Is the Chinook a doomed breed?

[ditkoofseppala]

The Chinook has had a precarious history. It began as a one-man breed -- "Arthur Walden's dogs," all bred from his leader Old Chinook. Just when it seemed that it might achieve broader distribution and popularity, it got taken over by "professional outdoorsman" Perry Greene, who was determined to KEEP it a one-man breed -- "Perry Greene's dogs." What with death and insanity, by 1981 the remnant, relict population, still bearing the Perry Greene tag, required "breed rescue" measures to ensure its survival. After that it found its way gradually into the world of purebred dog registries. For years it looked as though it had a permanent and relatively congenial home with the United Kennel Club, that century-old "alternative" to the AKC in the USA.

But breed politics plague the Chinook. Multiple competing breed clubs vie for global control of the breed, and most recently one such competitor took a misappropriated database to the American Kennel Club's "Foundation Stock Service." Now the Chinook Club of America has been anointed by AKC as "The Parent Club" for the Chinook breed, and entry of Chinooks into the AKC Miscellaneous Class seems to be expected by early 2009.

Chinook Owners Association, the UKC national breed club for Chinooks, seem not entirely happy with the AKC/FSS initiative, but their main concern seems to be that everyone wants to make sure THEIR dogs make it into the AKC breed. The FAQs on the CCA website state that AKC simply will not accept dogs from the Chinook Cross programme of the UKC registry. Since the rescued 1981 foundation was a terribly narrow, limited genetic resource, the Cross programme was thought necessary to restore some genetic diversity and provide a broader breed foundation. While stating on the website that Chinook Cross dogs are not eligible for AKC status, CCA is allegedly negotiating with owners on an individual basis, resulting in a situation in which everyone hopes to gain acceptance for their own dogs, while nobody knows what the standards or requirements really are, or how many -- if any -- Chinook Cross dogs will ultimately find their way into the AKC breed.

Chinook owners and breeders refer to "purebreds" and "Chinook crosses" as though there were actually some kind of real distinction involved. Personally I find that ridiculous. The Chinook was a mongrel breed from the beginning, and the Perry Greene and Harold Smead years did nothing that would magically change that fact. Nevertheless, the dogs whose pedigrees trace exclusively to Perry Greene dogs are conventionally said to be the "purebreds" despite the fact that their pedigrees are shot through with gaps and unknowns and that known crossbreds such as Northdown Nugget are somehow included in the "purebred" population. Ignoring the fact that the situation is rather too ludicrous for words, if one looks at the breed population one finds that many, if not most of the Chinook Cross population already stand at something like a 20% Wright's Coefficient of Inbreeding; the purebreds tend to start at 30% and to go as high as 50%!

Each mating in the UKC Chinook Cross programme must be approved by a committee, and potential parents must be screened for Canine Hip Dysplasia and CERF approved. (Purebreds, apparently, may be bred indiscriminately.) Eye disorders and HD are not the only matters for concern. Chinook breeders also must avoid breeding individuals affected by seizures or individuals that have previously produced anasarca (foetal oedema) pups. Chinooks also produce progeny with dwarfism (chondrodysplasia), which is a current hot topic. In short, a menacing genetic load is obviously part and parcel of the breed's heritage, and breeders are trying to select against half a dozen disorders at once, in each and every mating.

Despite the latter situation, officially at least the CCA and the AKC insist that there is no benefit to be derived from crossbreeding programmes and no need for them.

Yet as I write, Chinook breeders are passing 'round a U.K. study entitled "Population Structure and Inbreeding From Pedigree Analysis of Purebred Dogs" (Calboli, Sampson, Fretwell and Balding) that confirms what we already knew: that typical purebred dog breeds in closed studbooks such as that of The Kennel Club (U.K.) have effective breeding populations of 40 to 80 animals no matter what their actual numerical populations, that most such breeds have already lost more than 90% of their original genetic diversity, and that crossbreeding programmes may be necessary to ensure animal health and welfare.

So -- is the Chinook a doomed breed? Well, I guess that depends on whether any of the Chinook breeders now reading the above study feel that it has any relevance to their breed, and then have the guts to stand up and tell the Chinook Club of America and the American Kennel Club to go to hell. At the moment, little such backbone has been demonstrated. Most UKC breeders just talk about how they intend to continue "dual registering" their Chinooks with both UKC and AKC, as though that were any kind of answer. My gut feeling is that the UKC population will slowly wither and die on the vine, leaving the AKC rump faction in undisputed possession of Chinook breed identity. If that happens, with (a) a completely closed stud book, (b) half a dozen serious genetic problems requiring screening and selective breeding controls, and (c) a pitifully inadequate breed foundation, such that COIs are rapidly ascending to the 50% level -- well, yes. I think you would have to say that the Chinook is doomed.