Many of us will live an entire life without ever having met a Chinook in person. Listed by Guinness World Records in 1965 as the rarest dog breed in the world with only 125 known specimens, breed numbers fell even lower before Chinook enthusiasts around the world slowly brought the breed back from the brink of extinction. The breed is on better footing these days, but it’s still a very uncommon breed, so one is to be forgiven for not knowing that the AKC breed standard allows for three different ear types: Drop, prick, or propeller ears. As an aside, it’s the only breed standard which mentions, let alone accepts, “propeller” ears.”
What’s a “propeller” ear? Behold:
Sara Treat’s, “Nutter”
Propeller ears don’t seem to hurt the breed’s modeling potential. Back in 2015, Patti Richards’ “Doonerak” who was then thirteen years old appeared on the cover of the upscale In the Company of Dogs:
The standard adds that while any ear type is allowed, dropped and matched ears are preferred only for “aesthetic purposes.”
Image of three ears types by Kathleen Riley
Back in maybe the early 80s I read an article about the chinook in Yankee Magazine and fell in love with the breed. I searched and searched for one in my area but never found it, but to this day still hold a spot for one in my heart and hearth.