The Chinook breed descends mainly from one male ancestor born in 1917.
That dog was named Chinook and became the foundation of the sled-dog breed developed by Arthur Treadwell Walden in New Hampshire. Walden wanted to create an efficient, powerful and manageable sled dog, drawing on experience from the Yukon and northern working-dog traditions.
The original Chinook came from a cross between Ningo, a Greenland Dog descended from a dog associated with the Peary North Pole expedition, and Kim, a large tawny Mastiff–Saint Bernard type. Their three puppies were initially named Rikki, Tikki and Tavi. As Rikki matured and displayed the desired sled-dog qualities, he was renamed Chinook after another dog Walden had encountered.
Chinook became Walden’s lead dog and stud, giving the breed its remarkable genetic concentration around one male founder. The breed later became closely associated with New Hampshire, where it was developed in the early 20th century and eventually designated the state dog. It is a distinctly American sled-dog breed, not a direct synonym for the Siberian Husky or Alaskan Malamute.