Breed Profiles

I used to think aloof dogs were boring. Give me the ones that wag at the postman, I said, the ones that love everyone. Then a friend rehomed a Chow Chow named Bao, and Bao quietly dismantled every assumption I had about what a dog should be, including the one where I got to be the centre of his world.

Chows do not love everyone. They pick their person, sometimes two, and the rest of humanity is tolerated at a distance. This reads as standoffish to people raised on labradors, but it is not coldness exactly. It is a dignity. Bao would sit across the room from a party and watch it the way you might watch television you are not really watching. Present, unimpressed, and entirely at peace not being involved.

The blue-black tongue stops strangers in their tracks. It is the breed's party trick and almost nobody knows why it exists; the honest answer is that nobody fully does, except that it is a recessive trait shared with a few other breeds and it is simply what Chows are. Puppies are born with pink tongues that darken within weeks. If a Chow's tongue were pink, something would be wrong.

The lion coat and the heat

That magnificent mane is a double coat, dense and woolly underneath, long guard hair on top, and in summer it is a furnace. Bao melted above about twenty-four degrees and we learned to walk him at dawn and dusk and to never, ever leave him anywhere a car might trap heat. Grooming is a real commitment: a thorough brush two or three times a week, daily in the shed, or the undercoat mats into clumps that have to be shaved off. The smooth-coat variety exists and is easier, but the rough coat is the one people picture, and it is the one that owns you with a slicker brush.

Underneath the lion is a powerful, square dog with a stiff gait and a curled tail that sits flat over the back. They were bred in China for guarding, pulling, and unfortunately for the meat trade historically, which is worth knowing if you ever wonder why they regard strangers with suspicion. Guarding is in the bones.

Socialisation is not optional with this breed. A Chow that meets nothing but its family for the first sixteen weeks grows into an adult that treats every outsider as a threat, and then you have a liability, not a pet. Bao's owner took him to markets, to cafes, past prams and pushchairs and skateboards from eight weeks, and it paid off in a dog who would merely stare rather than stiffen. That early work is the difference between a Chow you can live with and one you cannot.

They are also, quietly, one of the more same-sex-aggressive breeds, and two Chow males or two Chow females under one roof is a fight waiting to happen unless both are neutered early and managed forever. Mixed pairs do better. It is not a breed for the person who wants two dogs of the same sex just because they match.

Health has its list. Entropion, the eyelid rolling inward so the lashes scrape the eye, is common enough that reputable breeders screen for it, and you should ask. Hip dysplasia, thyroid trouble, and a skin condition called pemphigus all show up. The face folds need the same attention as any wrinkled breed.

Training a Chow is a negotiation, not a command. They are intelligent enough to comply and independent enough to weigh whether your request is worth their effort, and harsh methods produce a shut-down dog that obeys nothing and trusts no one. Positive, patient work with food they actually value builds a willing partner, and even then they will occasionally look at you as if to say they are doing you a favour. Early, frequent, gentle handling of paws, mouth, and ears pays off at the vet, because a Chow that has never been touched there becomes a struggle on the table.

Exercise is moderate. A couple of walks and some mental engagement suit them; they are not endurance athletes and they suffer in heat, so summer is for early mornings and shade. Weight creeps up easily in a dog that would rather lie by the fire, and an overweight Chow is a Chow with strained joints and worsened breathing, so portion control matters more than owners expect. With children, supervision is non-negotiable: a Chow that has not been raised with kids and properly socialised can be wary of their noise and unpredictability, and wary Chows are not safe to leave alone with them. Raised together from puppyhood, they can be devoted, but the breed is not a default family dog in the way a retriever is.

Would I own one? I came close after Bao. But I also watched his owner field three separate incidents where a well-meaning stranger reached in to pet the fluffy lion and got a warning growl that could have become a bite. Chows are not for the person who wants a dog the whole neighbourhood can cuddle. They are for someone who respects a dog that chooses, slowly and rarely, and who is content to be chosen back.