Is my chow chow pure bred? And will she be big and fluffy?

[Jsal2001]

I bought a chow chow and she has a black tongue, her tail is against her back, but I see other 3 month old chow chows and they look like they are more fluffy. Will she grow to be fluffy and furry?

[Brisco]

Hi, I would say that your cute little girl is a pure Chow. The typical Chow that people imagine is probably the "show" type that are very carefully and selectively bred to have a very particular look, or breed standard. There are two coats recognized, the standard long hair (the most common) and a Smooth Coat ( less common ) and judged the same as and along side the standard long coat. I have a smooth coat which is my first one being the 6th Chow that I've had. There also tends to be kind of two face types as well although the closed face thick muzzle is more to breed standards and both are not in the breed standard. Typically, they have a closed face ( mushed in and thick ) muzzle. Many have what is known as an "open face" a bit more pointy and open as the term implies. The good thing about a more open face is you are less likely to have trouble with entropion, an easily fixed eye problem common in Chows. Smooth coats will appear more open due to the lack of thick hair around the face which hides the muzzle a bit. If you pull the hair back from the muzzle of a typical Chow the muzzle is usually much longer than it appears, same with the ears, they look tiny, but under that hair they are pretty normal size. It's usually a good idea to see both parents when buying a puppy to get a good idea of what look you may be getting. Look up smooth coat chows and you will see more similar to yours. Chows should be about the temperament more than the look anyway. I'm sure yours will be a great dog, enjoy.