My first Chow Chow

[abduktedtemplar]

I just adopted a 2 yr old Chow named Bear. He's black as night and super sweet. The previous owners trained him very well. He doesn't go potty inside, he doesn't chew things up, and he obeys most commands when we're inside. Outside is another matter entirely. I cant get him to listen to any commands when we are outside and he's a serious jumper. I let him out in the backyard with 5" rock walls and at first we had no problems. I left him alone for just a minute though and he hopped right over the fence, luckily if he sees me when I call his name he will come to me. At this point I cant just put him in the backyard to go potty, I have to stay out there until he's done and sometimes he doesn't even go =(. He is a super dog and I'm looking forward to learning more about him and becoming a better owner.

[Fozzbear]

Wow! Sounds like you need a new, higher fence - it will be worth it though. Please post a picture of Bear so we can all admire him. Hope you have lots of great times together.

[Victory]

Sounds like you have one of the athletic types of chows. Jumping a five foot fence for them is no problem, they will do it out of boredom and the need for exercise. Do you only let him out for potty breaks? At his age this is not enough exercise, if you can take him for 2 long walks each day. this will exercise his body and his mind. Chows are smart they are also curious, taking him on long walks around the neighborhood and switching up the route every few days will give him new things to see, hear, smell and walk on, (don't let him eat or mouth stuff though) exercising four of his senses, stimulating that brain.

After a long walk take him to the back yard, putting him through some training exercises after he's gone potty. See if he is one who will chase a ball, or other toy and play with it with him.

Sounds like he has decent recall, (returning to you when you call him back) work with him on that. Work on a sit stay, lay stay, long sit stay, long lay stay, if you don't know what elsxe to teach him, go to a class or two with him.

And we'd love to see pictures of him.

[Tippsy'smom]

I second everything Victory said. They need to be exercised and be mentally stimulated everyday.

[Rory's Dad]

Well stated by Victory. Make sure you communicate what you expect as well. Not every walk has to be the same. For example, a morning walk could be a quick 'do your business, cause i have to go to work walk'. Show him the area in the yard where YOU want him to go. And then speak..."OK Bear time to pee", "Bear #2", whatever language you choose, and then offer up big time praise and treats (if you so choose), to get him to understand. Once he's done, instruct him "IN". For an excercise walk, expect something different, let him choose his objects (within lead range". Expect some marking, and some sniffing...its not likely to be a full out run.

If you dont want him jumping a 5' high wall/fence, keep the loose lead at 4'. One or two failed attempts will stop it. Teach him his boundaries, most likely he will accept them given the recall he has shown so far. He is looking to please and looking for direction and limits.

[abduktedtemplar]

I usually take Bear out for a couple of 1.5 mile walks a day. The rest of the day he spends inside with me or my family/friends. He loves to sit in the window with his legs hanging over the bars. Looking for something to entertain him with and slow down his eating since he inhales his food. Thinking about getting the northmate dog feeder to try and stretch out the time it takes for him to eat. I'd like to teach him to listen to me when we're outside but he's just so interested in everything else he doesn't. When he starts to pull hard on the leash I stop and call him so he comes back to me but ideally he'd walk with me. What are some tricks yall have been able to teach your chows? His previous owners did not have him neutered but the way he acts around people that have dogs and other dogs not behind gates has made me want to have him neutered. Hopefully that will calm him down a bit because I really want to take him to the dog park and not knock another dog up =/.

[Rory's Dad]

1st off, there should be no issues with him eating food at his pace. Chows rarely overeat, but if you are worried about it, control his rations. If you think a market product will assist, however, i dont see any issue with it.

You will experience problems with your Chow listening outside his normal zone. This is typical behavior. He will ignore you and pretend you are not there. He does actually hear you, its just normal Chow response. You could try baiting him with different treats, but really its probably not going to happen. We have different levels of treats response training with Rory. I come home every night and work with basic dog commands (sit, stay, speak, paw, etc) and he does quite well with that. Outside the house, we do 'yard work'. He will do all the basics, plus a nice loose lead walk, some ball play or branch chasing. If we leave the yard, however, all bets are off. He has total focus on whatever is out there and will just pull to that with all out energy. No amount of treats or coaxing will bring him back out of that zone.

That being said, we show Rory in AKC Conformance events. He never shows the same attitude in these situations. He behaves like a gentleman and doesnt pull or misbehave. He does still have a strong marking instinct though. I think mostly that he understands the situation because he is on a different type of lead.

Shows in our area are sporadic though, and he is now almost 16 months. He went to the groomer earlier this week and i got reports that he tried to mark another dog. Could make the next event interesting.

[cherriemater]

First ... BEAR IS GORGEOUS!!! I love that peek-a-boo shot!!!

Second ... consistency!! Our boys are 15 months old now and it still amazes me when they obey a command but I shouldn't be because I try very hard to be consistent with them (which is a struggle at times because my husband doesn't walk/train/lead the same way). They are smart boys, though. Willing to please and obedient to the extent that a chow is willing.

For example, read my post: http://forum.chowchow.org/viewtopic.php ... NUxb29QURA
I attribute the success of this stressful moment (for me) to being consistent at EVERY intersection (even though we live in a small town and sometimes walk down the middle of the street ... that changes when we're on the sidewalk ... and that's another good point. They know that word, too.

I am a talking fool when we're out for a walk. Chows are so very, very smart that I know they know what is expected if them because I tell them constantly. I use words like, "This way" with a short tug in the proper direction or "No, no" when they're headed to pee on a light post (with another short tug), sidewalk when we're leaving the pavement and I want them to stay on the path. When we start heading home I say, "Go home" and they turn in that direction ... and when we get to the driveway (another word I use because I don't want them trampling on neighbors yards) I say, "Inside" and they head in that direction. They "wait" at the door so I can unleash them and we use the word, "Harness," when we're hooking them up or unhooking them at the door. Then another quick inside and in they go.

So ... for me ... consistency has been key. Think about the behavior your WANT your smart chowboy to do, find the right command that you both (and friends who walk/visit or neighbors) understand. He'll pick things up quickly and you'll be amazed at the results.

I have to say it ... Good boy, Leo! Good boy, Max! Momma is so proud of you!!

[abduktedtemplar]

Thanks for all the advice. I will definitely heed yalls words. I am having trouble with his eating though. His previous owners had him on kibbles and bits, but I wanted to upgrade his food after reading about all the health benefits. Well I fed him some of that until I was able to pick up a bag of Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach. First day I got it I mixed half kibbles half pro plan and he ate about half of it. Next day I went mostly Pro plan with some kibble on top and he ate better. Next day it was all Pro plan and he didnt eat all day until late evening then he cleared the bowl. I'm just worried because with the kibbles and bits he would inhale 2 cups mid day and 2 cups in the evening. Now with the Pro plan the 2 cups just sits there all day. My gf and sis both have told me to just leave it and that when he's really hungry he will eat. Should I follow that advice?

[Rory's Dad]

I think you need to rethink the concept 'gradual change'. 2 -3 days definitely isnt it. You should be thinking more in terms of weeks. There is some truth to the leave and they will eat theory, but you need to think in more of the digestive health. Kibble & Bits is NOT a good food, but it will provide some basic sustanence ingredients. On the flip side, what it does offer is ahead of nothing. You need to introduce the better quality food over the course of several weeks or a month so they can properly digest it. Too radical a change can result in vomiting, diahream, or just plain not eating. In any of those scenarios, your dog wont get the intended increase in vitamins, proteins, or other required ingredients.

[Victory]

I agree with Rory's dad the change should have taken longer, a couple of weeks at the very least. Also was he in a house with other dogs before? This might be why he learned to inhale his food, my Firesong was like that when I first got her, I could tell by her behavior, (nasty actually) when she was fed that she had to fight for her share before. As she learned that she was going to get her share and all she needed, (and a bit more) she stopped being so nasty and also started to take her time eating. Now she free feeds with my Dreamdancer and there are no problems.

Chow rarely over eat, four cups of food, (no matter the brand) is not out of the question for the larger males. If you are feeding him in the morning but he doesn't eat until the evening, he might be telling you that with the new food he is getting enough and doesn't want any more. Believe me if he is hungry you'll know it. As he becomes more accustomed to his new food, he might start eating a bit at night and then finishing it off during the next day. That is what my two do, I feed them about 3 cups each at night in the winter, (in the summer it's closer to 2.25 cups) and they eat about half to 2/3s of it at night and finish it up during the day a little at a time. They are at healthy weights, have few tummy upsets, (usually only when they get into something during a walk before I can stop them) and have healthy coats, bright shiny eyes and plenty of energy.

And I really, really want to warn you about thinking about neutering calming him down, it may, (and I say may because of his age) stop the wandering, some of the marking behavior, but it will not calm him down much more than that. 1.5 miles twice a day is good, try for 2 miles a day, plus at least a half hour of training. I also want to warn you that at 2 years old he may put on another 6 to 10 lbs of muscle. When I got Darkwind he was just about 2 and weighed a healthy 63lbs, a year later he'd gained 9 lbs of muscle. Lucky for me he wasn't a puller, he walked on a nice looose lead.

you might be wondering what we mean by that phrase, loose lead. Often chows tdo not walk at a proper heal, like other breeds, but always slightly in front of you, to the side, they were born to pull sleds and guard, this is a natural position for them. What you want though is that they do walk on that loose lead, in that you can keep your hand down by your side and they walk at a nice pace just in front of you. you can teach them to walk at a perfect heal but it is very hard as it isn't quite natural for them.

By the way he is gorgeous!

[Victory]

Oh and about taking him to dog parks, many chows just don't do well with that, neutered or not, spayed or not. They smell different than other dogs, add the mane and the stiff gaited back legs and their erect stiff ears and many dogs take one look and go after THEM. It is often difficult for another breed to actually hurt a chow because of the coat. but the real problem is that chows don't forget, ever. And once attacked by another dog, they often decide to attack first.

If he doesn't like other dogs, he may never learn to like them. Like I said in the last post, getting him neutered at two years old will not reverse all the ways his brain works now. Darkwind wasn't neutered until he was two and I could still tell when a female was in heat in the neighborhood by how he drooled at certain places when he marked, (yep he would mark those spots) I also had to be careful of his behavior when a female was ready and he was around males who were intact, he wouldn't give way to them.

Chows are often not friendly outside their families and it is not really in their nature to be so. Sometimes the best you can hope for with a chow is that they just ignore the other dogs and pay attention to you. In fact if you watch them in the show ring that is normally what they do, they pay attention to their handlers and ignore the other dogs.

[abduktedtemplar]

I'll try feeding him the k&b with some pro plan and gradually change him over. With the new harness I got for him, walking is much better. If he pulls when the leash is all the way out, I stop and call him, him makes a U turn back towards me and then we continue on. If I keep him on a short leash he barely pulls at all. I had a feeling that neutering him wouldn't be a big change for him. I just want to be able to take him to the dog park without him humping all the lady dogs. Bear has been very good around the dogs and strangers he's met. He gets a little jump happy but that's it. I'm able to walk him with my gfs dog and he stops the humping, until we get back home. I was walking him yesterday and a bull mastiff was being walked off leash. We stopped and when the mastiff got close, Bear barked in his face and a fight was on. The mastiff did bite Bear but he didn't even flinch and was unscathed. I did quickly pick him up and kept the mastiff at bay until the owner grabbed him. He was mortified, thinking his dog hurt mine but there wasn't a scratch.

[Victory]

Yep. Normal for a chow. The mastiff was probably trying to stare him down and there is no such thing as a chow that will put up with that. Always remember, dogs have no idea what their size is in reality, they all think they are 400lb lions, (which explains yorkie behavior) this is why you have to be ready to intecede. Two of my males, LiChi and Darkwind, (the first intact, the latter neutered) would even stare down humans; chows are like that.

Humping is also not a mating behavior it is primarily a dominence behavior, my female who is very dominant will attempt it with my boy Dreamdancer, she'd try it other times too, if I let her get away with it. I however, do not allow it, period, so if she starts she, (or any of the males I've had) get a sharp, No! Down! and a "lay-Down" that's at the beginning, now all I do is say, "What do you think you're doing?" and she stops and lays down, or flings a toy around, (she's so weird sometimes)

Humping behavior can and does start fights and should be trained out of your dog, neutered, spayed, (spaying a dominant female young can actually increase the behavior, some of them even begin to lift a leg) or intact, it can and should be trained out of them.

[Rory's Dad]

Been out for a couple days, and missed the last couple posts here. Not only do i agree with Victory, but would emphasize it again for you. The mounting is not a sign of attraction in all cases. Definitely can be an assertion of dominance. Regardless of what dogs you see at the park, i would never allow your Chow to be off lead. Mostly, because they simply wont listen. On leash, you have better control of marking and mounting (quick pulls will usually end the behavior). It will also allow you to put your dog in a protected position (behind you or between your legs). This has several advantages...you aren't putting up against 2 dogs...you protect your dog from being the aggressor (in a legal setting, most times the chow will be viewed as the issue regardless of what really happened)...it shows your chow that you are the alpha and will take command to ensure his position/safety. There is also a risk that should your dog draw blood he acquires an enhanced hunting drive. You dont want that.

As others have mentioned, you do not want your dog to develop a 'fear' of other dogs. He needs to know that he can socialize without fear of attack. It's 2 sided though. He cant cross boundaries that other dogs see as offensive or aggressive. Chows get enough of that just based on their stance, appearance, and attitude.

[cherriemater]

Great words from both Victory and RD. I'll only add that I do this with both Dogs and Cars (as we walk in a small town setting and usually down the middle of the street).

When coming upon a "new" thing (i.e., kids, people, dogs, or cars) I pull the boys to the side of the road, have them sit, tighten the grip on their leashes and tell them, Wait, wait, holding up my hand in "stop sign" mode. This gives me a chance to either give directions to the kids/people (please don't rush up to them, hold hands down with a loose fist and DO NOT touch their heads). It also gives me a chance to see where the dogs/cars are headed (ears perked or tail down/wagging and car blinkers). I never thought of it before, but I like the thought that it reinforces me as Alpha/protector. They generally look to me for direction and this has gone a long way to helping Leo adjust (he's our high-strung boy who used to bark and growl at new meetings ... now he's much more confident, wary but more interested).

[linakhan988]

thanks abduktedtemplar for introducing such a nice food. i always give my pet different thing but my pet like it more.