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Hi, we’re Karen and Dave Schiller of MountainThunder Chinooks, located in Fort Collins, Colorado. We first “met” the Chinook breed as a result of searching on-line for a new family pet. Once we discovered pictures of the Chinook, and read about their temperament, their rich American heritage, and their limited numbers, we were intrigued to find out more. We hope you will visit the Chinook Owners Association to read more about the history of this All-American treasure.
  The more we researched about this breed, the more we knew we wanted to be part of the Chinook community. Our first Chinook, Finn, arrived in June 2005. Finn immediately began to show us just why people feel the way they do about these special dogs. Chinooks are very smart, love to have a job to do, and are eager to please.
Since we had purchased Finn under a “breeding/show potential” contract, we were asked to take him into the conformation show ring for evaluation by UKC judges. Now, keep in mind, all we ever wanted was a pet! We had seen the movie ‘Best in Show’ and were, let’s just say, a wee bit hesitant. After one quick lesson on how to handle a show dog, Dave jumped in and gave it a try. The results were quite fulfilling! Not only was it a fun experience to learn how to show a dog; it was also rewarding because Finn enjoyed it so much! To our amazement, Finn excelled in the conformation ring to the point that he was chosen as the National Best of Breed in 2008. WOW, a truly astounding accomplishment!
Tana, our female, arrived in December, 2006. The day after Dave arrived home with her, our area of Colorado had one of the worst snow storms on record. We had ten feet of snow over a three day period! Dave was kept busy outside shoveling a path for Finn and Tana to “do their business”. Not the best environment for potty training, but Tana was a quick learner.
  Tana fit right into our family, and became Finn’s best friend and partner in crime. Tana has also excelled in the conformation show ring, and became a UKC Champion by winning Best of Breed in her first four shows! When Tana won her Championship so easily, we knew that the next chapter of our Chinook journey would soon begin. This brings us to our breeding philosophy . . . again, something we never intended to do!
In July 2010, Tana gave birth to her first litter: The Long Strange Trip Litter. Scarlet Begonia, the consensus pick of the litter, was the first pup born in our home and she seemed to never want to leave....so, we kept her. She has een terrorizing Finn and her mom ever since! We are very proud of Miss Scarlet as she becane a UKC Champion at the age of 11 months! That's her winning Best of Winners at the 2011 Chinook Specialty, held in Auburn,Washington, with the Honorable June Pasko presiding.
 
Breeding Philosophy It is our intention to only breed healthy, well-conformed dogs. We abide by the guidelines as set forth in the Chinook Owners Association Code of Ethics. We strive to add genetic diversity to the Chinook population and will only recommend the best puppies from each litter to move forward in our breeding program.
We seek assessment of our dogs by putting them in the conformation show ring. This way, an unbiased judge can evaluate how our dogs measure up to the UKC Chinook breed standard. Movement, structure and temperament all come into play. We also take our dogs through obedience training, from puppy socialization classes to advanced obedience. Being smart, active dogs, Chinooks need to be mentally challenged from time to time. Pet obedience training is a great way to learn about canine behavior – the more you understand how your dog thinks, the better you can teach it to look to you for leadership. The time we spend showing and training gives us an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in our dogs, and helps us to evaluate the best breeding partners for them.
Only Chinooks who are free of disease and physical ailments (e.g. hip dysplasia, cataracts, seizures, allergies, etc.) will be considered for our breeding program. With such a rare breed and small gene pool, it is imperative that we keep a record of health history for all of our dogs. We maintain contact with all MountainThunder puppy owners throughout the lifetime of their Chinook. The combined health information and feedback from our puppy owners is factored into all of our future breeding decisions.
In summary, our goal in breeding is to advance the health, temperament, structure and movement of the Chinook … and to share the joy of Chinook ownership!
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