I'm afraid that my chow is not pure breed

[denschow]

Hey guys. Just wanna ask something. I bought a chow chow on pet store. It has a paper. But then again. He's already turning 3 months on 20 of december. But her tongue is not dark blue. but not pink. The breeder told me that his tongue is not blue because it rely on the color of his nose which is brown. Is he pure breed or not? Please kindly answer my question. Really appreciate.

[Rory's Dad]

Pink tongue is not a sign of your dog not being purebred. If he is a cream colored chow, then that could be fairly normal. Outside of that it is a sign that the heritage is not so good. Combine that with a pet store purchase, and i am fairly certain that you have a product of a puppy mill.

Now...that doesnt mean that you wont end up with a great family pet. You might. But the odds are increased that their will be some medical problems to deal with. Mill dogs also run an increased likelihood of temperment issues.

[denschow]

Actualy He's a cinnamon bear type chow. My question is. Is all chow chow has a purple or black/blue tongue?

[denschow]

So I'm thinking that I will going to swap him to a Cream lion type chow. But my heart's already on him.

[DrewBear]

Actualy He's a cinnamon bear type chow. My question is. Is all chow chow has a purple or black/blue tongue?

Yes, with the exception that Rory's Dad mentioned. Post a photo and folks here can give you their opinions on how close to 100% Chow he is. But since you're already attached to him, does it really matter if he's 95% or 83% or whatever% Chow? If you feel the pet store misrepresented the dog, then maybe you can ask for some sort of concession. Free puppy training course? Store credit?

[denschow]

But he has a paper. His sire and dam is pure breed also. My only concern is he's tongue. I will try to post some pictures here soon as i go out to work.
He has also loose stool after the 4th vaccination. What should I do? He don't have that kind of apetite not like before. I'm very worry right now. He's in the pet store now.

[Rory's Dad]

Again, the lack of a completely black/purple/blue mouth and tongue is not a sign that he is anything but pure chow. It can be a sign that the heritage is less than ideal.

If you are buying a chow to be a family pet and household friend, then do not concern yourself with the tongue color if you like everything else about the pup. If you are looking to have a show quality dog or potential breeding capability then walk away now. Then again, if those were your objectives, you wouldn't be shopping for a Chow in a store, you would be dealing directly with a reputable breeder.

Since you are shopping at a pet store, you should be looking at different items. You should be looking to ensure that the pup is neither overly shy nor overly aggressive. Look for a good balance. Watch the gait very carefully. Chow pups tend to hop a bit when they walk, but you dont want to see them favoring one hip over the other. Your want to watch them react with other pups. Again, look for balance and overall bevavior patterns.

I am in the US. Pet stores that sell dogs are pretty much gone, they just dont exist in my area anymore. They sell small crate pets (hamsters, mice, ferrets, rabbits, etc). They have gotten such a poor reputation (and deservedly so) with dogs they don't even bother anymore. The last of the stores that sold pups aquired their inventory for mills that mated inferior stock. They would over-mate the dogs to a point of weakness and didn't provide any sort of growth environments for the pups. They would release the dogs to the supply chain way before it was safe to do so. Vet checks were superficial at best and generally unreliable.

The stool issue is also of concern. It may be as simple as poor diet, but could be so much more. Pirovirus, worms, or even severe genetic issues.

It's really tough to get the forum to offer solid opinions without photos, but i think most of the membership would offer concern based on the posts. Petstore purchases will almost guarantee that you are dealing with a mill product. There may be some success stories there, but probably most go the other way.

If a pure Chow is what you really want, then you need to consider quality. And i dont mean show or breed quality. You want to know that the pup is bred for stability and temperment. An ill bred dog can cause so many issues (regardless of breed). You dont want a biting concern or end up having to decide whether or not to spend thousands of $'s for hip surgery.

[Rococo]

First of all, there's no such thing as a "bear type chow." That's just a marketing term Filipino breeders use, although I'm not sure if those from other countries use that also. Now, even if his color's cinnamon, his gums being pink doesn't necessarily mean he's not purebred -- one of his parents might've been cream-colored with pink gums. What does it say on his papers? Finally, even if he turns out to be not a hundred percent pure, does that matter if you're already attached to him?

I agree with Rory's Dad. It doesn't look like you bought a chow for showing, so concentrate on finding one with great temperament instead. My chowboy's also cinnamon-colored with pink gums, and it could be either because his mom is a cream chow, or as Rory's Dad said, his heritage could be less than ideal. However, we got him because of his friendliness with kids, visitors, and other animals (except cats), his willingness to learn commands, his tolerance to being brushed and groomed everyday, and his overall AMAZING attitude and temperament. His gums could be pink or green or orange for all I care -- I love him and we believe we're lucky that we found him.

[denschow]

Of course eventually, I want to breed chows also. And by the way sorry for the term "bear type chow". That's what I heard to them. I'm new to chows. I used to play with my 3 golden in our house so I'm so worry for this new one.

[Rory's Dad]

I am in the US, so some of the terms might get lost in translation, but...

Chows definitely come in different types. And the variations are very distinct, with different varieties preferred in different areas of the world.

Taller, thinner, more athletic Chows seem to be more common in the East. More of an open faced, longer snout type chows. These are closer to the original origins of the breed.

Shorter, stockier types with a more mushed muzzle are more common in England and the US. They tend to have a closed type face and are more of a recent breeding development.

Certainly both types would be available in either market, it's just a matter of preference.

For reference, and it's not a scientific or 'standard', the bear type refers to the closed faced, stockier type of Chow. Both my current male and female chow would fall into that description. Again, its just not an official identifier, but a generalization.

[Rococo]

For reference, and it's not a scientific or 'standard', the bear type refers to the closed faced, stockier type of Chow. Both my current male and female chow would fall into that description. Again, its just not an official identifier, but a generalization.

I also thought so at first, but when I started looking for a chow to adopt, I realized many (mostly backyard) breeders/sellers here market their chows as "bear types" even when they're so obviously tall, thin, and open faced. Your definition was probably what the folks who thought up the term were trying to convey. Unfortunately, it's lost its true meaning over the years.

[Smithynay]

Why would you breed dogs you had no knowledge about especially a breed such as the chow chow