Shelly Dillingham was born into a dog breeding family.  Her mother was one of the people that wrote the original standard for the Alaskan Malamute, and discussions about breeding were common around the table at dinnertime.  Shelly bought her first chow when she was 17 from Minodell Kennels.  She learned how to handle dogs by going to training class with her father, who taught many people to handle and show.

When Shelly decided to start breeding chows, she visited all of the bigger kennels in the country.  She found the best at Mi Pao Kennels – Perm Reg. of Paul & Minnie Odenkirchen at Waterdown, Ontario.  Shelly brought back approximately 25 dogs, many of which they gave to her in order to start her breeding program in Southern California.  Of the first two litters, Shelly kept a male out of one, and female out of other.  The breeding of those two produced CH Sing-Fu’s The Canadian (pictured above).