The Chow is one of the oldest recognisable types of dog (dating back to at least 3000 B.C.). Originally from Mongolia and the heights of Tibet, the Chow was used for guarding temples in China, hunting, herding and even for food. Today however, Chows are primarily a companion dog yet their instinct of guarding has stayed with them in their want to sleep in doorways.
APPEARANCE
All of our chows are Rough: The Chow is a short, compact, squarely-built dog with an abundant outer coat particularly thick around the neck giving a lion-like mane and a soft woolly undercoat. It has a blue/black tongue and as a pup 44 rather than the normal 42 teeth. The tail is curled over its back and its straight back legs gives a chow its unique pendulum hind action.
Temperament
A temperament of a chow can be described as; loyal, dignified, aloof, discerning and proud. The Chow has an independence more often found in a cat than in dogs. When greeting a chow it is best to do so with a hand (to sight and scent) this is not a pat on the head from above or behind, it is offering your hand just below their nose. The reputation of a chow being a one man dog is misunderstood. Although they take to one person, they will readily accept all members of the family and do take to new people. They are initially wary of strangers but if re-homed will (with a bit of patience), learn to trust their new owners.
CHARACTERISTICS
Guarding: Possibly because of the role of their early ancestors most Chows are excellent guard dogs only barking when there is something to bark at. They are particularly protective of their owners and ‘their’ children, chows will often sleep in a door way opposed to any dog bed.
Chasing: Due to their basic hunting instincts they will chase, and if in a pack (2 or more) could catch sheep, squirrels, cats or anything else given the opportunity. They do not chase sticks/balls – ‘you threw it, you go and get it!’
BEHAVIOUR WITH:
Other animals: A Chow wouldn’t start a fight with another dog but would always defend itself. A chow will always remember what attacked them. Puppies have a healthy respect for other dogs. They can live with cats etc when introduced at a young age or through extended time when older (yet this can be more difficult)
Children : Chows are very good with children especially when brought up with them and are particularly protective of ‘their’ children. However it is always essential that young children are always supervised with any dog and children should never be left alone until they have been taught to respect animals and not frighten or hurt them.
Breed Standard (from the KC website 10/08/2014)
A Breed Standard is the guideline which describes the ideal characteristics, temperament and appearance including the correct colour of a breed and ensures that the breed is fit for function. Absolute soundness is essential. Breeders and judges should at all times be careful to avoid obvious conditions or exaggerations which would be detrimental in any way to the health, welfare or soundness of this breed. From time to time certain conditions or exaggerations may be considered to have the potential to affect dogs in some breeds adversely, and judges and breeders are requested to refer to the Breed Watch section of the Kennel Club website
For details of any such current issues. If a feature or quality is desirable it should only be present in the right measure. However if a dog possesses a feature, characteristic or colour described as undesirable or highly undesirable it is strongly recommended that it should not be rewarded in the show ring.
General Appearance
Active, compact, short-coupled and essentially well balanced, leonine in appearance, proud, dignified bearing; well knit frame; tail carried well over back. Should always be able to move freely and must not have so much coat as to impede activity or cause distress in hot weather.
Characteristics
Quiet dog, good guard, bluish-black tongue; its distinctive short-striding gait allows it to move freely, never lumbering and with excellent endurance.
Temperament
Independent, loyal, yet aloof.
Head and Skull
Skull flat, broad; stop not pronounced, well filled out under eyes. Muzzle moderate in length, broad from eyes to end (not pointed at end like a fox). Nose, large and wide in all cases, black with exception of cream and near white in which case a lighter coloured nose permissible, and in blues and fawns a self-coloured nose (but black preferable in all cases).
Eyes
Dark, oval shaped, medium sized and clean. A matching coloured eye permissible in blues and fawns. Clean eye, free from entropion, never being penalised for sake of mere size.
Ears
Small, thick, slightly rounded at tip, carried stiffly and wide apart but tilting well forward over eyes and slightly towards each other, giving peculiar characteristic scowling expression of the breed. Scowl never to be achieved by loose wrinkled skin of head.
Mouth
Teeth strong and level, jaws strong, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws. A solid black mouth including the roof and flews, with a bluish black tongue is ideal. However, some dilution may be evident in the gums of blues and fawns and this dilution may be more pronounced in creams and whites.
Neck
Strong, full, not short, set well on shoulders and slightly arched. Of sufficient length to carry the head proudly above the topline.
Forequarters
Shoulders muscular and sloping. Elbows equidistant between withers and ground. Forelegs perfectly straight with good bone.
Body
Chest broad and deep. Ribs well sprung but not barrelled. The distance from withers to elbow is equal to the distance from elbow to ground. Back short, level and strong. Loins powerful.
Hindquarters
In profile the foot is directly under the hip joint. Well developed first and second thigh with only slight bend of stifle. Hocks well let down. From hocks downwards to appear straight, never flexing forward.
Feet
Small, round, cat-like, standing well up on toes.
Tail
Set high, carried well over back.
Gait/Movement
Relatively short striding, hind feet not lifted high, appearing to skim the ground, resulting in pendulum like action when seen in profile. Forelegs and hindlegs moving parallel to each other and straight forward. Dogs should always be able to move freely and soundly without any sign of distress.
Coat
Either rough or smooth. Any artificial shortening of the coat which alters the natural outline or expression should be penalised, with the exception of feet which may be tidied.
Rough: profuse, dense, straight and stand-off, but not excessive in length. Outer coat coarse, with soft woolly undercoat. Especially thick round neck forming mane or ruff and with good culottes or breechings on back of thighs.
Smooth: short, double coat, dense, straight, upstanding, not flat, plush-like in texture.
Colour
Whole coloured black, red, blue, fawn, cream or white, frequently shaded but not in patches or parti-coloured (underpart of tail and back of thighs frequently of a lighter colour).
Size
Dogs: 48-56 cms (19-22 ins) at shoulder. Bitches: 46-51 cms (18-20 ins) at shoulder.
Faults
Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog and on the dog’s ability to perform its traditional work
Note
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
Personal feelings and thoughts along with these breed standard aspects- (Not KC webseite)
This section aims to give more information on certain aspects of the breed standard, giving my understanding, thoughts, and concerns
General Appearance
Active- chows are an active dog, they should be able to and willing to go for extensive walks with no issue. At a younger age this should be limited allowing joints, muscles etc to grow at a rate that is applicable to the dog. Stairs and steps should be avoided with most dogs when growing especially, again this will aid joints to grow at a steady rate and help to prevent excessive wear.
Leonine in appearance, proud, dignified bearing- this is the head of the chow there should be a scowling appearance yet this should not be overdone as to be exaggerated or have the possibility to cause harm to the dog. It is naturally there and a part of the ‘Chow’ look. With adult males this will be fully developed by the time the dog is 3-4 as they mature and broaden this look develops.
Characteristics
Quiet dog, good guard- A chow will only tend to bark when there is a need to. They will know the different sounds of different cars i.e. the postman is not a threat so they will not bark, he comes drops off post and goes. In this regard they are an intelligent guard dog, so if your chow barks you need to take note of it.
Temperament
Independent, loyal, yet aloof- This means that a chow is not bothered by people particularly, they may wander over to see who someone is but a lot of the time they won’t be interested. With most dog breeds it is more appropriate to stroke them under the head opposed to on top of the head immediately, this allows the dog to become more comfortable with you rather that you assuming control of the dog by placing your hand in an area they can’t see.
Head and Skull
Skull flat, broad- breadth is a re-accruing thought for chows, the head should have width to it again this develops with age (by 3-4 this will be fully developed). The chows muzzle should be broad to the nose, a chow shouldn’t have a pointed nose. The colour of the nose should always be black in some coat colours this is more difficult but it should not be impossible.
Eyes
Chows generally within the UK have clean and clear eyes. Some more recent breeding has resulted in a rounding of the eye to assist in avoiding ailments- the shape of a chows eye should be almond in shape, easy to see (not deep set), and of a suitable size for the dog.
Ears
Assist in giving the chow its scowl, ears should be small but in relation to the size of the dog.
Mouth
Teeth can change as any dog grows, it is important to regularly look at the bite of your dog as you groom it, to check for damage and that the bite is still correct. Dogs grow from back to front and bottom to top, this can occasionally mean that a bite can go wrong and can correct itself, if a dog is over 9 months with an incorrect mouth it will not be correct.
Pigment is important with chows, an integral part of a chow is its pigment. Some colours make this more difficult but a red, black, blue, fawn and cream should always have dark pigment. Reds and blacks this should be easy to have dark pigment as these are the dominant colours of a chow. Fawn and blue are dilutes of red and black (respectively), as such there is a chance their pigment will not be as good as a red or black but it is still the aim to have dark pigment. Creams have a tendency to lighten their pigment with age and can be extremely difficult to get a white cream with dark pigment yet not impossible.
This pigmentation needs to always be dark on the tongue, roof of the mouth and the flews- no light patches (apart from ware from teeth (7 yrs+) for every colour of chow. The gums of a chow should also be dark these are the areas that may be lighter for different colours of chow.
Neck
The arch of the neck in a chow is again something that assists to create the expressions of superiority in this breed. If the head is stuck on the shoulders this look is difficult to achieve.
Forequarters
The points of the shoulder need to have space between them, there needs to be width between the two front legs also. A chow needs to stand with ease its forelegs under the shoulders seemingly straight to the floor (no bending in the pastern). The dogs elbow should sit half way up its body (ground to withers).
Body
Again broad and deep, all lines on the chow should be straight, the top should be level, under should be level, the right and the left all level. The length between the last rib and the hip (coupling) should be short and strong, this is what gives a dog its drive and ability to move with ease, if this is lacking the dog will not be able to walk with ease.
Hindquarters
Again the leg appears to be straight from the hip to the ground with the foot falling below the hip when standing. The legs need to have space between them to allow for easy movement. The hocks of a chow should again appear to be straight and lower on the leg than some breeds.
With puppies hocks can be looked at with ease (this is especially important if considering to be bred with in the future). With the dog on a table- two fingers can be placed on the hock (the back) when you apply some pressure (not hard or tough but gradual like breaking on a bike) there should be no movement or forward flexing. Both legs should be checked in this way to ensure any breed of dog progresses forward.
Feet
Some trimming under the foot can be good to remove excess fur.
Tail
No flagging, the tail should want to stay on the back.
Gait/Movement
Straight lines once more, coming and going there should never be any crossing. The chow should have a shorter step, with a seemingly straight hind leg moving like a pendulum would move, a swing from the hip rather than a bend at the knee.
Coat
Chows have a double coat, a dense under covered by a cores outer. This insulates the dog from heat and cold. So please don’t shave your dog it will do more harm than good.
Grooming is quick and easy with a chow and allows for good quality bonding.
Colour
Chows have 5 colours black, red, blue, fawn, and cream.
Within these colours there are slightly different shades, more detail can be seen via ‘puppies’ on this site.
Some ‘breeders’ occasionally attempt to breed different colours that are not on this standard. ‘lilac’, ‘champaign’, ‘brindle’, ‘chocolate’ are some of the different colours which are being attempted. These often result from breeding away from pigment, dilute to dilute to dilute…. This can result in a puppy being very closely bred as such some genetic issues may arise. This is not always the case but it is more likely. If these colours were supposed to be part of the chow make up they should be on the standard and they should not be ‘rare’.
Often these defects ‘rare’ colours are even priced higher. For the buyer- think why? Why pay more for a colour, the dog underneath is the same; a chow should have dark pigment these ‘rare’ colours often can’t have the chow pigment; look at the
pedigree of the dog how many times do you see the same full name; is the person selling reputable (years of experience, do they show, do they belong to breed clubs- why did they breed this litter).
Size
Chows should be balanced and of a good size.
Faults
Remember the key points- is the profile recognisable as a chow; is head the recognisable as a chow; does it move like a chow; does it have the pigment of a chow.
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