Legend/Sabaka Litter - July, 2010

Six Month and Final Installment

At last we are proud to offer the final update of our July litter. Owners took their puppies home beginning September tenth, but the last pup didn’t find her forever home until December 20th. So I delayed this final addition until the pups were six months old. Then I got a new computer and had to learn how to place and move the photos! So meet the precious six month olds in order of birth:

Cloudburst LedgeBak Tugger (kennel name, Velvet) belongs to Denise "Happy" Horgan in Massachusetts who has a summer home next door to mine in Maine. He weighs 61 pounds and measures 21 inches at the withers. Happy says he’s very affectionate and smart, although not very brave. He lives with a Beagle/Basset mix name Scooter who flies into the car as well as up and down stairs, but Tugger is afraid of stairs and won’t push with his back legs to get into the car: he puts his paws up and wants his behind lifted.

At my suggestion, Happy purchased The Art of Raising a Puppy by the Monks of New Skeet, but Tugger ate it! He has also eaten four remote controls, NetFlix movies, dozens of daily newspapers, magazines, mail, and prescription medicine, etc. He loves squeaky toys and counter surfing. When they visit their home in Maine, he heads straight next door (to my house) to hopefully find his Mom and siblings. He is a big, happy boy, impressive in appearance with a solid build, square head and big chest, with perfectly matched tawny markings on his chest and forelegs. He tries to make up for his naughty behavior with many wet, sloppy kisses.

Cloudburst LedgeBak Jasper (kennelname, Hopper) belongs to my dear friend and long time Chinook breeder, Richalene Kelsay in Florida. Jasper weighs 57 pounds and measures 23 inches. Richalene paid dearly for this baby boy by spending five weeks with me in Maine whelping (Elaine Bradbury came too and delivered the first six) and raising the babies. She then returning for three weeks in October so I could travel with my husband. Yet the most trying task she endured was driving with me, Sabaka, Karelia and three pups (Alaya, Luna and Jasper) from Maine to Florida in November!

Richalene says Jasper is very gentle and affectionate as well as exuberant, athletic and gracefully agile. His current favorite toy is an old broomstick (yes, he removed the straw). He will run across the yard carrying one end, then will rise up on his back legs and continue to run on just his back legs with the broomstick in his mouth. Unfortunately she’s not been able to get a photograph of that. On February eighth he reached a milestone: he lifted his leg for the first time and nearly wet Cherry, Richalene’s eight year old Chinook. His favorite snoozing position is just like his grandfather’s (Kanati): upside down. He has a nice top line and front angulation. We hope to get him in the conformation ring in March.

Cloudburst LedgeBak Cassie (kennel name, Cricket) belongs to Nancy and Ross Kerber with their two lovely daughters in Massachusetts. The Kerbers found Chinooks because Nancy’s sister owns two, and found me because their older daughter went to camp in Bridgton, Maine. At six months Cassie is the smallest of the litter weighing 46 pounds and measuring 21.5 inches with big up ears. Her owners say she is a wonderful dog, seems relatively calm all the time except when she sees new people whom she loves to run and greet. She savors walking and running and cross country skiing where she plays in the snow.

Her cousins, Nancy’s sister’s Chinooks, are her favorite playmates. She sleeps by herself in the TV room, mostly on the couch. She’s barked maybe three times, but “talks” when she’s excited. Her gentleness with the girls is superior; she loves all children. In February the Kerbers attended the Chinook Winter Carnival in Wonalancet, New Hampshire, and Cassie had her first pulling experience. She and her family enjoyed the snowy celebration of our breed, meeting other Chinook owners and participating in the many dog activities of the weekend.

Cloudburst LedgeBak Kraumayok (kennel and call name, Luna) has joined the wonderful Southwind Chinook pack owned by my good friends and mentors, Diana and Robert Fowler in Florida; she is co-owned by Joann Blackman, my partner in Cloudburst Chinooks and owner of Legend. They are long time Chinook breeders and own the most titled group of dogs in our breed (to the best of my knowledge) including the single most titled Chinook, Shelly, sister to the wonderful WoodsRunner Duncan, one of our breed’s best studs. now retired. Luna weighs 47 plus pounds and measures 23 inches. Diana shows frequently and has already titled Luna: she won a Best of Breed (against a Champion and a Grand Champion) and a Group Two in a February show in Perry GA! We are so proud and can’t wait to get Jasper and Tiber in the ring.

Diana says Luna is quite active and playful with her new family, chasing her “brothers”, Blue and Nugget, around the (twenty acre) farm as fast as she can go. Frequently she catches them and tussles them to the ground. She has a bright twinkle in her eye, sometimes indicating she’s up to something. Meeting people and other dogs is always a treat for her and she’s very cuddly on the couch in the evenings. She adores Klea (her “mom” who is also out of Legend) who adores her but doesn’t understand why she’s not the real mom.

Cloudburst LedgeBak Eclipse, call name Tiber (kennel name, Monarch) became the fourth member of High Plain Chinooks in Montana. One of my favorite pictures in this set (seen below) is the four High Plain Chinooks: top l-r, Bannack, Riah; bottom l-r, Tiber, Phoenix. The Chinooks community is mourning the recently deceased Bannack.

My friends and owners Corine and Marne Lindhorst both breed and show, so we have high hopes for Tiber's career. Tiber weighs 48 pounds and measures 23 inches. In January’s snow and frigid temperatures in the northwest, Corine put a harness on Tiber and about ten pounds behind him so he could get used to noise and something behind him. He appeared not to notice. He pulled so hard he broke the snap within the first two hundred yards.

Tiber is shaping up to be a nicely put together Chinook, Corine says, and she can hardly wait for the Weatern Classic shows and the Specialty to see what the judges think of him. He moves well and has fine proportions. Of course his black and tan color may put off judges, although it is NOT a fault in our breed, but the unusually colored dog must be better than any tawny dog in the ring to win.

His temperament is outstanding, she says. He loves everyone and is great at the dog park, playing with other dogs, but if a person walks outside the fence, he leaves his playmates to greet the human. He’s learning to contain his excitement around people, but that’s still a work in progress. Most of the time he’s a calm, dignified Chinook but that big, silly puppy still sneaks out sometimes.

Cloudburst LedgeBak Alaya, call name Lola (kennel name, Gypsy) stayed with me until she was nearly six months. She found a superior home in Missouri. Her family had lost their Chinook about six months previously and had called his breeder, Diana Fowler, to find a new pup. My husband and I drove from Florida half way to meet Jane Cox and Mark Voight and their lovely daughter. We all spent the night in the same motel in Virginia, and we had a delightful evening at dinner together. I so wish they lived closer.

Lola weighs 49 pounds and is 23 inches high. She is doing quite well with her family, although she had attached herself to me which made the transition much more difficult for all involved. In addition, she’d been with her mother for nearly six months, and Sabaka grieved for weeks after she left.

Now Lola’s much less timid than she was at first. She loved playing with other dogs and particularly loves the snow, which we knew since I had the great pleasure of seeing her discover it for the first time at the motel in Virginia. She rolls in the snow, jumps into drifts and eats it. They tell me she is a joy to be around. She has her own blanket on the sofa and snuggles with her people. She is definitely one of the family.

Cloudburst LedgeBak Schooner (kennel name, Viceroy) joined the Sass family in Maryland. George and Stacy Sass and their son James had taken home a Cloudburst pup about ten years ago. When George wrote to tell me about the sudden death of Cloudburst Marley (they were devastated), he said that friends encouraged him to get a different breed next because if he bought a Chinook he’d always be comparing the two. I told him his second dog would be quite different from his first regardless of the breed, and he might as well get a Chinook. Fortunately he agreed. George had “purchased” Marley in exchange for our Cloudburst web site, so we have him to thank for its design.

Schooner is 46 pounds and 23 inches at the withers. He was altered in early January and has “up” ears which his owners want down (and we are hoping they drop). George says Schooner is a very mischievous pup who has filled their home with laughter, many eaten shoes, sunglasses and TV remotes. He loves to steal things that he knows aren’t his, then run around the house hoping they will chase him! It can be funny, but was not when he took the bag of fireplace ashes and spread them throughout the living room. He smothers his family with love and often interrupts George (who works from home) at his desk by squeezing between his legs and jumping to give kisses. Through all his mischief and spirited playmaking, he has brought his family lots of laughs and love.

Cloudburst LedgeBak Ashkii, call name Ash (kennel name, Mission) belongs to Maeve Pluta and Evan Beebe in Pennsylvania. They found our breed on a web site that said a Chinook would make a good apartment dog. I was surprised, but after talking at length with them and being assured he would get adequate exercise, I agreed to let them have him. They drove to Maine to pick him up, and I liked them so much I’m really glad they are part of the Cloudburst family.

Ash weighs 50 pounds and is about 22 inches. This amazes me since he was born at only 8 ounces, and for weeks was way behind the other pups in development. He’s certainly made up for his slow start in life. Maeve says he graduated from an 8 week puppy training class and everyone says he’s such a good puppy. They can’t leave the apartment without someone stopping them to say how adorable he is. Close to one hundred dogs live in their building, but everyone knows Ash by name. He loves other dogs and all people. However he can be selfish with his toys unless he’s trying to play with the cat. He’s terrific with children of all ages. His only problem is that he’s a licker (like his mother). He’s very perceptive and loved by everyone, even non-dog lovers. He’s brought so much joy to their lives. Maeve and Evan say they love every minute of being with him.

The beginning...