Kyra (KEER-ah)

The dog, the legend...

CH ‘PR’ MountainThunder Great Kyraina CGC DNA-VIP (or Kyra as we know her) is the matriarch of Desert Sol Chinooks and exhibits many of the traditional Chinook dog physical qualities: a beautiful tawny double coat, strong chest and pulling ability, and helicopter ears (although pricked or down are always acceptable). She stands at 22 inches tall and weighs in at 52 pounds.

Her deep almond-colored eyes show off her intelligence and they are good weapons to melt anyone’s heart! Many dogs get nervous or look away when people stare directly at them. Not Kyra, when people look her in the eye it usually means attention so she uses that weakness in people to get lots and lots of petting and love! (Just ask Grandpa Cobill.)

Although not a person, a personality

While it is typical for Chinook dogs to be reserved with strangers, Kyra LOVES EVERYONE! She loves people- big and small, young and old. Sex, race, creed- none of these make any difference to our little Chinook ambassador. Anyone that will look her in the eye for 0.2 seconds best beware- they are about to get an onslaught of tongue kisses! She is especially fond of little kids as they make easy targets for "the Tongue" since they are the same height as her. Her love extends to other animals and dogs as well. In fact, it is funny how much she loves dogs now because, when she was younger, she was the awkward kid in the group that wasn't good at doggie interaction.

We didn’t have family or friends nearby with dogs with which she could regularly play and trips to the dog park did not help. So we decided to take her to PetSmart Doggie Day Camp. What started out as 'nervous visits' turned into 'rules the roost' and she became the alpha female of her 'pack' at her PetSmart. She welcomes new and shy dogs to her pack and keeps the other ones in line (which unfortunately gets her in a little trouble at times). To top off her socialization resume is her home 'pack'. Besides her humans, she has one kitty brother that she loves to chase around, and her daughter Zazu for rougher play. We actually think she believes all small dogs are cats since she plays with them the same way she does with her brother kitty at home.

A Chinook in the desert ... seriously?!

It is fun to bring the Chinook breed to the southwest but unfortunately we don’t have snow to be true to her sled dog heritage. We do have a bikejoring apparatus we use to have her pull Jon on a bike from time to time. When hooked up, she immediately channels her pulling roots and is in automatic pull mode (no pedaling necessary). It’s amazing Chinooks know what to do once the harness is on! We also have a scooter with a retractable line for her and her daughter Zazu to pull instead of a sled (although her Grandma Jolly just bought property in Flagstaff, AZ (four seasons!) so we can at least get her into the snow once and a while on visits). She blows her coat twice a year which helps her stay cooler, but outdoor adventures are more limited in the summer.

Her bag of tricks

Kyra is Canine Good Citizen (CGC) certified and has completed several levels of obedience training as well as the training Jon does with her (which by the way is amazing). If you ever visit AZ, come visit and ask to see her bag of tricks. She is a quiet dog, unless she is riled up with random barking (by her people) and she responds by running around the house barking as well. Although we find this hilarious, we are probably just as entertaining looking like fools barking at our dog. :) She is a pure sweetheart always wanting to be near us. She may be a bit spoiled, but in our defense, she is hard to resist. For example, if you are sitting watching TV and see her big brown eyes staring at you, you may find yourself reaching out to pet her without consciously being aware of it!

A final note

As a final note, we welcome anyone who is interested in a Chinook to come and meet Kyra. However, please do not try to sneak out with her, break in and take her, lure her away with peanut butter treats, or remove her from our home in any way. It's true, she's loveable and gorgeous and you may feel the urge to do any or all of the aforementioned atrocities, but she's ours. ;)