mistaken identity?

[bellabear27]

I'm not sure if anyone else has this problem but being from a place where chows are not popular dogs and very few people know alot about them, Jenna and myself have begun to find ourselves frustrated with people who meet bella and say things like " OH she's a chow they get like THIS TALL!!" gesturing toward their shoulder area sometimes. I really don't know where people get their information? Are there actually chows out there that grow to be as big as an alaskan malamute, or great dane? People always tell us that a friend of a friend had a chow and they were massive, or like 120 pounds and so on. Which i'm sure must be either an Akita mistaken for a chow or a chow mix with a large breed dog. I just don't beleive that people have seen a 6 foot chow weigh over 100 pounds that's all, i feel like saying "i'm sorry i think you are mistaken that must have been a black bear". Does anyone else have this problem?

[TJordan]

Must of been a black bear!!!!!

Butters is on the larger side, but not quite 6 ft. tall and bullet proof!!! But I get that is a huge chow, and he is 85lbs, So I am sure they need their eyes checked.

[chowchowdaddy]

I remember one time when we had our first chow, Chia, and I had her in my car at the drive-up window at the bank. She'd just left the groomers and was all fluffy and cute and the teller said, "Oh, what a beautiful chow. I have a black chow, too, but mine's a lot bigger than yours. What does your chow weigh?" So, I responded that she weighed 48 pounds (she'd just been weighed about 10 minutes earlier). She responded, "Oh, mine weighs 96 pounds..." I'm thinking 96 POUNDS????? What the heck are you feeding that thing, lead???

[sweetpea]

Before we moved here we lived in a town full of chow haters. RARELY would anyone dare stay on the same sidewalk as us when they seen us heading towards them. It was more like scenes from a movie where parents grab the kids and run away screeming, windows closing, drapes being pulled, doors slamming (you get the picture). From a distance we might hear "is that a minature chow?" And then told how small Gracie looks compared to what they thought Chows should look. I always wondered how big do they think a chow gets! We then move to a town where most people love chows. Even though its a small town, there are several pure bred chows and a lot of chow mixes here. No one ever makes remarks about Gracie's size. My boss did say that Gracie is smaller than her mom and dads male chow, but thats it. Even though this is such a small town, I almost hate to ever move away simply because it is such a chow friendly community.

[chowchowdaddy]

I always have to laugh when I think of some of the horrendously stupid things I've heard about chows...

1. Omigod, is that a bear?
2. Oh, is it vicious? (That's Tempest, our little diva, after leaving the groomer and she's got pink bows on her rear end and on her head. Yeah, how vicious could she be??????)
3. Omigosh, a chow? They're huge...

Plus, a dear friend of ours was the president of the Humane Society Guild of Indiana years ago and when we have her over for dinner or cocktails, she always remarks how she's so glad she knows us and has gotten to know our kids, Emperor Ming and Tempest, because she'd always been wary of chows.

[kitcatak]

I now someone right now that has 2 black chows. One is 96lbs and the other is 102! I think this is the exception rather then the rule. Lace is 45lbs and Leo is 66. I believe they are both average size.

Tracy

[bellabear27]

One thing i can say that i like about people notknowing anything about chows is that no one has that irrational fear of them here. It's nice to be able to bring her places and have people stop to pet and lavish attebtion on her rather then try to run and hide. It does get frustrating like i said earlier that people tend to say things that they don't really know anything about but we can tolerate that.

P.S Funny you should mention butters because he is usually then example we use when we tell people about how a chow USUALLY only get up to about 85-90 pounds, and we often tell people of his exploits we hear about on some of your threads, he is quite the wonderful boy we love to read about his endeavors.

[MoMo1224]

I always get the opposite - people confuse chows with pomeranians!! I tell them I have a chow and they say,"Oh, those fluffy little dogs!! She must be so cute at 10 lbs!"

I laugh and tell them that Etta is actually 67 lbs!

[bellabear27]

We actually get that alot with bella, not so much now but when she was smaller everyone always said she was a pomeranian. I think it is the fur, tail and color of the dogs but to me a 4 month old chow at 25 pounds is not a pomeranian. Again i guess people aren't used to the breed and don't know much about them, so you can't fault them for that.

[Tippsy'smom]

Usually when people look at Tippsy they say, "Oh she's small for a chow, isn't she?" I always just reply with "No, she's perfect". I wish I lived in a place where people haven't heard all the bad stories about chows. There's very few people in my neighborhood that aren't scared of Tippsy. And the weird thing is that those people are either from Florida or Georgia... Everyone else in the neightborhood came from New York. When we walk you have the few kids that I know that'll come up and pet her then there are the one's who's parents don't want them to come near her.

[Boogie and Linda]

I had all three of my chows at my daughters soccer practice and some lady had two pomeranians down the field. Her kids came up to me and said that their mother was mad after seeing my dogs. I asked them why and they said because no one told her that her that her pomeranians could get that big.

[Layla]

I often get asked if Millie is a long haired Akita.... Alf, he's a bear ya know...

Mine are both on the larger end of the American chow scale. I choose them for that though, I like european style chow and Alf, his Daddy is a big big chow & it looks as though he will be as well

I would guestimate Millie at 65lbs and Alf nearer 70lb these days. Both are under my shoulder though, even standing on their hind legs

[TJordan]

One thing i can say that i like about people notknowing anything about chows is that no one has that irrational fear of them here. It's nice to be able to bring her places and have people stop to pet and lavish attebtion on her rather then try to run and hide. It does get frustrating like i said earlier that people tend to say things that they don't really know anything about but we can tolerate that.

P.S Funny you should mention butters because he is usually then example we use when we tell people about how a chow USUALLY only get up to about 85-90 pounds, and we often tell people of his exploits we hear about on some of your threads, he is quite the wonderful boy we love to read about his endeavors.

You would love him in person!! Want me to send him to ya??? Please please LOL, Just kidding I'll keep him warts and all!!

[Coco Chow]

In Paris, Coco is not mistaken for another breed (except some children who thinks she might be a lion).

When I talk to Coco, I use 100 differents names. "Coco" of course, or "Mon poussin" (meaning "My baby chicken"), or "Le chow chow" (meaning "the chow chow", but everybody got that).
Anyway, what I want to say is when we walk on the street, usually people say: "Oh look, a chow chow!" so she feels those strangers know her name, which is quite funny!

French people are not affraid of chow chows. But our apartment is close to different ambassies and hotels so Coco sees a lot of tourists everyday. When we walk by US tourists, (I know because of language and accent) I always think they are going to be affraid to see a chow, but actually none of them ever said a nasty comment. They only say things like: "Oh, a chow, look, it's so cuuuuuuute"...

[Tippsy'smom]

In Paris, Coco is not mistaken for another breed (except some children who thinks she might be a lion).

When I talk to Coco, I use 100 differents names. "Coco" of course, or "Mon poussin" (meaning "My baby chicken"), or "Le chow chow" (meaning "the chow chow", but everybody got that).
Anyway, what I want to say is when we walk on the street, usually people say: "Oh look, a chow chow!" so she feels those strangers know her name, which is quite funny!

French people are not affraid of chow chows. But our apartment is close to different ambassies and hotels so Coco sees a lot of tourists everyday. When we walk by US tourists, (I know because of language and accent) I always think they are going to be affraid to see a chow, but actually none of them ever said a nasty comment. They only say things like: "Oh, a chow, look, it's so cuuuuuuute"...

Well, ya know she is the princess... So that could explain why they'r enot scared.

[LEO's mum]

I get odd comments all the time. "Is that a chow? Isn't she small/big for a chow?" "I've never seen a chow with that much fur! Is she 100% chow?" I tell them LEO is a typical size for a chow, and chows should be hairy!!! unless its smooth coated

I have once met a huuuuge chow, more like an ox than a chow. Well, that's going too far, but kinda big enough to make me think I can ride on it on my skinny days..... It was no way near the medium sized dog that a chow should be. So there are exceptions.

LEO does get the hairy comment alot. She is a hairy monster. I tell them what they saw were probably chow mixes not chows.

One recent comment/question that I gulped before answering was, "Do chows have feline blood in them?"