The Chow Chow is a Chinese dog breed that’s perceived 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. It has been in existence for more than 4000 years and therefore is one of the most ancient of dog breeds appearing originally in Mongolia. The Chow Chow flourished mainly in China and numerous ancient Chinese arts depicted this fact.

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 ancient China where this breed was firstly seen, it was used mainly as a hunting dog, a cart-puller and a boat guard. According to history, one emperor was so fond of this dog that he owned as many as 2500 Chow pairs, all of which accompanied his 10,000 hunters. Its meat was also eaten by the Chinese and is considered as a delicacy. In more recent times, popularity of the Chow Chow was manifested through famous people’s adoration of it just like President Calvin Coolidge’s Chow named Timmy.

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 a naturally independent and generally aloof kind of creature. Saying this, however, does not mean it doesn’t like to socialize because it does love to be around people only if it was trained to be so at an early age. The Chow Chow can live peacefully in a house with cats and other creatures so long as it is trained to live harmoniously with them in puppyhood, however, when it reaches adulthood and the owner failed to introduce it to other kinds of people and animals, it may become aggressive and unwelcoming to new faces.

A Chow owner must be a good leader and by this it means that the owner should be consistent, firm, confident and patient in handling and training the dog. If the owner fails to impose that he/she is the leader of the pack, the Chow will manifest bad behaviors and these include aggressiveness, irritability and small dog syndrome wherein it tends to act as the leader of humans and not the other way around. The Chow is also interested in new activities and will love to participate in training sessions so long as it is not repetitive as Chows tend to get bored easily.

The Chow Chow is not one of the best breeds in terms of obedience and intelligence and in fact it only ranks 76th in Stanley Cohen’s The Intelligence of Dogs. For the most pat of the day, the Chow is rather inactive and just stays indoors to rest and be placid. This temperament allows it to be suitable in an apartment style of living; however, it still needs daily exercise in order for it to be healthy mentally and physically.

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.