New member

[Tracie2114]

Hello.. I just joined your forum. I am recently rescued a pit bill/chow puppy. I have a lot of experience with pit bulls but not with chows. I rescued Nitro at 8weeks of age and he is now 5months. He and his litter mates were abandoned in a cardboard box with a note that said free pit bull/chow puppies 8weeks old... A man up the road from me found them and took two of the puppies (he said he lives in an apartment and couldn't take them all) ... His roommate kept one and I took Nitro. I did go to the gas station to see if there were any left because I would have rescued them all but they were gone. Nitro had many health problems: horrible round worms, ticks, demodex, alopecia, and entropion. So far everything is cleared up except the entropion, which the vet wants to wait until he is about 9 months to see if it improves as he grows. He has a TON of excess skin to grow into lol... He looks more like a pit bull but has a lot of wrinkles and a spotted black tongue... The vet mentioned he also resembles a shar pei but since the box said pit bull chow I am going with that... We are working on our CGC certification and becoming a therapy dog (although he has a stubborn streak and when he has had enough no amount of treats will get him to listen lol)... He is very laid back and such a sweetheart ... We are feeding the raw diet and everyone comments on how good he looks. He does awesome in agility and loves to swim so we also starting training to compete in dock diving... I belong to the pit bull forum but wanted to also join here to learn more about his chow side...

Tracie and Nitro

[reddog]

Hi Tracie,

Welcome to the "neighborhood". Bless you for rescuing Nitro. So glad is he doing so well considering the laundry list of health issues he had. Nitro sound likes a good name for the fellow. From all the activities he's doing sounds like he sure isn't going to be a couch potato. hehe Looking forward to hearing more about him and some pics would be nice.

Pam

[Ursa's daddy]

Well, thank you for rescuing a dog with a lot going against him.

We are working on our CGC certification and becoming a therapy dog (although he has a stubborn streak and when he has had enough no amount of treats will get him to listen lol)... He is very laid back and such a sweetheart ...

It looks like you have discovered that the chow part can be stubborn, and they have a gene for selective hearing. I don't know anyone who has a chow that is good on recall, so keeping him on a leash or in a fenced area is a must. My two love treats. I will put a dozen or so of the star shaped cat kibbles in my shirt pocket when we go out. They are great because I can break each into a small bird shot size pieces and have plenty of treats and no one is over fed. Of course, once an outing has become enough for Ursa, she will lay down and it is no more walking, or if we are visiting, she wants to head for the door and get in the van. I would add loyal to that sweet and laid back. That would be a description of my two. Good luck with the CGC. That is an excellent goal. I am still working with the STAY command. A few weeks back, I was at the animal shelter, and I turned my two over, and they stayed quite well. This weekend, we were at a dog event at Tractor Supply, and when I walked off, they wanted to follow. I looked at Nitro on pitbull-chat.com, and I would agree that it could be a shar pei mix, since there isn't a lot of hair.

Since you work with pits, you know about BSL. (Bull S Legislation). Chows are no more a danger than Pits. It is the owner and the training. Good luck. I think Nitro could be an excellent therapy dog. I am working with a local group that wants to rescue dogs from the shelter and train them as therapy dogs for vets. The one dog that I have met was a pit mix.

[Tracie2114]

Well, thank you for rescuing a dog with a lot going against him.

We are working on our CGC certification and becoming a therapy dog (although he has a stubborn streak and when he has had enough no amount of treats will get him to listen lol)... He is very laid back and such a sweetheart ...

It looks like you have discovered that the chow part can be stubborn, and they have a gene for selective hearing. I don't know anyone who has a chow that is good on recall, so keeping him on a leash or in a fenced area is a must. My two love treats. I will put a dozen or so of the star shaped cat kibbles in my shirt pocket when we go out. They are great because I can break each into a small bird shot size pieces and have plenty of treats and no one is over fed. Of course, once an outing has become enough for Ursa, she will lay down and it is no more walking, or if we are visiting, she wants to head for the door and get in the van. I would add loyal to that sweet and laid back. That would be a description of my two. Good luck with the CGC. That is an excellent goal. I am still working with the STAY command. A few weeks back, I was at the animal shelter, and I turned my two over, and they stayed quite well. This weekend, we were at a dog event at Tractor Supply, and when I walked off, they wanted to follow. I looked at Nitro on pitbull-chat.com, and I would agree that it could be a shar pei mix, since there isn't a lot of hair.

Since you work with pits, you know about BSL. (Bull S Legislation). Chows are no more a danger than Pits. It is the owner and the training. Good luck. I think Nitro could be an excellent therapy dog. I am working with a local group that wants to rescue dogs from the shelter and train them as therapy dogs for vets. The one dog that I have met was a pit mix.

Lol funny you should say that about the stay command because that is the one he simply refuses. In our last class, as soon as I have him sit, give the stay command along with the hand signal, drop the leash he gets up and walks away... I was getting so frustrated, the trainer said "I think he's done" lol

Yes, I would never have him off leash if not in our (fenced) back yard.. I only do off leash when we go on vacation, which is to a secluded cabin in the Appalachia Mountains on 25 acres and he doesn't leave our side (he is afraid of everything (mostly loud noises or something fast that he didn't see coming lol)

I googled pics of pit bull/chow mixes and none of them have long hair so idk but the wrinkles and excess skin also point to shar pei... I wonder if the ppl just saw the blue tongue and red coat and assumed chow... Since I didn't get the chance to talk to (or choke lol) the people who dumped them I don't know much about them..

Unfortunately I do know about BSL... I get much grief from ppl when I say his mix.. They say "wow that's going to be a mean dog" ... So I perform experiments... Some ppl I say "oh he's a shar pei mix" and they say "oh ok, yea I can see the wrinkles" and they will pet him (not realizing that shar peis like pits were bred for dog fighting, just saying it shows their lack of knowledge to shun one and embrace the other).. Then there is the majority of ppl, who either go one way or the other and say either "CHOW??? Wow good luck they are mean" or "pit bull?? Watch your children"... Which both statements show their ignorance.. I have heard chows are mean and I don't have much experience with the breed so I honestly can't speak from experience on that (which is why I am here) but I do know that pit bulls are wonderful with kids and that statement annoys me... They are known to be dog aggressive but not human aggressive unless they are trained to be such and IMO the HA ones should be PTS if behavior modification/training doesn't work. I believe Nitro will be a well behaved, loyal, sweet dog that will be socialized, disciplined and given boundaries and make ppl apologize for their comments... I am sure he will still have that stubborn streak, but I will continue to work on that. He definitely knows I am the pack leader even though he does try to test me... One thing I know he hates is birds and rabbits but he does love other dogs and cats and I continue to socialize him... He has excellent manners and knows to sit patiently when a child approaches and pets him (which is a requirement for becoming a therapy dog) ... He also greets other dogs politely and submissively before playing... I am so happy I got him and I can't imagine being without him

Thanks for the warm welcome

[Tracie2114]

Here are some pics (hope I did it right)

[Tracie2114]

couple more

[Ursa's daddy]

A lot of that sounds typical chow to me. He will test you as pack leader. Since you are experienced with dogs, this will not be a problem. Just repeat the command...repeat the command...repeat the command...and wait...you know the drill. We go to the door...BACK...the dog backs away from the door..no problem...SIT...the dog sits..WAIT, and then when I turn the door knob, there is a dog with its nose at the door.........BACK etc. Birds and squirrels totally mess Ursa up. All concentration goes out the window. Chows tend to follow only one person. Malachi can be on the floor at my wife's feet, and she can be telling him to get up and go out. He doesn't hear a word. He is on another planet. I can say LET's GO, and out the door it is.

[chowpups]

I've had a shar pei mix and I would lean more to the shar pei than chow after seeing the pics.Wonder if the jerk who left them did see the tongue and just think chow? Some times you can tell by the coat! Some Shar peis can have a horse hair type coat that even can cause a rash on some peoples arms after petting or handling them, not everyone but my Vet was sensitive to the fur and would breakout. Our dog had a brush coat which was softer and didn't bother her.. well glad to see you are doing so good with him after all the problems!

[Tracie2114]

A lot of that sounds typical chow to me. He will test you as pack leader. Since you are experienced with dogs, this will not be a problem. Just repeat the command...repeat the command...repeat the command...and wait...you know the drill. We go to the door...BACK...the dog backs away from the door..no problem...SIT...the dog sits..WAIT, and then when I turn the door knob, there is a dog with its nose at the door.........BACK etc. Birds and squirrels totally mess Ursa up. All concentration goes out the window. Chows tend to follow only one person. Malachi can be on the floor at my wife's feet, and she can be telling him to get up and go out. He doesn't hear a word. He is on another planet. I can say LET's GO, and out the door it is.

Well that explains a lot... He only listens to me and completely ignores everyone else. People say he is dumb and doesn't even know his name but as soon as I say it he looks right at me or comes to me. My mom will call him and call him to come in from the back yard and she will call me and say he won't come for me and I just yell his name once and he comes running lol.. It's very frustrating... (although some days he won't come for me if he doesn't feel like it)... That's when I get the clicker (which I only use for "COME" and he ALWAYS listens to that because he ALWAYS gets a treat for that)

[Tracie2114]

I've had a shar pei mix and I would lean more to the shar pei than chow after seeing the pics.Wonder if the jerk who left them did see the tongue and just think chow? Some times you can tell by the coat! Some Shar peis can have a horse hair type coat that even can cause a rash on some peoples arms after petting or handling them, not everyone but my Vet was sensitive to the fur and would breakout. Our dog had a brush coat which was softer and didn't bother her.. well glad to see you are doing so good with him after all the problems!

Yea the vet said he has a coat just like a shar pei but that was when he was really little... It has gotten a little longer now and is more "silky" to touch and not as rough and prickly (if that makes sense). ... But he also had demodex and alopecia so it was just growing in ... Guess I will never know lol

[Tracie2114]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1345749961.608345.jpg (49.36 KiB) Viewed 5360 times

This is him a couple days after I got him

[Ursa's daddy]

Clicker...I have been thinking about getting one.

[Tracie2114]

Clicker...I have been thinking about getting one.

Yes, I only use it for the COME command... I say "Nitro, *click* COME" and EVERY time he comes he gets a treat... She (the trainer) said if you do this you MUST only do it when you are serious about him coming (and follow through that he MUST come) and must reward with a treat... Then she had us later after a week of practice, start playing a game of hide and seek in the house, which he now LOVES and I will go hide and do the "Nitro, *click* COME" and I can hear him immediately go running super excited all over the house to find me.. I have to do the command a couple times if he can't find means when he does he jumps all over the place cuz HE DID IT so if I call him and want him to come in and he ignores me I get the clicker and a treat and he comes running full speed lol... Lots of fun