Chow vs. pittbul

[AmberRose]

hi my chow Atara is a beutiful Loving chow but she cant get along with other animals such as dogs so my dog was wondering around the yard with my supervision and a pitbul charged at her and tackled her luckily her fur saved her from getting bit, so Atara got up pinned the pitbul then bit his ear off mid sized pit and i dont know what got into her she was just crazy wild right there and then it scared there were tons of blood i didnt know if he was ganna bleed to death or not maybe the pit wasnt ready for her to do that because they always think the can take an animal down with one bite!!

[P.R. Bear]

Thank goodness your Atara came out of this uninjured! Two of my neighbors had pits (the owners of the male have since moved), the male pit 2 doors down busted through the fence and attacked the female pit next door. I watched in horror as they went at it. It took 4 people to break them up. I don't know about the male, but the female required several stitches to close her up, not the mention the owners! As far as Atara going wild, she was in selfdefense mode trying to stay alive! I've learned from a behaviorilst we had for our girl that in times of high stress/excitement they loose all sense of reasoning and just react to the situation, that is what Atara was doing.

As for the pit, do you know who the owner is? Why was it out loose/unsupervised?

[kitten1426]

I dont know how Big the Pit is or How big your Chow is...But i know Pits can be dangerous...There tough dogs...I know my female wouldnt have a chance with one Maybe she would i dont know..Our Male might have a better chance he is alot bigger then her......Im glad to see yours made it out ok..without any cuts or anything major...

[Rory's Dad]

The fur is a major defense mechanism for your chow. From the sound of it she reacted to being attacked which is a perfectly normal response.

Pits are dangerous due to their bite pressure and ability to lock their jaws. Chows have a large coat that causes missed bite attemps and are very agile with an ability to turn their bodies. The Chow disadvantage is a lack of peripheral vision, but since most other aggressive breeds attack head on or to the neck area, they are fine. After 3 thousand years or so of development, a full coated chow is well prepared to defend itself. Watch 2 chows play...they attach to a side bit of fur and pull. It actually teaches them defense techniques. Chows dont show aggression head on like other breeds. They sneak attack towards the sides and rear.

Just observations on the breed itself and how they protect themselves even against larger dogs. It's also a classice example of making sure pups stay with their litter mates until the proper age. Not only do they learn acceptance of other dogs, that puppy play teaches them how to defend themselves against unwanted aggression.

[applebear]

Chows dont show aggression head on like other breeds. They sneak attack towards the sides and rear.

I had to chuckle a little bit because my friend was taking care of mine awhile back and she messages that he is doing some weird butt thing to her dogs and wants to know what the heck it was. I was confused at first, but then after I got him back and was watching him play with my parents dogs, I got what she was talking about and forgot my past chow use to do the exact same thing.

He is great at giving a 'cheap shot' and when other dog comes back at him or is going after him in the first place, he turns his backside to them [his head is turned looking back, all most with a smirk lol]. The dog is then thrown off and starts to walk away, where he then quickly turns back around and takes another cheap shot. It's actually genius and a great way to protect the face. Though he's only doing it in play, I could totally see a chow using this as a defense [whether they do or not, I don't know...none of mine have ever been in serious fights].

[Laura]

First let me say that I am glad your chow is ok and hopefully the pitbull is too.
I also must say that pitbulls do not have 'locking jaws' . This is just another one of the myths and terror tactics used against the breed. As owner of a breed that is stereo typed I feel the need to also defend the image of other stereo typed breeds. I'm not trying to be argumentative but it only takes a 30 second google search to disprove many myths used to demonize pitbulls in this country.

[applebear]

First let me say that I am glad your chow is ok and hopefully the pitbull is too.
I also must say that pitbulls do not have 'locking jaws' . This is just another one of the myths and terror tactics used against the breed. As owner of a breed that is stereo typed I feel the need to also defend the image of other stereo typed breeds. I'm not trying to be argumentative but it only takes a 30 second google search to disprove many myths used to demonize pitbulls in this country.

This is very true and glad you pointed it out.

[Rory's Dad]

Actually the posters regarding lock jaw are correct, i was posting in a hurry and got caught into incorrect terminology. And it certainly wasnt an attempt to further any stereotype or demonize the breed.

Fact is, a pit has over 3000 lbs of bit pressure, with a good deal of it coming from the bottom jaw. Your average human isnt strong enough to get him to release the bite. Combine that with the pits willingness to hold a bit, and determination not to release it, and you have that 'myth'. Regardless of whether it is technically a lock, which admittedly it is not, you have very little chance of getting the pit to let go of any bite that he deems effective.

[kitten1426]

Actually the Rottweiler has more Bite then a Pitbull...there are a few more dogs that do have more then a pitbull I forget them all...the reason the Pitbull is that way its a terrier There Stuborn all terriers are...I have an Airedale trust me they can be stuborn..lol..

[Mokoto]

as stubborn as Chows? ¬_¬

[kitten1426]

as stubborn as Chows? ¬_¬

My Wife was raised with Chows Her parents showed them ..She agrees 100% our Airedale is very very stuborn compared to chows...Dont get me wrong our chows are stuborn..LOL...But you havent met Bear...LOL....

[Cocoa]

Rory's Dad wrote:Chows dont show aggression head on like other breeds. They sneak attack towards the sides and rear.

This picture of Cocoa and her sister playing shows a good example of that chow sneak attack.

[Rory's Dad]

Lol, yep that's a great example. I see it all the time.

[TyChowgirl]

It's because of that fighting/playing style that Ty gets into trouble sometimes (usually just scares the other dogs) because other dogs have the appropriate spring and jump type plays like puppies and then there's Ty who barrels in using his whole body like a little bulldozer. It's enough to send the unfamiliar dog yelping out of fright even though he barely touched them and he's doing circles keeping his head away in a defensive manner. That being said, our little pack (my friends dogs and Ty) has learned to play like a chow to humor him and play rough too. Which also gets them into trouble sometimes at the dog park with other unsuspecting dogs. The typical reply to anyone concerned that their dog is being rough with one of them during play is "It's okay, her/his best friend's a chow chow" . Our pack contains: males- Tiberius (My chow boy), Atari ( A chow, probably border collie cross), Gandhi (a shar pei, shepherd, boxer mix) and sometimes Oliver (a pit/yellow lab cross) female - Emily (chocolate Labrador). Needless to say they can be a tough bunch, and Emily can keep up and run with the big boys she is also one of the most guilty of playing like a chow.

[applebear]

It's because of that fighting/playing style that Ty gets into trouble sometimes (usually just scares the other dogs) because other dogs have the appropriate spring and jump type plays like puppies and then there's Ty who barrels in using his whole body like a little bulldozer.

lol When you said Ty barrels in using his whole body, it made me literally laugh out loud....your description is so spot on. I've shared this pic before in the photo gallery, but here's a picture of Ro barreling into his corgi friend and then just flopping over...the corgi is under there, somewhere.

[Cocoa]

Ro barreling into his corgi friend and then just flopping over...the corgi is under there, somewhere.

Cocoa does that all the time with her Shih Tzu/Bichon cross friend.

[Cam Atis]

@cocoa
Cassie does that to Blue. hahaha I always find it funny. so it is a chow thing.

[gebower]

There are some BIG pitbulls, I've seen them, over a 100 lbs. But, I haven't seen too many that big. Zeena is black and fights viciously. She's 65 lbs. and has taken Max, her brother down more than once. Max is big boned and weighs 70 lbs. She had him in a death grip one day and he couldn't get out of it. She had a BIG bite on his throat. I broke it up or he might have ended up dead. He has a huge mane so that saved him. A pitbull? He has no hair to speak of. Zeena's fangs are razor sharp. Don't think the pitbull would have a chance unless he strikes first and gets hold. But, that will be mostly hair. Anyway, hope that never happens of course. They have a lot of pitbulls in Tucson and here's the kicker; they can jump over fences fairly easy. Easier than most other dogs.

[kitten1426]

We have Mia she is about 55lbs and Kodi he is a good 85 + lbs and Mia plays rough..she takes him down only because he lets her...lol...But ive seen him get mad he runs her over like a freight train...lol...I don't want to make people take this out of content but our chows I don't think have a chance with a big Pit...there fast I mean fast there terries...then Can move..the advantage is yes the chows have a lot of fur...that helps...We have a Big Airedale he is over 100 lbs and a good 6 inches taller then Kodi which he is tall...but when they play 90% of the time Kodi cant catch him lol...when he does bear knocks him right down, Don't ge me wrong Kodi gets Bear sometimes too.,.,its fun watching both chows team up on him..they have some good moves...But I know in the real world those PITS are tough...I wouldn't want my chows to encounter one either and if they did I would hope Bear would be around to help them out..

[applebear]

@cocoa
Cassie does that to Blue. hahaha I always find it funny. so it is a chow thing.

[Beth]

When I got my first chow, Freddie, I also had a pet ferret, Midgelynn.

Once the two of them figured each other out, they developed this really silly game that they played ALL the time!!!

Midgelynn would jump up and snap at Freddie's mane.... Freddie would basically flatten her with his paw and then roll over on top of her. Midgelynn would come squirming out from underneath Fred and run to the opposite end of the apartment. Fred would go chasing after her... Midgelynn would stand her ground and jump up at Freddie's mane.... only to be flattened again. What a silly pair they were.