Videos Chow Chow Breed Information
Country of origin - China
Classification and breed standards
FCI:|Group
5 Section 5 #205|Stds
AKC:|Non-sporting|Stds
ANKC:|Group 7
Non-sporting|Stds
CKC:|Group
6
Non-sporting|Stds
KC
(UK):|Utility|Stds
NZKC:|Non-sporting|Stds
UKC:|Northern
Breeds|Stds
Chow Chow, or Chow, is a
breed of dog
originating from China, where it is
referred to as Songshi Quan (Pinyin: songshi quan ???), which literally means
"puffy-lion dog." It is believed
that the Chow Chow is one of the native dogs used as the model for
the Foo dog, the traditional stone
guardians found in front of Buddhist temples and palaces.
1. Appearance
The Chow is a sturdily built dog that is square in profile with
broad skull and small, triangular ears that are rounded at the tip.
The breed has a very dense coat that is either smooth or rough. The
fur is particularly thick around the neck, giving the distinctive
ruff or mane. The coat may be one of five
colors including red, black, blue, cinnamon, and cream. Individuals
with patchy or multicolored coats are considered to be outside the
breed standard. Chows are distinguished by their unusual
blue-black/purple tongue and very straight hind legs, resulting in
a rather stilted gait. The blue-black/purple tongue gene appears to
be dominant, as almost all mixed breed dogs who come from a Chow
retain the tongue color. This is not to say, however, that every
mixed breed dog with spots of purple on the tongue are descended
from chows as purple spots on the tongue can be found on a
multitude of pure breed dogs.
2. Temperament
Today the Chow Chow is most commonly kept as a companion dog. Their keen sense of proprietorship
over their homes paired with a sometimes disconcertingly serious
approach to strangers can be off putting to those unfamiliar with
the breed. However, displays of timidity and aggression are
uncharacteristic of well-bred and well socialized specimens. The
proper Chow owner will be just as willful and stubborn as the Chow
they keep, thus weaker-willed individuals would be best served to
evaluate their commitment in controlling an animal who is happy to
take over any household. Specimens of opposite sex typically
co-habitate with less tension than those of the same sex, but it is
not unheard of for multiple chows of both sexes to live together
peacefully in a home setting. Chows are extremely loyal to their
own family and will bond tightly to their masters. The Chow
typically shows affection only with those it has bonds to, so new
visitors to the home should not press their physical attention upon
the resident Chow as it will not immediately accept strangers in
the same manner as it does members of its own "pack". The
typical Chow's behavior is thought to be more similar to a
domestic cat rather than a domestic dog.
Chows are not a particularly active breed. Apartment life can
suit this breed, if given enough opportunity for regularly
scheduled physical activity each day. The Chow Chow may appear to
be independent and aloof for much of the day, keeping a comfortable
distance from others while staying within earshot, or preferring to
watch for strangers alone by the entrance. Owners still need to be
prepared to take a Chow Chow for a brisk daily walk, even if they
have a fenced yard, in order to meet their needs for mental and
physical stimulation. While the Chow exhibits low energy for most
of the day, it will crave routine time to explore and play to
maintain a happy and content disposition.
3. Health
The chow chow is the number 1 ranked dog that is affected by
elbow dysplasia. They are also prone to hip dysplasia, patellar luxation (slipping knee caps),
thyroid disease, and ocular disorders such as entropion and ectropion. The risks of such disorders
increases exponentially when a chow is purchased from backyard
breeders, pet stores and unscrupulous kennels that do not test
their breeding stock for such genetic disorders. As such, a
potential chow buyer would be best served to ask to see all health
clearances for the parents of a litter up front. In the United
States, these would be clearances from the Canine Eye Registration
Foundation and Orthopedic Foundation for
Animals; other countries will have other health testing
schemes, and contacting the national canine registry association
will provide that information. Reputable kennels should provide the
new owner with a written and signed health warranty as well.
Although there is no way to accurately predict the lifespan of an
animal, one should expect the healthy chow to live between 10 to 12
years.
4. History
The Chow is a unique breed of dog thought to be one of the
oldest recognizable breeds. Research indicates it is one of the
first primitive breeds to evolve from the wolf. Recent DNA analysis confirms that this is one of
the oldest breeds of dog.
From what records survive, some historians believe that the Chow
was the dog described as accompanying the Mongolian armies as they
invaded south into China as well as west into Europe and southwest
into the Middle East during 12th Century,
although a Chinese bas-relief from
150 BC shows a hunting dog similar in
appearance to the Chow. Later Chow Chows were bred as a
general-purpose working dog for
herding, hunting, pulling and guarding.
In China, some farms still raise a variety of dog breeds,
including Chows, for meat and hides. However, the breed is not
named Chow Chow because they make good "chow", as is
commonly supposed. In fact, when they were first shipped to England
in the late 18th century, they arrived in the holds of ships,
marked "chow chow", Chinese pidgin English for
miscellaneous merchandise. The customs people simply assumed that
was what they were called and the name stuck.
Copyright (c) 2008 Kitt Killion Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".
Taken or modified, in whole or part, from Wikipedia.org
