Chow Chow

A red Chow Chow puppy
Other names	Chow, Chowdren
Country of origin	Inner Asia
Traits Weight Male 55 to 70 pounds(25 to 32 kilograms) Female 45 to 60 pounds (20 to 27 kilograms) Height Male 19–22 in (48–56 cm) Female 18–20 in (46–51 cm) Coat Thick and coarse Color Red (light gold to deep red-brown) Cinnamon (light tan to brown) Black Cream Litter size 3-6 Life span 9–15 years
Classification and standards AKC Non-sporting standard ANKC Group 7 Non-sporting standard CKC Group 6 Non-sporting standard KC (UK) Utility standard NZKC Non-sporting standard UKC Northern Breeds standard
Dog (Canis lupus familiaris)

Chow Chow is a breed of dog that was developed in China,^[1] where it is referred to as Songshi Quan (Pinyin: sōngshī quǎn 鬆獅犬), which literally means "puffy-lion dog".

Appearance[link]

The distinctive chow features

A close-up of the Chow's characteristic blue-black tongue

The Chow Chow is a sturdily built dog, square in profile, with a broad skull and small, triangular, erect ears, which are rounded at the tips. The breed has a very dense double coat that can be either smooth or rough. The fur is particularly thick around the neck, giving the distinctive ruff or mane appearance. The coat may be one of five colors including red, black, blue, cinnamon/fawn, and cream.

The eyes should be deep set and almond in shape. Chows are distinguished by their unusual blue-black/purple tongue and very straight hind legs, resulting in a rather stilted gait. The bluish color extends to the chow's lips; the Chow is the only dog breed with this distinctive bluish color in its lips and oral cavity (other dogs have black or a piebald pattern skin in their mouths). One other distinctive feature is the curly tail. It has thick hair and lies curled on its back. The nose should be black (except the blue which can have a solid blue or slate colored nose). Any other tone is disqualification for showing in the United States under AKC breed standard.^[2] However, FCI countries do allow for a self-colored nose in the cream.^[3]

The blue-black/purple tongue gene appears to be dominant, as almost all mixed breed dogs that come from a Chow retain the tongue color.^{[citation needed]} This is not to say, however, that every mixed breed dog with spots of purple on the tongue is descended from Chows, as purple spots on the tongue can be found on a multitude of pure breed dogs.^[4]

Temperament[link]

A modern adult Chow Chow with smooth facial features.

The Chow Chow is most commonly kept as a pet. Chows can be fiercely protective of their people and property and may not be an appropriate dog for a first-time dog owner. However American Kennel Club standards consider aggressive or timid Chows to be unacceptable.^[5] The Chow Chow is considered to be suspicious of strangers and protective of family.^[6] However, others characterize the Chow Chow as having a personality similar to that of a cat.^[7][8]

Owning a Chow Chow can raise the cost of homeowners insurance as some companies regard them as "high risk dogs."^[9] In a study done by Vet Med Today, from 1979 to 1998, out of a total of 238 fatalities related to dog bites, Chow Chows were responsible for 8.^[10]

Chows are not excessively active, meaning they can be kept in an apartment. However if keeping them in an apartment they must be exercised daily to prevent this highly intelligent dog growing restless and bored. They will come to demand their daily walk when they realise it is a daily occurence.

Health[link]

Chows of different coat colors.

The Chow Chow can suffer from entropion,^[11][12] glaucoma,^[13][14] juvenile cataracts,^[15] lymphoma,^[16] hip dysplasia,^[17] diabetes mellitus,^[18] canine pemphigus,^[19] and gastric cancer.^[20] Chows are a high risk breed for autoimmune disease ^[21] and are at a predisposition for skin melanoma.^[22]

Due to the Chow Chow's thick coat, fleas can become a problem.^[23]

History[link]

A Chow Chow in 1915.

Recent DNA analysis confirms that the Chow Chow is one of the oldest breeds of dog.^[24] Research indicates it is one of the first primitive breeds to evolve from the wolf, and is thought by many to have originated in the arid steppes of northern China/Mongolia, although other theorists conjecture that its origin is in Siberian regions of Asia. A Chinese bas-relief from 150 BCE shows a hunting dog and a dog very friendly toward children similar in appearance to the Chow. Later, Chow Chows were bred as general-purpose working dogs for hunting, herding and protection of the home. The black tongued Chow was also bred for human consumption.^[25] Some scholars claim the Chow was the original ancestor of the Samoyed, Norwegian Elkhound, Pomeranian and Keeshond.^[26]

In the United States, the Chow Chow was a highly popular pet among the rich and famous during the Roaring Twenties. President Calvin Coolidge and his wife owned a black Chow named Timmy.^{[27][27][28][28]} Chow Chows were also popular in the 1930s and 1980s.

Famous Chow Chow Owners[link]

Director Teja owns a chow called, "Action". Vanna Bonta^[29][30] has a cream Chow named Sky in a line of her breed of choice, a blue Chow she had named Seraph, and a red Chow named Beowulf who was immortalized as a fictional dog in the book Flight. Sigmund Freud had a Chow named Jo-Fi who attended all of his therapy sessions because he felt that dogs had a special sense that allows them to judge a person's character accurately, and admitted he depended on Jo-Fi for an assessment of a patient's mental state.^[31] Martha Stewart had a Chow named Genghis Khan that died in a kennel fire.^[32][33] Peri Gilpin had a chow chow named Charlie. Janet Jackson had a Chow named Buckwheat.^[34][35] Drew Barrymore, Selena Gomez and Matthew McConaughey had chow-lab mixes. Manchester United winger Nani is also an owner of a Chow Chow named Panda.^[36] Actor Madhavan owns a chow chow named "Simba".^[37]

See also[link]

• Foo Dog

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chow Chows

• Chow Chow breed standard at the official American Kennel Club website
• The Chow Chow Club, Inc.
• The Netherlands Chow Chow Club
• The Royal Belgian Chow Chow Club
• Quality Dogs - Chow Chow Information

Look up chow in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Chow may refer to:

• Chowgums, an interjection
• Chow Chow, a dog breed
• Chow-chow, djana
• Chow (unit), an obsolete unit of mass in the pearl trade in Mumbai
• Chow, an alternate name for the star Beta Serpentis
• An English-phonetic spelling of ciao
• Chowhound, a popular online food discussion site
• Mr. Chow, an upscale Chinese restaurant chain
• A slang term for food in general (such as in the terms "chow down" or "chow hall")
• The main Wade-Giles spelling of the Chinese surname 周, see Zhou
• Chow or Chow-chow a pickled vegetable dish
• Chow test, a statistical test for detecting differences between trends in time series.

People[link]

• China Chow, British actress
• Chow, a character in the television show "Jackie Chan Adventures"
• Chow Yun-fat, Chinese actor
• Amy Chow, American gymnast
• Michael Chow, restaurateur and founder of Mr. Chow
• Olivia Chow, Canadian politician
• Raymond Chow, Hong Kong cinema producer/executive
• Stephen Chow, Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor
• Tina Chow, deceased model
• Ven Te Chow Ph.D. US hydrologist.
• Vivian Chow, Chinese singer
• Wei-Liang Chow, mathematician who worked in algebraic geometry

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