hello from sunny greece

[gina]

hi!!! i'm soooo happy i found this site!!
i'm gina from greece and i love chowchows!
in 43 days i'm waiting my beautiful chow chow to came home and be a memeber of my family!
so, i have many many questions!
1-what age is the perfect for me to have the puppy and for the puppy to be taken away from his mother?
2-what would be the perfect food for him?
3-are there any special tips for these special dogs i should consider?
4-could you please tell me how to be perfect prepared for my puppy?

i know that these topics have been discussed and excuse me for not searching but i dont know the language very well!

[gina]

no one??

[Zhuyos mom]

1-what age is the perfect for me to have the puppy and for the puppy to be taken away from his mother?
2-what would be the perfect food for him?
3-are there any special tips for these special dogs i should consider?
4-could you please tell me how to be perfect prepared for my puppy?

Hello Gina,

Welcome to the site! It has been busy for many of us here. But we welcome you and your questions with open arms.

We lovingly call chow puppies "chowlings" on this site. Usually 8-10 weeks is a proper time for chowlings to be separated from their mother. Ten weeks is best since the mother chow will be able to nuture & teach your boy some manners and a degree of confidence. Additionally, the nutrition from her milk will help his organ growth - brain function etc...

As for your second question, there are many posts here in the nutrition section (also view the "Best of Nutrition" sub-section) regarding the "perfect" food. You live in Greece, so your choices will be different than the ones sold here in the U.S. I have read once on a thread here someone from Europe feeds their chow "artemis". I am sure they may have a puppy formula. What is important is to read the ingredients and make sure there is little or NO corn. Grain free seems to be the best for a chow's skin. However, each chow is different and you will have to see if dog food with grain will make your puppy itch. Also when it comes to the protein, if the ingredient list say "digest" or "by-product", it's not really quality protein. So it would be best to avoid it. A chow is a medium sized dog. So as your chowling grows that will be the next step up of food category to make when he becomes 10 months or older. I recommend you keep your boy on puppy food for that long. He needs the vitamins and nutrition the puppy formula offers. I feed my chow, Solid Gold. I am not sure if it is sold in Greece.

Question 3 and 4 .... my advice is for you to keep reading the tips and advice offered in the Caring for Chows sections: "health", "training", "grooming", "nutrition"; and pay special attention to the "Best of.." sub-sections. Keep in mind chows ARE very special. They respond quite well to inflections of your voice versus any physical reprimands. They are independent and were bred to oversee their household and protect their people. That's their purpose. As your boy grows with you, your responsiblity is to keep him confident (as his biological mom did in her care) by teaching him socialization skills. The more confident a chow is, the less problematic it will be for you. Again, read the threads in the Caring for Chows sections and it should help you. Take notice of topics regarding "bloat" and "hip dysplasia" and "ACL surgeries".

Once your boy is with you, please feel free to ask any questions specific to your concern. When you have pictures of your boy, please share him with us by posting his photos in our Photo Gallery.

[gina]

thank you for your answers! i dont think artemis is a proper food for the dog! what about acana? or royal canin? or hill's?
those three are the best here! but i've heard chows have a very special nutrition that daesnt include a lot of meat! I'm so anxious because i'm reading that dog have died from wrong nutrition!

sorry if i become boring but i want the best for my little friend!

[Zhuyos mom]

Maybe it was Arcana that was mentioned. They are owned by the same company that produces Orijen. You can use our search feature to see what members have experienced feeding their chows Orijen. Again, just keep in mind chows are more apt to skin problems when there is corn in their food. So just read the ingredient list of the top three foods available in Greece. You might want to ask what your boy's breeder feeds his parent/s.

Dog's dying from wrong nutrition? Are you referring to the melamine poisoning a couple of years ago?

Is this your first dog?

[Ronel]

what i can mention form my side, choose the right breeder!

Also have a good look at the parents personalities as your pup will have some of that in him....

And Sosialize your dog on a very early age!!! let people touch her but also let you puppy only have positive experiance.

Never lift your hand for him ... NEVER!

Mine is nou 4 month old and i never look back, the first time i own a Chow and boy, i learn every day!!! but being positive and having the right treats helped me a lot!!!

Good luck and Enjoy!!