16 Chinooks and 19 of their people converged on September 22, 2007 at beautiful Shatford Park in New Lebanon, New York, for an event co-sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Chinook Club (MACC) and Chinooks New England! (CNE!). Both are regional affiliate clubs of the COA. We were joined by Anthony Statuto, a UKC Weight Pull judge, and owner/trainer of several APBT's, some holding national weight pull titles. Anthony presented an extremely informative workshop on training for the sport of weight pull, assisted by his friend Leslie, a very familiar face to folks who attend conformation shows in the Northeast. After an overview of the sport and an explanation of the benefits of positive training techniques, all the dogs were invited to try on a harness and try to pull some light weights. It was interesting to learn that Anthony recommends using lengths of chain for training dogs to pull, because of the more consistent feel of the chain sliding across the ground, as opposed to a drag sled or tire. Let's suffice to say everyone who tried it had a great experience and came away proud of the accomplishments of their dogs. We owe a huge thank you to Anthony and Leslie - the seminar was very informative and they were very patient!

Next was lunch, which was, in Chinook fashion, simple, plentiful and tasty. It was a great chance to sit down and talk to fellow Chinook owners, and a bit of a family reunion for the GreatMountain cross lines and Callicoon Chinooks' Halloween Litter. Uncles, cousins and siblings were everywhere! GreatMountain Trav'ler was on hand to proudly reign over her progeny. Toward the end of lunch, a LIVE auction, with Karen Hinchy as auctioneer, was held to raise money for both clubs. It's hard to say which is more cutthroat - a silent auction or a live one! T-shirts, sweatshirts and hats were on sale, for those who weren't sporting them already.

After lunch, a rig, scooters and mountain bikes were available for old and new hands alike to try a bit of sledding technique. The best comment of the day was "I didn't know my dog was so good at so many different things!" Folks went home with plans to train for the upcoming season, be it skijoring, bikejoring, sledding or cani-cross. Many Chinooks and their owners got their first dryland pulling experience today, and are chomping at the bit for more!

All of the dogs were extremely well behaved, as were the people J. What a nice group of folks and some great looking dogs! As we head into fall and hopefully some cooler weather - Happy Trails to all!