Are your Chows TOO protective?

[gebower]

My Chows protect their property like it's their LIFE. We're awakened a couple times during the night. ANY stranger walking down the street late at night will know they're noticed by our Chows. People can walk down the street all day long and they don't bark at them at all. Only the UPS guy. I think it's the diesal engine. But, when nighttime comes, it's a different story. Never mind actually coming onto our property, you won't get that far without my Chows knowing it LONG before. They are bred to PROTECT. And, that they do. They take their job seriously even though you may lose some sleep because of it. That's okay with me. I can live with that.

[chowpups]

Nikki was a great alarm..but it ended there.. after she alerted everyone it was like OK now you take care of it. She knew even when the deer where roaming in the yard at night. She would bark with a different sound like a growl woofing sound (if you can picture it).. and I knew someone was in the yard and we have over an acre and some not even visible to her..but she always knew. Now Bella our golden forget it.. unless they are stepping on her feet I 'dont think she would bark.. although today I bought a wicker basket for her toys and just put it in the kitchen when she wasn't looking and she barked at it for about a minute straight till I walked over and put a piece of cheese in it .. then it was all good, but shes not normally a barker at all.. I remember the police had to come to our house once and they remarked that Nikki's presence was better than an alarm going off. And couldn't believe how friendly she really was after all her barking at them.. (I never let on to people she was so friendly but her tail always gave it away...waggin waggin waggin as fast as it could go..) But never too protective in my eyes.. just right....I sure miss that too.. don't feel as protected as I did before..

[Rory's Dad]

Chowpups reminds me of a story many years back when we 1st moved into our home. I may have related it before, so some older members may have heard it before, but it's fun and i will tell it again anyway.

Alarm companies and the like monitor recent home sales to get there sales leads. We would get numerous calls each day and finally i had it. Instead of being polite and telling them no (they don't accept that, reminds me of tales of vinyl siding salesmen back in the 60's).

Anyway, finally i told this one guy who was particularly persistent, that i didnt need and alarm, i had two Chows that protect the property quite nicely. He laughed and said that burglars know family dogs dont bite and they are not a deterrent. I immediately feigned surprise and told him that based on that information we should have the property surveyed and he should give us a quote. We scheduled an appointment for just before the time i arrived home. My kids and wife would be home.

He arrived and knocked on the door. Both male chows naturally barking away, and my wife just opened the door and took 4 steps back. Dogs rush the door and back the salesman into the porch corner. Wife says nothing (which wouldnt have mattered anyway), and the dogs held ground for the next 10 minutes.

After i got there, very simply told both dogs 'OK', and they went back into the house. I asked the man if he had any questions for us, and he said no and left. Never got another telemarketing call from that company.

[kitten1426]

LOL...thats a good story..And to be honest in the world we live in I would want our chow/dogs we have to be very protective...Trust me they are...Our Male chow is a very good watch dog..Our Airedale is too...our female chow is getting better and then you have our collie he is ok..he will bark at least...lol...what he will do after that whoi knows...Kodi i always say he would bite 1st then ask questions later...if someone broke in our house...Our Airedale his size alone would scare most people...lol...and to tell you the truth most people are afraid of chows..No idea why tho..there great dogs...

[chowpups]

Funny, Rorys dad ,we have a security system but a chows response is so quick!!!!LOL

[sue]

In my opinion chows are the best guard dogs in the world i have had 3 females & 2 boys all of them naturally take on the responsibilty of protecting the home.You sleep safe in your bed at night knowing that you are watched over & protected.The chinese emperors used to have chows in there palaces to guard them & also take them to fight along side them in the wars

[Cocoa]

Rory's dad, that is a great story, I would take a chow over an alarm system any day. All of mine have been very protective and I always sleep well with a chow in the house. Cocoa has been raised in a condo and totally ignores the regular noises of neighbors coming and going (except one with a little dog and she always huffs at the door for that one), cleaners, gardeners etc. but if there is an unusual noise or person she is right there at the door. She's not normally a barker, except at other dogs to get them to play, but she has an extensive vocabulary of huffs and chuffs, snorts and growls (even purrs for me sometimes), and if she hears someone who shouldn't be there (in her mind) outside the door she will dance at the door and tell them what she thinks of them.

[chowchowdaddy]

We actually have a very sophisticated computer-oriented alarm system, but I always laugh when I pull into the driveway if Ming and Tempest happen to be out in the back yard, they'll run to the back gate and just stand there and stare at me. Rather than Chows, I refer to them as Chews (Chow early warning system)!!! Truly, they are the best alarm system, though: they're happy to let us know when a leaf falls off a tree down the street...

[Rory's Dad]

Kitten,

Rory is our third male chow (2 weeks to go to our 1st female). They have had different personalities and opinions for sure. Kodi, my 1st male was definitely one i would consider a bite first ask questions later type...Tedi was our 2nd, more reserved and would stand ground and likely bite if provoked, but otherwise would just engage in a stare down and win. Rory is a bit sneakier. He would bark and snarl, but still wag his tail to make you think he was just making noise. We have spent a lot of time socializing him with both people and other dogs, so he is very friendly, and i think he is very typical chow (he's just 16 months), in that he appears like he would go into intimidation mode and avoid an actual comfrontation that way.

A Chows 1st defense is an intimidation offense. The head size and stance will usually cause other dogs to back off. The bark and mixed growl work very well against humans. They don't back up like most dogs. Even dobies and rotties bark and back at the same time, Chows don't budge. Great tactic to force any opponent to flinch first and gain a psychological advantage.

[Tippsy'smom]

Our first chow, Cinder, was a fantastic guard dog. He chased off a few men who had ill intentions (one who jumped the back fence in the middle of the night and one who approached the fence when my brother, the neighbor kid, and myself were playing in the backyard [my mom stepped inside to get a drink]. That guy came up to the fence and started talking to us [I was 3, my brother was almost 2, and the neighbor boy was 3] and Cinder came charging out from under the shed and almost got over the fence after him. Needless to say, my mom felt very comfortable leaving us around Cinder).

Tippsy was a fantastic guard dog too. Nothing happened without her knowing about it. A few times she even growled at my mom for opening my bedroom door in the middle of the night while I was sleeping. I always felt safe with her; I knew she'd protect me.

Now, Dixie and Jasper, even though they're not purebreds; are also awesome guard dogs. Dixie would lay down her life for me. She's shown me that on numerous occasions now. And Jazz proved that he would do the same a few nights ago. My best friend and I were sitting outside with him by a bonfire and having a few drinks when a neighbor came through the woods into our backyard. I asked him what he was doing on my property and he said something about us disturbing him (we weren't even being loud, we were just talking at a normal tone. Plus it was only 9:30, noise restrictions start at 11). I just laughed and told him to get off my property. He got made and came closer to us and Jazz ran out to the end of his chain and started barking. The guy stumbled backwards, and started cussing at Jazz, saying he'd shhot him! That made me mad and I told him if he didn't get off my property I'd shoot his sorry @$$. He came towards us again and Jazz lunged at him. Yelling back and forth ensued and it brought my dad out just in time to see Jazz go for the guy again. Finally, the guy left; still cussing us and Jazz... That stupid man is THE neighborhood jerk... But hey, Jazz proved to me that he'd protect me.