2000 Chinook Olympics

"Dogs go for the gold in York" was the caption of an article in The Foster's Daily Democrat, a local paper, that covered the 2nd Annual Chinook Olympics. The paper wrote a nice article on the history of the breed, the purpose of the games and included two pictures of winning teams. Penthea Burns got it just right when she said, "The purpose of the demonstrations is to show that these dogs are a can-do-all breed. All the games are silly and fun, but they weave in the fundamentals of obedience." So here's the story on the event:

46 humans traveled from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine to attend the second annual Chinook Olympics held at It's A Dog's World in York, Maine. There were 42 dogs in attendance and 33 of them were Chinooks, 13 of which were puppies! All in all, about 15 Chinook kennels were represented at this event.

After a brief ceremony that designated all non-Chinooks as honorary Chinooks for the day, the dogs started the competition with the Chinook National Anthem. Yes, the tilt your head back and howl kind of anthem. Music to our ears! Let the games begin! Here's a rundown of the events and winners:

Obstacle Course - Kelly McGrath & Intervale Surprise - "Prizey"

Laura Morgan with White Mountain X Isabel & Connie Jones with WoodsRunner Duncan start the course.

Through the tire jump and into the tunnel, Isabel takes the lead.

Costume Contest Winners

Most original- Karen Fass & WoodsRunner Rain
Best Action Hero- Nancy Fishinger & Hurricane Walker
Best Owner Ensemble- The Dubuques & Hurricane Kineo
Best Look Alike- Grace Ulinski& White Mountain X Isabel
Most Creative- Risa Ulinski & Hurricane Mina
Prettiest & Daintiest Dog Team- Elise & Amelia With Wren Hill Rose & Molly

The Dubuques & Kineo

Grace & Isabel

Karen & Rain

Puppy Events:

Recall Game
Ages 2-4 months- Jessie (Terrier)
Ages 5-8 months- Hurricane Kineo

Wagging Contest- Rivertrail Tenney

Longest Stay- Wren Hill Flint

Freestyle Tricks:

Best Trick overall - Karen Fass & Jessie for the "swimming lesson"

Best Trick on a Human - WoodsRunner X Alyeska & Donna Canfield

Best Group Effort - The Ulinskis and their dogs for a well coordinated version of "Ring Around the Rosie" with parents, children and dogs all falling down in sync.

Best Dancing - Nancy Fishinger & Inky (Terrier)

Other Games:

Chinook (Simon) Says - (Tie)
Sandy Smith & Victor (Terrier) and Mark Canfield & Dixieland Shageluk

Egg in Spoon Relay Race - (Team Event): Dixieland Shageluk, Rain Mountain Rangeley Runner, Bowerbank X Timba, Wren Hill Glory

Tag Team Relay Race - Jess Maurer & Rain Mountain Rangeley Runner and Penthea Burns & WoodsRunner Allagash

Agility Course - Nancy Bartol & Mt. Laurel Kali

Tic Tac Toe (Team Event): Connie Jones & WoodsRunner Duncan, Amy Hyland & Wren Hill Glory, Grace/Matt & White Mountain X Isabel, Elise & Molly, Nate & Hurricane Kineo, Abner & WoodsRunner Allagash

Search & Rescue - Nancy Fishinger along with Walker and Hunter provided us with another demonstration of the skills and training it takes for a Chinook to participate in search and rescue. Once again, Hunter successfully found the lost victim.

Obedience - Donna Canfield and Alyeska showed the fundamentals of Open and Utility Obedience training and competition. Alyeska enjoyed the laid back nature of the day, but did a great job. Donna showed us the work that goes into that level of competition.

Carting - Connie Jones and Timba maneuvered the cart through cones and jumps to show the precision and fun of this canine activity. Timba is indeed one of a kind and loves to work for her Mom and for treats.

Agility - Kelley McGrath and Intervale Surprise - "Prizey"gave us all a real treat by running us through the agility course with humor and good attention to training and safety issues. What a great team they are. They helped others take a chance on trying agility. What fun!