Shedding (Is this normal)

[squintero]

I am a new Chow owner. I knew my Juliette would shed and I am getting used to the hair being everywhere. I brush her on a daily basis and I use a furminator on her.

When I first got her, however, she was a fluff ball. She looked like the teeny bear I had become familar with seeing.
Now my girl looks like a little fox (thats what everyone calls her when I walk her through my neighborhood)

Here is a picture before:


And here she is now:


Initially I figured it was just due to the shedding and the weather, but there is a man on the next block from me that has a chow chow who still has lots of fluffy fur! His chow looks like a little golden bear.

I just worry because I don't know if there is something I am doing wrong or if there is something I should be doing to help keep her fluffy.

[PCC]

Nothing to worry about. Your Chow just has shorter fur compared to your neighbor's. Juliette has more of a "classic" (for lack of a better word) build and coat, compared to the current "breed standard," i.e. show dog style of Chow.

[Ursa's daddy]

She looks like my two. Give it a few weeks, and that fur will grow.

[Sarahloo]

She really has changed a lot! But is still very cute and looks so happy! Right now, she's shed her puppy fur and is at that awkward teenage stage, where the legs are too long for the body and they're very thin bec. of the growth spurt. It will still be a little while before you can tell what adult Juliette is going to look like!

[squintero]

Thanks for your responses.

She has changed a lot:


I have had people question Juliette's breed because she has long legs and a short coat. People say she looks like a little fox or a shiba inu.

The man on the next block even told me my girl was not full chow because she did not have blue eyes!

[Rory's Dad]

Nah, she looks great. As PCC said, their is a lot of variation with coat length and thickness in Chows. It does look like she may be rolling her puppy fur into adult fur, and even show dogs dont usually show during this period.

[Rory's Dad]

I was just rechecking this post and realized your neighbors comment about not having blue eyes...now that is a serious crock of baloney...you could confidently reply to this person that he has no idea what he is talking about.

[Cam Atis]

Blue eyes for a chow?
Yeah Rory's Dad had it nailed. Your neighbor doesn't know what he's talking about. Could it be that his dog is not a chowchow afterall, and yours is?
Your chow looks fine if "magnificent" is an overkill. Classic is how PCC puts it as your chow looks very close to the physical characteristics of the chows of old.

[squintero]

I was just rechecking this post and realized your neighbors comment about not having blue eyes...now that is a serious crock of baloney...you could confidently reply to this person that he has no idea what he is talking about.

i wanted to yell at the man on the next block. he then began saying his dog was full chow because his chow had paper work. to which i responded that my chow has paperwork as well. he is crazy ... he does have a beautiful chow though.

[Rory's Dad]

Lol, so do you, so do I , so does everyone on this site...fact is the guy doesnt have a clue.

[Rory's Dad]

Just a quick question for everyone else while i looked at this again...i have seen the furminator on sale at our local store. We do a full professional groom 1x a month, and use a pin brush in between. Rory shows about 2x a month and the handler touches him up, so our grooming is really minimal.

Furminator seems to imply that it strips the undercoat...maybe i am reading it wrong? Anyone with experience with this product. We are heading out of puppy fur into adult coat, and the pin brush doesnt seem to get deep enough at this point.

[squintero]

Just a quick question for everyone else while i looked at this again...i have seen the furminator on sale at our local store. We do a full professional groom 1x a month, and use a pin brush in between. Rory shows about 2x a month and the handler touches him up, so our grooming is really minimal.

Furminator seems to imply that it strips the undercoat...maybe i am reading it wrong? Anyone with experience with this product. We are heading out of puppy fur into adult coat, and the pin brush doesnt seem to get deep enough at this point.

I use the furminator. Juliette doesn't seem to mind it. But I usually use it on her while we are sitting on my porch so she can watch the traffic. She seems to really enjoy watching all the cars.

It does remove quite a bit of hair, but I don't know if it necessarily decresases shedding like they advertise.
I also use a rake and a slicker on her. I need t purchase a comb.

[PCC]

I tried the Furminator and didn't like it. My go-to grooming tool is a long toothed comb.

[Cam Atis]

Rory's dad, i think furminator does imply it removes the undercoat. I havent used it and i dont show my chow but if I were you, better not use it yet until further research by you as it may put Rory's coat in jeopardy. You may want him showing with his full coat on.

[Ursa's daddy]

The furminator works, but we keep the pin brush out on the table in the breezeway and just use it frequently on the dogs. Malachi just loves to be brushed with it, and if he is happy, I am happy. We have a box with just about every grooming aid except a comb. The two chows usually get the pin brush, and the cats and the terriers get the soft bristle brush.

[TyChowgirl]

Squintero- let me just say, your girl is GORGEOUS. And now worries, like PCC said, she's got a shorter rough coat. I have people question me about Ty all the time. Her fur will buff up a little, as she gets older, but it'll never be full fluff, not with the kind of chow she is. I used to be worried about the lack of huge fluffy show fur too, until I came to this site and became a lot more educated about the differences in chows.
Tiberius is an example...here let me show you.
<---fluff ball puppy
<---3 1/2 months
<---8ish months?
<---over a year.

Like I said, she'll fluff out a little more as she gets older. And the blue eyed stuff is crap, because that would be a major fault. Also, I use a curved undercoat rake...it does remove the undercoat (mostly the dead fur too) but not drastically. I find that I used that one more in the spring/summer to keep him cooler by getting rid of a lot of the thick dead fur that's just stuck in the thick undercoat.

[squintero]

Squintero- let me just say, your girl is GORGEOUS. And now worries, like PCC said, she's got a shorter rough coat. I have people question me about Ty all the time. Her fur will buff up a little, as she gets older, but it'll never be full fluff, not with the kind of chow she is. I used to be worried about the lack of huge fluffy show fur too, until I came to this site and became a lot more educated about the differences in chows.
Tiberius is an example...here let me show you.


Like I said, she'll fluff out a little more as she gets older. And the blue eyed stuff is crap, because that would be a major fault. Also, I use a curved undercoat rake...it does remove the undercoat (mostly the dead fur too) but not drastically. I find that I used that one more in the spring/summer to keep him cooler by getting rid of a lot of the thick dead fur that's just stuck in the thick undercoat.

Tychowgirl your Tiberius is beautiful! Definitely resembles my Juliette... Especially the eight month picture.

Fluff or no fluff I love my baby.

[Chow master]

We are heading out of puppy fur into adult coat, and the pin brush doesnt seem to get deep enough at this point.

Hey Rory's Dad well since the pin brush isn't getting deep enough use a rake brush. it worked miracles on my chow!