Soon to be chow-mama!

[Quynh]

I just joined this site and I'm so glad I did! The community here seems very friendly and helpful, and I wanted to say hi. I'll be getting a chow puppy soon and wanted to do my research first. From the training discussions it seems like many people have problems with chows (teaching commands, walking, aggression, etc), so if you have a "success" story or if you'd like to brag about your chow, please do so here-- I'd love to hear about 'em

[Rio]

Welcome to the forum Quynh, I think most breed of dog can have problems with training, chows don't so much have a problem with training it is more keeping or getting their attention in the first place. We were quite fortunate with our puppy as we discovered he will do pretty much anything if you have chicken about your person!!!! He is stubborn as the hills sometimes, but that is what attracted us to the breed, we didn't want a performing dog we wanted an independent, free-thinking intelligent dog and that is what we have.
You will soon discover that Chows can also make you laugh very often with their attitudes and back-chatting.
Once again welcome to the forum and I look forward to seeing pictures of your chowling once you get one.

[Cocoa]

Welcome to the forum. Have to agree with Rio, chows are selectively deaf and will need a reason to obey a command. A lot of them are not very food motivated so treat training doesn't always work with chows. You will have to find what motivates your chow when you get him, with Cocoa it is more about the praise than the treats although she can be bribed with cheese sometimes. And yes the antics and chatting will definitely bring some laughter into your life.

[Ursa's daddy]

Some training is easy. It did not take but one mistake on the floor before Malachi had me trained. I quickly learned that the sound he made meant "I need to go out NOW!" You have a wide range of personalities and background with individual chows. Ursa, my female, was probably a castoff from a puppy mill. I rescued her when she was 6 weeks old. She was fearful and not used to people. It took a while, lots of patience, but she is a great pet. She loves my wife. Walking was challenging, but I train my cats to walk on a lease, so it wasn't anything I found that difficult. Malachi, my male, was the favorite of the staff at the animal shelter. He was a little bear and everyone loved him. I got him at 3 months, and he his outgoing personality helped Ursa. He is so sweet. He is protective of the house, and will take point to challenge intruders. Strangers are greeted by a Large Loud black dog that is approaching them. He taught the cat the same behavior. All he really wants to do is smell you and check you out. To keep from frightening away delivery people, I try to take the chows out in public at least once a month. You have to SOCIALIZE chows. It is not hard, especially if you live where there are lots of parks and public places you can take them. When I lived in Savannah with its many parks, we would go out every weekend. Chows expect you to be the leader and they carefully watch you for cues. If you are not going to the leader, chows have no problem taking over. You don't want this, because they are so stubborn. Kitty (wife) was telling me about Malachi. The other night she called all the dogs to make a final trip outside before bedtime. Malachi was laying there on the floor by her, staring off in the distance. He had the selective hearing turned up to 10. Finally, she turned to open the door for the other dogs, and he was right there. His thinking is that if you aren't there opening the door, don't bother calling. They are wonderful dogs, very affectionate, and full of individual personality.

[beckysmyth92]

Welcome to the forum
I am a new chow-mama too! I done my research long and hard before I got Dakota my girl chow who is 19 weeks old now, I got her at 11 weeks! She has been a pleasure to have! I taught her to Sit, Stay, Fetch, Lay, Come and No! She has never went to the toilet inside the house from I took her home I have never had an accident which I was very pleased with! She is very stubborn at times and will not listen to me, to get her attention I have found if i put her out the back and shut the door and ignore her for 5 minutes, then bring her in she will be more keen to do as she's told, however sometimes she will lay out the back and stay out there even when Ive tried to call her in!

I groom Dakota everyday and she lets me without fussing or moving about! It took Dakota a good few times outside to get used to walking lol! When I started walking her she would stop every 2 meters and lay down as if she were about to go for a nap! So I brought some treats along with me and she was more keen to walk, now she loves going walks and when other dogs are around she just looks at them while they bark which I think is fascinating! I have Dakota very well socialised, I take her to my friends house a few times a week were she plays with her dog, and I also take her every where with me where she meets lots of new people, I have also had lots of visitors calling to make sure she's used to having people in our home!

I wish you all the luck in the world with your Chow Chow,

[Auddymay]

Welcome to the forum.