Chow Chow
Description
The Chow Chow is a large, stocky dog. The two most distinctive features of the Chow Chow are its blue-black tongue and its almost straight hind legs, which makes it walk rather stilted. The head is large and broad with a flat skull. The muzzle is broad and deep. There is a huge ruff behind the head, which gives it a lion-like appearance. The black nose is large with well open nostrils. The teeth meet in a scissors bite. The small, erect ears are triangular in shape and round at the tip. The almond-shaped eyes are deep-set and dark in color. The chest is broad and deep. The tail is set high, carried very close to the back. Dewclaws are sometimes removed. The profuse, dense, furry coat comes in two varieties, smooth and rough. The most common colors are solid red, black, blue, cinnamon and cream, but it can also come in tan, gray, or a rare white. The coat sometimes has lighter or darker shades, but is never parti-colored.
Temperament
The Chow Chow is a well-mannered dog. Quite good with children. If they get to know cats and other household animals when they are young, they will get along with them when they are adults. Should be thoroughly socialized preferably when they are young. They need firm authority and training starting at puppyhood. Whether you are adopting a puppy or an adult dog, owners need to set the rules for the dog to follow and stick to. This is a very dominant breed that requires a dominant owner. The owner of this breed of dog should be a calm person who is naturally firm, confident and consistent. With such a handler, the Chow Chow can develop well. The problems arise when the dog lives with owners who do not understand how to be, and stay in, the alpha position. If you allow this dog to believe it is the boss of your house it will become stubborn, protective and sometimes downright unruly. Unless the dog senses the owners are very strong-minded, it will work hard at keeping its alpha position in your human pack. When this happens it does not consider itself as being mean, but instinctually is telling you in the way dogs communicate with one another that it gets to decide when and how things are done. It will be self-willed to the point of obstinacy and may be overprotective. When you have a Chow Chow that believes he is the ruler of humans, and strangers push themselves on this dog, he may become aggressive, telling the humans he would like to have his space. Space means a lot to a dog. It is respect in the dog world. Chow Chows that believe they are boss will often be a one-person dog, very loyal to their master, though he may act reserved, even with them. Alpha Chow Chows like to dominate other dogs. A Chow Chow that is not 100% convinced humans are the boss will be harder to obedience train. The Chow will feel IT needs to be deciding what and when to do things, not the human, as humans must listen to IT. These are NOT Chow Chow traits, they are instinctual behaviors, resulting from meek human authority over the dog. If you would like to own a dog, make sure you, and the rest of your family, know how to be alpha. All family members, and other humans around the dog, must be higher in the pecking order than the dog. Chow Chows can be quite a handful with passive owners, but take the very same dog and put him with an owner who has natural authority and he will be polite, patient and well rounded, making an excellent family companion.
The Chow Chow is a large, stocky dog. The two most distinctive features of the Chow Chow are its blue-black tongue and its almost straight hind legs, which makes it walk rather stilted. The head is large and broad with a flat skull. The muzzle is broad and deep. There is a huge ruff behind the head, which gives it a lion-like appearance. The black nose is large with well open nostrils. The teeth meet in a scissors bite. The small, erect ears are triangular in shape and round at the tip. The almond-shaped eyes are deep-set and dark in color. The chest is broad and deep. The tail is set high, carried very close to the back. Dewclaws are sometimes removed. The profuse, dense, furry coat comes in two varieties, smooth and rough. The most common colors are solid red, black, blue, cinnamon and cream, but it can also come in tan, gray, or a rare white. The coat sometimes has lighter or darker shades, but is never parti-colored.
Temperament
The Chow Chow is a well-mannered dog. Quite good with children. If they get to know cats and other household animals when they are young, they will get along with them when they are adults. Should be thoroughly socialized preferably when they are young. They need firm authority and training starting at puppyhood. Whether you are adopting a puppy or an adult dog, owners need to set the rules for the dog to follow and stick to. This is a very dominant breed that requires a dominant owner. The owner of this breed of dog should be a calm person who is naturally firm, confident and consistent. With such a handler, the Chow Chow can develop well. The problems arise when the dog lives with owners who do not understand how to be, and stay in, the alpha position. If you allow this dog to believe it is the boss of your house it will become stubborn, protective and sometimes downright unruly. Unless the dog senses the owners are very strong-minded, it will work hard at keeping its alpha position in your human pack. When this happens it does not consider itself as being mean, but instinctually is telling you in the way dogs communicate with one another that it gets to decide when and how things are done. It will be self-willed to the point of obstinacy and may be overprotective. When you have a Chow Chow that believes he is the ruler of humans, and strangers push themselves on this dog, he may become aggressive, telling the humans he would like to have his space. Space means a lot to a dog. It is respect in the dog world. Chow Chows that believe they are boss will often be a one-person dog, very loyal to their master, though he may act reserved, even with them. Alpha Chow Chows like to dominate other dogs. A Chow Chow that is not 100% convinced humans are the boss will be harder to obedience train. The Chow will feel IT needs to be deciding what and when to do things, not the human, as humans must listen to IT. These are NOT Chow Chow traits, they are instinctual behaviors, resulting from meek human authority over the dog. If you would like to own a dog, make sure you, and the rest of your family, know how to be alpha. All family members, and other humans around the dog, must be higher in the pecking order than the dog. Chow Chows can be quite a handful with passive owners, but take the very same dog and put him with an owner who has natural authority and he will be polite, patient and well rounded, making an excellent family companion.
Grooming
Your Chow should be brushed weekly between baths. Lay the Chow on his side, mist the coat with coat dressing and brush thoroughly to the skin. Coat dressing prevents hair breakage, static and generally makes grooming easier. Use the slicker brush on the shorter hair and the pin brush on the longer coat. Follow with the medium/coarse comb. The fine-toothed comb is used on legs, feet and face and is good for removing shedding and dead hair. Remember, always brush to the skin! When finished, use the shears to trim off any long, wispy hair that sticks out beyond the Chow "silhouette". Trim a small area around the anus for cleanliness. You can also trim the Chow's hocks and pasterns (ankles) for neatness. Ear cleaning should also be done weekly using a product designed for that purpose. It's a good idea to have your veterinarian or groomer show you how. Your veterinarian can also show you how to brush your dog's teeth and prevent future dental diseases. Shedding The Chow Chow is a very heavy shedder. He sheds an awful lot of hair! You'll find hair all over your home, stuck to everything! You'll probably even find it in the butter! Training The Chow Chow is the hardest to train of all dog breeds. He learns new commands slower than all other breeds. You will need to be extra patient when Training him. Living Conditions The Chow Chow will do okay in an apartment if it is sufficiently exercised. It is relatively inactive indoors and a small yard is sufficient. Sensitive to heat, can live in or outdoors in cooler weather. Exercise Chow Chows can be lazy, but need to be taken for a daily walk. Dogs that do not get to go on daily walks are more likely to display a wide array of behavior problems. Health Chow Chows have a life expectancy of 10 to 15 years. Breed health concerns may include hip dysplasia and elbow dysplasia, patellar luxation, thyroid disease and ocular disorders such as entropion and ectropion. History The chow chow has some spitz characteristics. Because of this, it has been proposed that the chow chow either descends from spitz forebears or is itself an ancestor of some of the spitz breeds. Unfortunately, the origin of the breed has been lost in time, but it has been known in China for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Its original purpose may have been as a hunting dog, sniffing out and even pointing birds for the nobility. The breed declined in quality and numbers after the imperial hunts were ended, but a few pure descendants were kept in isolated monasteries and wealthy households. Other accounts contend that the breed was a source of fur pelts and food in Manchuria and Mongolia. One of the most distinctive features of the breed is its black tongue, which was also the basis for its more common names in China. Only when dogs were brought to England along with other Chinese importations in the late 1700s was the name chow chow adopted. The name is probably derived from a term simply meaning Oriental knickknack and assorted curios, and may have come to be applied to the dogs because they were lumped into a ship's log of cargo. These early imports were, in fact, looked upon as curios. Not until the late 1800s was the breed imported to England and then America in earnest. Queen Victoria's interest in these dogs helped draw attention to the breed. AKC recognized the chow chow in 1903. The breed's distinctive noble look has always attracted fanciers, but in the 1980s the breed soared in popularity among pet owners, as well, ultimately peaking as the sixth-most popular breed in America. |
Weight - Male 55 to 70 pounds(25 to 32 kg), Female 45 to 60 pounds (20 to 27 kg)
Height - Male 19–22 in (48–56 cm), Female 18–20 in (46–51 cm)
Coat - Thick and coarse
Litter size - 3–6
Life span - 10–15 years
Country of origin - China
Other names - Chow
Color - Red, Brown, Black
Height - Male 19–22 in (48–56 cm), Female 18–20 in (46–51 cm)
Coat - Thick and coarse
Litter size - 3–6
Life span - 10–15 years
Country of origin - China
Other names - Chow
Color - Red, Brown, Black