Ramblings on Chow Chows

So I had one of those weird moments when I wake up from a dream and a thought is planted in my head. "Ever notice how Chow Chow dogs look like Chinese Dragons?" and I thought about how yes, they look similar and dragons were associated with the emperor, where chows were used as guardians. Hmm... so I had to look it up.

As a little girl, we grew up with chow dogs. They loved our family, but were also fiercely protective. In our old neighborhood, there was a rash of break ins, but not our house, with 2 chows guarding it. Before that when we lived in NC, our male chow got out in search of females, and someone thought it was a lion. They weren't the only ones that thought chows resembled lions. "The Chow Chow (sometimes simply Chow[2]) is a dog breed originally from northern China,[3] where it is referred to as Songshi Quan (Pinyin: sōngshī quǎn 鬆獅犬), which means "puffy-lion dog"."

"The breed has also been called the Tang Quan, "Dog of the Tang Empire". It is believed that the Chow Chow is one of the native dogs used as the model for the Foo dog, the traditional stone guardians found in front of Buddhist temples and palaces."

"The Chow is a unique breed of dog thought to be one of the oldest recognizable breeds. Research indicates it is one of the first primitive breeds to evolve from the wolf. DNA analysis confirms that this is one of the oldest breeds of dog that probably originated in the high steppe regions of Siberia or Mongolia, and much later used as temple guards in China, Mongolia and Tibet."

"Chinese legends mention large war dogs from central Asia that resembled black-tongued lions. One Chinese ruler was said to own 5,000 Chows. The Chinese also used Chows to pull dog sleds, and this was remarked upon by Marco Polo."

"A legend says that the original teddy bears were modeled after Queen Victoria's Chow Chow puppy. It is said that she carried the dog everywhere she went. Her friends disapproved, claiming that it did not befit a queen to be seen everywhere with a dog, so they paid a dressmaker to make a stuffed version of the animal for her."

My brother and I with the Chow puppies around 1978. 

Their purple or sometimes referred to as "black" tongue is fairly uncommon. "We do know that the Chow is not the only breed with a blue-black tongue. The Chinese Shar-Pei shares this trait as well. A few other animals have black tongues, too: the giraffe, polar bear, and several breeds of cattle including the Jersey."

It breaks my heart to think this companion to emperors and queens went from Foo Dog to food. My father had a Chow in Korea, during the Korean War, and his house boy ate the dog when he found out my father was leaving, but first they tied it to a post and beat it to death to make sure the meat was tender.

Chows get a bad wrap, but like so many dogs, it's a lot to do with how you raise them. There are bad dogs, any vet will tell you that, just like there are bad people. I've had Chows all my life, and we only had one that was not right. We had a breeding pair, and my parents would sell the puppies. I think that stopped though after the female, Tasha, adopted a bag of potatoes. They were small and brown, and vaguely resembled newborn chow puppies. My mom found this out when she went to get a potato and Tasha protected the potatoes. Tasha ended up dragging around that bag of potatoes until all of them rotted and fell apart.

Now we don't have a purebred Chow, but a mixed breed rescue with a black tongue and some certainly Chow tendencies. She was feral when she was found as a puppy, and I can certainly see some wolfish behavior lending back to Chow's ancient heritage. I'm not so sure what my subconscious was trying to tell me about Chows and Dragons, but they are an intriguing breed. My favorites have always been Chows and German Shepherds. Evey was a mix of both and one of the best dogs we could ever ask for. I'm very happy for my Foo dogs, and now feel the need to read more Dresden Files.

Referenced: https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Chow_Chow