Does Your Chow "Hunt"?

General discussions about Chow Chows.

Moderator: chowadmin

Post Reply
CocoLeBear
Rank 0
Rank 0
Posts: 56
Joined: Wed May 29, 2013 5:59 am

Does Your Chow "Hunt"?

Post by CocoLeBear »

My dear chow Coco loves "hunting"! Cats, squirrels, mice, ducks, etc., they all drive her wild! I live in the city, but when we visit my parents on the weekend, she goes CRAZY searching for voles in the garden (voles are like field mice that burrow underground and eat roots). She digs, waits, and then pounces, "like an artic fox" as my dad says. She has caught one so far (I wasn't there--my dad saw her pawing at something, went over, and it was a vole that she kept on pawing at--probably trying to make it squeak!). She hasn't been very successful, probably because they are underground, but I am thankful that it is something that amuses her while I can lay out and enjoy the pool!

Just curious if anyone knew what kind of game chows were bred to go after? She doesn't show any interest in dogs, but gets very excited about cats, rodents, livestock (cows, horses, etc.), and birds she sees in the pet store (but not birds in the backyard). Very interested in ducks and geese though. Are your chows interested in other animals? Always amazes me that some people have chows that can co-exist with dogs!!
ski
Rank 1
Rank 1
Posts: 361
Joined: Sat Dec 30, 2006 10:22 am

Re: Does Your Chow "Hunt"?

Post by ski »

Our chow Loki will go after ANYTHING that moves. Rabbits, squirrels and, heaven forbid, cats! I have never had a dog with such a strong prey drive. We never let him out unless he is leashed. Our other chow, Frisco, doesn't care one bit about chasing anything except his dinner bowl. This all makes our life quite interesting as we have a cat. We keep two separate households so they each have their separate space. Our house is the perfect arrangement to keep them separate. The dogs get a long great with one another. They have never had an issue in seven years. Loki is a sweetheart but turns into a monster if he sees prey.
User avatar
DrewBear
Rank 1
Rank 1
Posts: 182
Joined: Tue Oct 22, 2013 8:54 pm
Location: California

Re: Does Your Chow "Hunt"?

Post by DrewBear »

My pup goes nuts for squirrels, rabbits and rodents. He's curious about cats, but doesn't really "hunt" them in the same way. He knows birds can fly, so mostly ignores them. Hasn't met any larger animals, so not sure how he'll respond there. He always wants to greet other dogs, but only meets one he can really play with maybe 1 of 10 times. Mostly the other dog's not interested in playing for one reason or another.
Image
'Bear' 1996 - 2011
natashalindley
Rank 0
Rank 0
Posts: 18
Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2014 10:12 am

Re: Does Your Chow "Hunt"?

Post by natashalindley »

My pup Django doesn't mind my rabbit and happily sniffs him then carries on doing his own thing. I introduced him to my friends cat the other day and he kept trying to play with it, but the cat was having none of it! haha! The only thing that I have noticed him chasing so far is flies...once he sees a fly, he does little pounces and opens his mouth and spins around. Chows are such an amazing breed!
User avatar
chowpups
Rank 3
Rank 3
Posts: 1765
Joined: Tue Dec 02, 2008 2:27 pm
Location: PA

Re: Does Your Chow "Hunt"?

Post by chowpups »

My last chow Nikki would chase fox, groundhogs ( caught up with a groundhog NOT a good experience ), bees, butterflies, any rodent ( loved a good chipmunk chase) ! never minded a cat in the house but the neighbors drove her nuts in the yard! Basically anything that moved out side! She got along great with other dogs too!
Image
chow315

Re: Does Your Chow "Hunt"?

Post by chow315 »

mine hunt everything. do yours climb?
ski
Rank 1
Rank 1
Posts: 361
Joined: Sat Dec 30, 2006 10:22 am

Re: Does Your Chow "Hunt"?

Post by ski »

Climb? Do chows climb? I can barely get Loki to go up steps.
chow315

Re: Does Your Chow "Hunt"?

Post by chow315 »

mine will climb anything to get what they want. i have 3 little fellas all rescued and and all are precious by age a 2 1/2 year old purebred cream chow, have had 2 months name is yogi.an 8 year old american dingo named buddy boy beautiful wonderful dog but a bit too smart he likes to open doors and escape. willrun for hours.number 3 my favorite , reddy around 15 is as sweet as sweet can be very obedient so sweet he melts your heart loves to visit . these are my 3 sons very little agression except for food. the younger respect reddy for his age . the younger 2 play together lots.we have a good family
User avatar
Cam Atis
Rank 2
Rank 2
Posts: 732
Joined: Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:32 am

Re: Does Your Chow "Hunt"?

Post by Cam Atis »

Cassie will "hunt" of course. Her lot includes lizards, sparrows, cats. That's all there is.
Gerwinke
Rank 0
Rank 0
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2014 4:20 pm

Re: Does Your Chow "Hunt"?

Post by Gerwinke »

Our little guys and girl are definitely hunters. Opposums, Cats, Birds, Deer, Insects, Frogs, Toads. Not many little critters get into the yard and back out again. It's about the only thing that I would change. They are fine with the other animals in the house but don't seem to like other smaller animals coming into their yard. It seems like they try to play with them but a little too rough. They never touch them after the fact, so it's not for food. It's something we've tried to stop, but to no avail.
User avatar
JasonandNat
Rank 1
Rank 1
Posts: 334
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 4:29 am
Location: Orleans, Ontario, Canada

Re: Does Your Chow "Hunt"?

Post by JasonandNat »

Chows are predators, love little furry things that scream. ;)

Ours have hunted from day one. Very successful, better than wolf (20%) and closer to Hyena (80%), FuShiLu is still learning the art of success, ShenLung is very efficient (FengHuang was the absolute master). Not only can ShenLung climb, he can snatch one off the top of an 8' fence and power lift his own weight straight up a cliff wall, he can also lift boulders blowing air at chipmunks until they pop up and in a snap the rock drops, chippy gets munched.
vette64
Rank 0
Rank 0
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Oct 25, 2015 3:16 pm

Re: Does Your Chow "Hunt"?

Post by vette64 »

I want to get a chow but my boyfriend wants a good duck hunting dog. Would you say that a chow is a good duck hunting dog. I know that they were bred for hunting. But I have never heard of them duck hunting. You would think that it would be hard for them to get the duck since they have all that hair and when wet gets heavy? :mrgreen:
User avatar
m_saade
Rank 0
Rank 0
Posts: 39
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2014 3:21 am
Contact:

Re: Does Your Chow "Hunt"?

Post by m_saade »

@vette64 All of the chowchows working capabilities are mentioned on the internet in the 'History' section. (websites not social platforms)

And that history goes way before they were even called chowchows and known to the world.

And as a personal opinion, modern chows are basically ruined in terms of working capabilities. And they fit mostly in the 'go fetch that duck yourself' dog category...

As you can see in this thread, some chowchows have a very high prey drive and some don't, but i do not think that any of both types is suitable/reliable for hunting anything...
They might go for the duck to play with it or try to kill it if it is still alive.
But if it is already dead, they will sniff it, chew on it, get bored of it and leave it where it is.
But most importantly, i think that they will almost never retrieve it...

And if his fur gets soaked in water, you will be forced to retrieve both :D

Plus they are low energy dogs and not suitable for any strenuous activity.

Do not expect a chowchow to do any type of work for you. You will be disappointed and you will end up working double.

He will be expecting you to treat him like a princess...
Come to think of it now, he might have gotten that attitude from his 1st importers...


Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk
User avatar
JasonandNat
Rank 1
Rank 1
Posts: 334
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 4:29 am
Location: Orleans, Ontario, Canada

Re: Does Your Chow "Hunt"?

Post by JasonandNat »

Oh in part your correct, depending how they are raised. Ours have a long and successful hunting list of trophies. If it's between fox and mouse size, ground or air (sometimes water), it's good. They don't like retrieving sticks or balls much, but your bring a fuzzy, furry, scaly, feathered critter within range it's up for grabs. I've had ShenLung track rabbits, both and FuShiLu track foxes, and FengHuang was the master of birds, duck, goose, Cardinal, robin, it seemed easy for her. We just had a rescue with that was adopted, Sheen-Wa had great prey drive for squirrels and birds alike and if she had been in better shape might have faired well. On the other side, several 'hunting' breeds around here couldn't catch a cold. ;)
bltrask
Rank 0
Rank 0
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2015 6:50 pm

Re: Does Your Chow "Hunt"?

Post by bltrask »

In her younger days, Chookie would spend all day stalking groundhogs, rabbits, squirrels, weasels, etc. She even treed a cat (Which is odd considering that one is now her best friend). She would bring them to me and present them. I lived in the country and even though I live in the city now, she still likes to chase the rabbits in the back yard...
User avatar
JasonandNat
Rank 1
Rank 1
Posts: 334
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 4:29 am
Location: Orleans, Ontario, Canada

Re: Does Your Chow "Hunt"?

Post by JasonandNat »

As for swimming.... Ours took awhile but once they realized it was possible, they took to it. They really, really like the ocean, probably due to the saltwater extra buoyancy. ShenLung also likes to get out to water about shoulder height and start digging. I mean 20 minutes of digging. It's amazing to watch. ;)
Mewmeister
Rank 0
Rank 0
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2016 12:41 pm

Re: Does Your Chow "Hunt"?

Post by Mewmeister »

My girl brings me rodents sometimes
Chow Tribe
Rank 0
Rank 0
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Apr 25, 2016 12:49 am

Re: Does Your Chow "Hunt"?

Post by Chow Tribe »

I have had chows that `hunt`.In fact I dont let them off a leash in our neighborhood as lots of wandering cats and unleased dogs.Chows were used for hunting,guarding etc.They have a long history so they have been used for most services.Any cats in my yard were not safe;my female didnt like them and they were in mortal danger.If you know what I mean.
Post Reply