“A Mans Best Friend”
Jun 8 2009
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.
In China, the Chow Chow was mainly used as a guard dog, hunting dog, cart-puller and watchdog. This breed is that effective in hunting that Chinese history said, an emperor once own 2500 pairs of Chows, all of which accompanied him and his 10,000 hunters during hunting expeditions. Not only do the Chinese consider the Chow Chow as pets but as food as well for Chow Chow meat is considered a delicacy from then till now. The Chow Chow is not only favored by the ancient Chinese but of today’s many families as well including the then President Calvin Coolidge, which owns a Chow named Timmy.
People often misinterpret the Chow Chow and a lot of owners misunderstand the breed. As a result, they fail to give the proper care that the Chow needs and this results to the breed as having an ill-temper. The Chow is a unique breed with special needs and so, to avoid Chows from having bad dispositions, research must be done before owning one.
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.
This dog is covered with a very dense double coat and its neck is surrounded by a huge ruff and this gives the breed a lion- like appearance. Some distinct features of the breed are its blue-black or purplish tongue, straight hind legs which gives it a stiff gait and a thickly-haired and curled tail. The Chow Chow is often seen in shades of red, black, blue, cinnamon, fawn and cream.
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