Is a chow chow right for my family?

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Puppylove1234
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Is a chow chow right for my family?

Post by Puppylove1234 »

My boyfriend and I want a puppy in the future. He had a chow before but she passed away. The only breed he is interested in getting is a chow because he said she was the best dog he ever had. I do think they are cute, and reading more into their personality I would be willing to get one but I have some concerns.

My main concern is how it will get along with my 2 cats since chows have a high prey drive. My cats: 1 is an old laid back friendly male, the other a young shy female who can be skittish. They have been around small dogs before and been perfectly fine. My other concern is my mom and sister come to visit a couple times a year, I wouldn't want it to be aggressive towards them. My 3rd concern is if you can take it on walks or to the dog park or if we visit someone else who has kids or something will it suddenly become a ferocious beast?

Our family consists of me, my boyfriend, and his 18 yr old son. We live in Arizona. We will not be having children of our own. We are quiet, rarely have ppl over, homebody family, we work 8-5 M-F jobs, but we do enjoy hiking and camping on weekends. I'm fine with 1 or 2 daily walks.

I know if you train and raise a puppy it will be better around cats and others, but from your expierence of having a chow, do you think it's the right breed for my family? Thanks for any advice.
Cindy J
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Re: Is a chow chow right for my family?

Post by Cindy J »

Sorry for the delay. I read your post earlier but just got a few minutes to respond.

I can only speak about my personal experience with chows and cats. My 2.5yr old chow has been around cats from the time he first came into our home. He chases them NON-STOP if given the opportunity. I personally believe he would kill our cat if given the opportunity. We now have an 8 week old chow puppy. I am constantly separating the puppy and the cat because the puppy is CHASING the cat! I think it is a prey drive issue.

As for the issue of aggression towards strangers ~ This can be addressed much more easily. Socialize your chow puppy in every way possible. My puppy interacts with 5-10 people a day. (I bring her to work with me every day) She sees strangers as more people who will give her belly rubs and tell her how pretty she is. We are building her confidence and teaching her that she has no need to be fearful and aggressive.

My 2.5 yr old chow can go ANYWHERE with me with absolutely no issues. I walk him through big crowds and he pretty much ignores everyone unless we stop and let someone love on him. At the Houston dog show this past weekend he was petted, hugged and even laid on... :shock: He has had so much socializing that he just takes it all in.

With my first chow, I did not understand the need to socialize. he was great at home with our immediate family but did not want to let anyone else in the door or in the yard. He would growl at people while on our walks if he thought they were getting to close to me. But he was absolutely great with our kids. They wrestled on the floor with him all the time and he slept in their beds.

We lived in Arizona at the time. He enjoyed walks but they had to be in the cooler morning/evening times.
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FurParent
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Re: Is a chow chow right for my family?

Post by FurParent »

Yeah there's no doubt about it! You can have chow in your situation just always remember if you get a new dog always know your responsibilities. Because having any kind of dog isn't joke. Good luck hope you get one soon.
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