Chow Chows

[Gempress]

On the subject of Chows, I don't think chows deserve their bad rep. I think that the problem is that they have can have a very tough, demanding interior, inside a very cute and cuddly exterior. Many owners simply don't do their research, and end up with a tough, no-nonsense dog, when they just want a snuggly teddy bear. As a result, they don't know how to handle them.

 

[Manchesters]

That Is Part Of It*****

On the subject of Chows, I don't think chows deserve their bad rep. I think that the problem is that they have can have a very tough, demanding interior, inside a very cute and cuddly exterior. Many owners simply don't do their research, and end up with a tough, no-nonsense dog, when they just want a snuggly teddy bear. As a result, they don't know how to handle them.

The other part is that most people get their Chows from back yard breeders who don't have a clue about what proper Chow temperament is, and wouldn't recognize it if it bit them on the arse. They breed for money. Combine a dog like that with a totally clueless owner, and it is a mixture for pure disaster.

 

[bridey_01]

Oh my goodness! You still think that "holding the puppy on it's back" thing is a test for dominance! That was dissproved eons ago!
As for dogs that turn around and eat their way up your arm without any provocation or warning? What planet are these dogs from?
Dogs that "resent authority"? it would really depend on if someone was phsyically exerting their "authority" on the dogs, in which case I would say that aggression that came from no where actually has a source.

 

[Manchesters]

Not dominance......a test of tractability. And these dogs are on planet earth. In another 25 or 30 years you might just run into a few.

Oh, by the way, how would YOU deal with Spaniel Rage Syndrome??????

 

[Whitedobelover]

they say that about dobermans too and it is crap.. they are like us once they get to a certain age their brains stop growing..

Ok, my husband's friend from work used to have a chow dog (they just recently put her down). She started getting really wierd, unpredictable, she'd get aggressive and back you into a corner and then right before she would bite you she'd just switch and be a good dog agian. She didn't just do this to me she did it to her owners too. They said she did stuff like that all the time, once she started getting old. So they took her to the vet to talk about the problems they were having and the vet said that chows brains constantly grow throughout their life and eventually they get too big for their skulls and the brain will press up agianst the skull and cause the dog a lot of pain. The vet said that that basically drives the dog insane and makes them do the aggressive things that the guy was saying. Is this true do Chow Chow's brains grow like that? It sounded too unbelievable to me, but lots of things that sound unbelieavable are actually true so I decided to ask you guys and see if anyone else knows.

 

[Manchesters]

Are You Serious?

they say that about dobermans too and it is crap.. they are like us once they get to a certain age their brains stop growing..

Or are you being facetious here? Oh, and the statements about Chow temperament are not crap. They are based upon the experiences of people who had the misfortune to encounter backyard bred Chows with lots of loose screws!

And there are just as many BYB Dobermans...like all the White Dobes.....that are nutso!

The dog you show in your picture almost looks like an Isabella rather than a white. Of course with indoor pictures ya can't go by color...I know. Do both dogs have blue eyes? It was kinda hard finding a blue with a good dark eye. I had one, which was funny, because her pedigree was absolute garbage, rofl.

 

[bridey_01]

Rage syndrome is a whole nother matter. I've been fortunate enough to only encounter one example of this, and yes it was in a cocker spaniel!
Testing for "tractability" by rolling a puppy on it's back is just ridiculous. So much depends on how much the puppy has been handled, what breed it is and how it is structured physically that the results can never be deemed to be a test of it's actual character or what the dog will be like when it's older. You can get a pup that will scream blue murder when you roll it on it's back, but you can condition it to loving that and have a perfect dog. You can get a dog that loves it but still has all kinds of behavioural problems later in life.

 

[Manchesters]

Rage syndrome is a whole nother matter. I've been fortunate enough to only encounter one example of this, and yes it was in a cocker spaniel!
Testing for "tractability" by rolling a puppy on it's back is just ridiculous. So much depends on how much the puppy has been handled, what breed it is and how it is structured physically that the results can never be deemed to be a test of it's actual character or what the dog will be like when it's older. You can get a pup that will scream blue murder when you roll it on it's back, but you can condition it to loving that and have a perfect dog. You can get a dog that loves it but still has all kinds of behavioural problems later in life.

And please share with us how many 3- 4 weeks old puppies you have worked with? Perhaps if you had had the opportunity to try it out with a few hundred pups over 30 years, and seen how the results correlated to adult behavior, it would not appear so ridiculous! And along the way it also helps to instill trust in the baby puppy.

I guess you will just never be able to see things from the viewpoint of the breeder.....the one who creates the behavior in the dogs. You have to experience it to fully understand it. The only kind of behavioral problems the majority of dogs have are those created by the owners, and by ignorant backyard breeders who have no concept of breeding for temperatment.

Oh......and rage syndrome is also another form of dominance challenging. The dog/dogs refuse to submit to human authority. Old Dog can tell you the fun she had during a standoff with a Husky that only wanted to kill her. An interesting story! My two experiences were with Dobermans.

 

[bridey_01]

In my experience rage syndrome is kind of a blind frenzy of aggression, sometimes unprovoked. The breeder may "create the behaviour in dogs" but it is the future owner who is almost always responsible for the emergence of bad behaviours. A dog can have been an obedience champion and an angel to live with, but that same dog rehomed will present all the normal problem behaviours in a matter of weeks with the wrong owner. I don't believe in forcing dogs to "submit" in any manner, and would be quite silly to not expect a bite in response. Lol, I don't work with many three to four week old puppies, they tend not to have exceedingly dissagreeable behaviour problems!
But I can tell you that I have seen the ill-effects of such "rollings" in puppies from seven weeks old, who veiw their people as strange insecure things that force them onto their backs in vulnerable and scary positions for no particular reason.

 

[Old Dog]

Bridey
This is an excellent site on dominance behavior in dogs. The husky manchesterz is refering to did not have rage syndrome, he had a dominance problem explained perfectly in this article. Since I believe I read in a previous post of yours that dogs do not try to do the dominance thing over people. WRONG!! There are leaders and followers and every so often we get dogs that want to be leader in a household but we must teach them that as owners we are the "TopDog" in the house.This is a owner encouraged behavior by allowing the dog to get away with and be the boss. They can be well mannered as long as it is agreeable with them but just don't cross them. The dog in question I had the misfortune of boarding. He was a very dominant dangerous male. The only dog I have ever been seriously afraid of in all my 40 some odd years in dogs. And this is saying alot since I have been breeder,trainer, handler,groomer and vet and set scads of different dogs in my life. I hope you never have to deal with such an animal.

 

[Old Dog]

That should be vet-tec in previous post, computer had a seizure there for a minute!! I am not a vet. LOL

 

[Old Dog]

Well Bridey the
seemed to have not pasted the site.........sorry you guys
http://www.joycefay.com/articles/dominantdogs.shtml

 

[Old Dog]

And just in case you didn't like that one here's another....
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/140215.htm&hide=1

This one explains all the aggression behaviors.

 

[oriondw]

Dogs show dominance. Thats the way they are built, there are alpha dogs and submissive dogs by nature... While some people's methods of establishing dominance are flawed, it doesnt mean that dominance in dogs does not exist.

 

[Manchesters]

Nope

I have been to that sight before. My Leo should look just like that when he grows up!!!

I think that God was playing a joke when he made Chow's so cuddly looking, but so UNcuddly to those that come up and want to hug them!!!

Sarah would love to see the pedigree for Leo. She has only seen one other brindle which she got as a rescue and gave away as a pet. Leo will resemble a early 1900's type Chow when he grows up. Pointed nose, round eyes, fine boned, usually very hyper, and average coat.

 

[rottiegirl]

Myth

That is not true at all! People also say that about dobermans. It is just a myth that some people believe, but it has no truth to it. Trust me!

 

[kitcatak]

Rottiegirls- What is untrue. Sorry, I don't know what statement you are referring to.

 

[gaddylovesdogs]

The neighbors who we got Tippy from had a red chow named Mr. B...he seemed nice enough, he was an OK dog, but I have always been weary of them. They do tend to be more dominant and aggressive than other breeds. BUT I do not think they are horrible dogs. Mr. B. was a nice dog, he was really just a big fuzzy dog with bad owners, but I was always a little careful around him.
I was almost attacked by a chow a few months ago, at the same time I was almost attacked by a mutt (looked like a gsd/cattle dog mix). As far as I'm concerned, in that case the mutt was waaaay more dangerous than the chow.

 

[Becca_]

I dont understand what it is about the pedigree Sarah always wants to see on these chows. No one else shows pictures of their puppies and asked to show a pedigree. What am I missing here? I find it kind of insulting. I guess I'd understand it if we wanted to show our dogs.

 

[Manchesters]

Pedigrees

I dont understand what it is about the pedigree Sarah always wants to see on these chows. No one else shows pictures of their puppies and asked to show a pedigree. What am I missing here? I find it kind of insulting. I guess I'd understand it if we wanted to show our dogs.

For those of us involved in breeding and showing dogs, pedigrees show where the dog comes from bloodline wise. Many of us become pedigree nuts! I suspect she wants to see the pedigree to see what lines are behind the dogs, etc. There is nothing insulting about it. Every one who buys a purebred dog should be supplied with at least a 5 generation pedigree. Anyone who plays at breeding dogs should have pedigrees on their dogs, and know how to read them before breeding.

I have the pedigrees on my dogs posted on my website for any and all to see if they so desire. I myself am very proud of my dogs' pedigrees, and am always more than happy to share them with others.

And in this case, IF it were me, and I knew anything about Chow bloodlines, I would be curious as hell to see what lines had produced brindle coloring. Call is nosey---dying of curiosity---but not intended as insulting. Did you ever send in and get the pedigrees of yours? Of course, you should have been supplied with a copy of the pedigree.

AND.....by seeing Leo's or any other Chow's pedigree, Sarah can tell the family story behind the dog.....if there are any known lines behind it. Some people enjoy knowing what is behind their dogs.