Dog

If there’s a dog breed that is as noble as a lion, as whimsically amusing as a panda, as adorable as a teddy bear, as graceful and independent as a cat and as loyal and devoted as a true dog breed, then that is no other than the Chow Chow. Believed to be in existence for than 4000 years, the Chow Chow is considered as one of the most ancient of dog breeds which thought to have first appeared in Mongolia. In China, countless of Chinese ancient arts depicted a lion-like dog that is believed to be the ancestors of the Chow Chow.

Recent scientific studies have revealed that indeed, the Chow Chow is one of the oldest breed of dogs and that it is one of the first breeds to have evolved from the wolf that inhabited the northern part of China and Mongolia. There are also some speculations which state that the Chow Chow have come from the Arctic Circle and migrated to Mongolia, China and Siberia. Some scholars theorize that the Chow Chow is the forerunner of other breeds such as the Samoyed, Pomeranian, Keeshond and Norwegian Elkhound.

During its time in ancient China, the Chow was used in hunting and was assigned to pull carts and boat guarding. One interesting fact states that in ancient China, an emperor owned 2500 pairs of Chows which accompanied all of his 10,000 hunters during hunting. Additionally, Chow’s meat is also considered as a delicacy by the Chinese and until now, dog meats are still being eaten in their country. The late President Calvin Coolidge also had a Chow named Timmy and their companionship was popular during his time.

There are a lot of misconceptions about the Chow Chow and therefore many of this breed experiences mishandling and wrong treatment. As a result, Chow Chows that experience this kind of environment become ill-tempered towards strangers, animals and even to the master himself. The Chow Chow is a unique creature and requires a rather special kind of care so if you’re a novice in handling a Chow Chow, be sure to research good in order to provide the correct terms of care it needs.

The Chow Chow is dignified and noble in temperament and is generally a one-person kind of dog therefore it often chooses to be alone when there are a lot of chaotic people around it. It doesn’t mean, however, that this breed does not like to socialize for it does love meeting new people only when it is trained to be so at an early stage. Chows who are raised to be social can live with cats and other dogs inside the house and can be accepting to strangers but only when being introduced gently by the master.

This breed reacts well to owners who has firm and imposing tone, is consistent and confident. People who own or will own a Chow Chow should develop these characters in order to instill to the dog that the master is the leader and should be obeyed pertinently. A Chow Chow is active and participative in activities that it doesn’t know how to do yet at first but when such activities become repetitive, it becomes bored and would turn away and ignore commands indefinitely.

The Chow is not the best breed when it comes to obedience and conformation competitions because it is hard to train and in fact, ranks only as 76th in Stanley Cohen’s Intelligence of Dogs. The Chow is also not a very outgoing dog and it loves to stay inside the house for the most part of the day. Because of this, the Chow is suited to live in an apartment with a very small yard remembering only that it still needs to have a daily exercise in order to keep it healthy and fit.

What gives the Chow Chow a lion-like appearance is its big ruffle around its neck and its double coat of dense hair all over its body. It is also unique physically through its bluish-black/purplish tongue, stiff gait due straight back legs, and a hairy and curled tail. The Chow often appears in shades of red, black, blue, fawn or cinnamon, and cream.