less important. However, the traditional 'Chinook Song' is often recognized as a significant characteristic of the Chinook. When together they will point their noses straight up into the air and will harmonize their voices in beautiful song, a modern manifestation of their primitive heritage. With a heritage that may include Husky, Belgian Shepherd, Saint Bernard, and German Shepherd Dog, the Chinook is an enthusiastic and capable worker that enjoys a well-defined 'job'. Its intelligence, alertness, emotional stability and excellent problem-solving skills allow for a wide range of suitable activities. Appropriate activities for the Chinook include recreational sledding, carting and weight pulling; therapy work in nursing homes or hospitals; companion dog for the physically challenged; trail companion for hikers and backpackers; search and rescue work; and obedience and agility competition. Hurricane Chinooks adapt easily to their human partner's lifestyle. They are happy to jog around the block or just curl up next to their person and become a 'couch potato.' The common characteristic in all acceptable activities for the Chinook is a one-on-one partnership with its human in non-agressive pursuits. The Chinook is very adaptable to a variety of life-styles from extremely active to quiet. All Chinooks are members of families that take excellent physical and emotional care of their canine family member. Hurricane Chinooks are all members of caring, responsible families. Chinooks have no regularly occurring, breed-specific health problems. All breedings produce healthy working dogs of the type known throughout history as represented by the Official U.K.C. Breed Standard of the Chinook. Hurricane Chinooks are always bred with health and temperament being held as the breed's critical attributes. Joyce Maley Owner, Hurricane Chinooks A special thanks to all the Chinook breeders whose support has made developing my little corner of the Chinook breed so pleasurable. A special thanks to those who helped me clarify and articulate portions of my vision.

Where Are We Now? Many of the desired characteristics are already solidly imbedded within the Chinook breed. However, Hurricane Chinooks is continually working to make all puppies from each litter fulfill the optimum within my vision. Hurricane Chinooks finds health and temperament to be two of our best assets. However, Hurricane Chinooks continues to focus on health and temperament as the characteristics of primary importance. All breeding stock from Hurricane Chinooks receive hip X-rays that are evaluated by OFA, heart exams evaluated by OFA and CERF eye exams. In addition, problems recognized within the breed are: Seizures Hip dysplasia Eye disease Shyness Chryptorchidism Flea allergies Food and skin allergies Longer than desired coats Non-standard colors Hurricane Chinooks has donated all the funding for development and web site maintenance for the Open Chinook Health Database that is online and open to everyone with internet access. Reputable breeders are willing to openly discuss any occurances of the above characteristics within their lines and will record any known health issues in the Open Chinook Health Database. Geneticists estimate that each purebred dog carries around 6 genetically passed diseases (can include other non health-related non-desirable characteristics such as incorrect coat) and mixed breeds as many as 12 genetically passed diseases. It is important to realize there are no "perfect" dogs. I recommend caution if a breeder says, "my line is clear of genetically passed disease," or "I don't need to test for that in my line." In making a decision to bring any puppy into your family, you will need to have confidence that the breeder is sharing all the known information with you. I open all my records, including veterinary records, to people getting a puppy from Hurricane Chinooks. CERF eye exam, OFA hip X-ray and OFA heart results for Hurricane Chinooks are available to the public at the searchable OFA web site and in the Open Chinook Health Database.

Hurricane Chinooks' Breeding Plan I have a breeding plan that spans 6 generations. This plan will be constantly changing since I will consider results from each litter in future planning. Because of that, many aspects will become much more specific as each generation draws closer. Changes in individual generation goals will also occur as I continue to learn more about dog breeding and canine genetics. However, the overall goal of Hurricane Chinooks will continue to be to to produce a healthy recreational working Chinook that provides excellent companionship to their people. Generation zero contains the breedings occuring prior to this plan. Generation Zero--four litters. Litter one (1987) bred for diversity of genetics. Litter two (1989) bred with no specific focus. Litter three (1995) bred for diversity of genetics. Litter four (1996) bred for diversity of genetics. Generation One--two litters in 1998 and 1999. Breed for health, temperament and movement. Focus on producing good movers and selecting the best to produce future generations. Hopefully each litter will produce 20 to 30 percent with excellent show/working quality movement when evaluated at adult age. At least one puppy from each litter should go to working homes to check workability. All puppies have OFA hip X-rays and CERF eye exam reported back to Hurricane Chinooks to aid in planning future breedings. Reinforce North Wind and Hurricane bloodlines. Generation Two--eight litters in 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2003. Breed for health, temperament and movement Start to focus on producing higher percentages of good movers in each litter. Hopefully each litter will produce 30 to 50 percent with excellent show/working quality movement when evaluated at adult age. At least one puppy from each litter should go to working homes to check workability. Pay particular attention to straight rear quarters, strong fronts, strong top line and a balanced structure. All puppies have OFA hip X-rays and CERF eye exam reported back to Hurricane Chinooks to aid in planning future breedings. So far reports have been lower than expected at about 65%. Diversify genetics--two breedings, not related to the Hurricane Chinook breeding plan were included. These two breedings were added to ensure a line from another kennel would not die out. Several puppies from these two breedings were donated to senior breeders to ensure genetic diversity in the breed. Six puppies were donated, free of charge, to senior Chinook breeders. Three have been used for breeding and the others are still being kept open for breeding. Two puppies were kept by Hurricane Chinooks. Neither have been bred yet. Five other puppies in this generation were kept open, and to date, four have been bred. Four other puppies were kept open, but later failed health tests and have been spayed/neutered. All other puppies from this generation were placed on spay/neuter contracts as pets. Generation Three--ten litters in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. Breed for health, temperament, conformation and movement. Continue to focus on producing higher percentages of good movers in each litter. Each litter should consistently should have 33 percent with excellent show/working quality movement and conformation when evaluated at adult age. At least two puppies from each litter should go to working homes to check workability. Continue to focus on straight rear quarters, strong fronts, strong top line and a balanced structure. All puppies have OFA hip X-rays and CERF eye exam reported back to Hurricane Chinooks to aid in planning future breedings. Reinforce Hurricane bloodlines and reinforce type. Thirteen puppies were kept open as breeding potential. So far two have been used for breeding and two have been dropped due to not passing health tests, leaving 37% considered to be breeding/showing potential, but many of those are still too young for final results on health tests, so that percentage is likely to drop. Generation Four--six litters in 2005, 2006 and 2007 Breed for health, temperament, conformation and movement. Focus on consistently producing litters with 50 percent show/working movement or more, evaluated at adult age. At least two puppies should go to working homes to check workability. Move line toward average size dictated by the standard. Start to focus on the less functional requirements of the Official U.K.C. Chinook Standard, such as coat length and coat color (specifically not dilute). All puppies have OFA hip X-rays and CERF eye exam reported back to Hurricane Chinooks to aid in planning future breedings. Bred for diversity in genetics. Sixteen puppies have been produced in these litters. Only two have been placed as breeding/showing potential so far. Eight puppies have not received evaluations for placement yet. Generation Five Breed for health, temperament, conformation, movement and details or the U.K.C. Official Chinook Standard. 65 percent of each litter should be show/working quality when evaluated at adult age. Focus on all standard details. Focus on the average for the standard. All puppies have OFA hip X-rays and CERF eye exam reported back to Hurricane Chinooks to aid in planning future breedings. Genetics plan not yet determined. Generation Six Final generaton of plan. 80 percent of each litter should be show/working quality when evaluated at adult age. This will allow only the very best to go on to breeding/show potential homes. Health and temperament are critical attributes. All puppies have OFA hip X-rays and CERF eye exam reported back to Hurricane Chinooks to aid in planning future breedings. Genetics plan not yet determined.

The History of Hurricane Chinooks I, Joyce Maley, own and operate Hurricane Chinooks, which is located just outside of Columbia, South Carolina. In 1987, while I was stationed in Biloxi, MS, Singing Woods Ayla and GR CH North Wind Kodiac, produced my first Hurricane Chinooks litter. At that time, their litter of ten puppies increased the entire Chinook population by approximately 10 percent. I came to South Carolina through service in the United States Air Force. I retired from the Air Force in 1996 and I enjoy living on 21 acres in the country. Although breeding Chinooks is my main focus, I also work as an Educational Consultant and a musician in the local area. I have been involved with the Chinook dog for 20 years. During this time, my kennel has produced many top show winners and many more great pets for families. Many of our accomplishments are listed below.