Expectation: Walking with him; Reality: Him dragging me

[SparKEY88]

I now have a chowchow of mine who's name is Sparky. He's 1yr and 5 months now. He was previously my cousin's dog; since she had to work abroad, she entrusted him to me. I'm totally into taking care of dogs because I really like them. So yeah. Whenever we will have a walk, he would PULL from me. Everytime. Everywhere. It's like he can't wait to see the outside world. (well I think he's been always in his cage ever since he was a puppy and would be left alone off leash in their garage sometimes) He would sniff everything. Peeing everywhere to the point where the elders would be mad at me for even walking him in front of their house. He just can't stay calm. I would try to stop him by pulling him back to me (it's like when you would stop the horse you're riding by pulling those handles around its face).
He would stop. I'm telling him to sit but he's not looking at me or something like that. He's not listening. So we would just stop right there for a few seconds. Then if I start to walk again, he would pull again from me.

And when we would go back home, he would just stop. Sit. Ignoring me and refusing to bulge. I would slightly pull him but it's useless. So I will just carry him (imagine his oh-so-heavy-weight -_-)
Oh. And he would bark at every dog/cat/few people, bite me whenever I will place him inside his cage and sometimes out of nowhere. Ignoring me when I call out his name, not even looking at me. He's not even acknowledging my existence. I want to change that.

What to do?

And also. While brushing his teeth, I saw this pinkish something in his mouth. I was shocked because I know it's supposed to be black (like the last picture) and I don't know what this is. Someone?

I already posted this topic in Training but I only got one answer. Thanks to Rory's Dad though, for answering thoroughly. I just posted this again in general discussions because I want to have as many answers as possible.

[Sarahloo]

OMG he's a typical Chow! Loo's just like that. He knows exactly what part of the walk is the going-home part. First part he drags me, second part I drag him.
Sounds like your friend never really took the time to teach him. He is walking all over you, avoiding your gaze and everything! He thinks he's the boss of you. Looks like you are going to have to do a lot of the work your friend neglected to do, like teach him that what you say goes.
Must be weird for you, dealing with that kind of dog for the first time. I really sympathize!

His lips and gums are totally normal! Don't worry! He might not be quite 100% Chow, so they're a little pink in places.

[chunkymonkeys]

Sounds like Sparky needs schooling, as in puppy obedience classes! Chows are very strong willed, so you will be in for a bit of a rough patch. The breed is worth it, so don't give up!

[gebower]

Hi,
The ancient Mongolians used them as sled dogs. My brother-in-law said, "Baloney, their legs are too short to pull sleds." I told him that they are so strong they can plow thru anything AND pull a sled too. Very powerful dogs. Just ask my vet and his assistants. It took four people to hold Zeena down. FOUR! So, if the Chow isn't trained, you bet you'll be pulled when walking it. It can pull you and and some more people too. Zeena snapped a steel choke chain at a rest area we were at like it was nothing but a thread. I'm constantly buying new collars for my Chows. They go thru them. Pound for pound, Chows don't get any tougher or rougher.
Gene.

[Fozzbear]

He needs socialising, training and TO GET OUT OF HIS CAGE and have enough daily exercise! I'd pull too if I was put in a cage!

[gebower]

Amen there.

[Michael's Maggie May]

What you don't understand is the Chow is a COOL dog. He will look at you when HE wants to. He will come to you when HE wants to. Thats what we love about the breed, I have 2 1st place obedience ribbons from my past dog. Do you think I could get Maggie to walk by my side? If she wants to. It's taken me 5 yrs and a recent spay to get her to walk by my side. She wants to be ahead of us all the time and I love the personality. Give him lots of love and belly scratches and he will warm up to you, be strong. See, they still remember the Chinese eating them and they are paying us back.

[gebower]

I have to say I was laughing on this one. You certainly know your Chows. I know, the history bothers me a lot too on this breed. They hunted for the Mongolians, pulled their sleds and guarded them and then when the Mongolians are hungry, they ate them. THAT'S the thanks this awesome breed got for serving their masters so well. It really stinks but, we cannot change history. Don't blame this breed at all for having an attitude. Just glad they survived and the Mongolians didn't eat them all. I'm a proud Chow owner and always will be. I have two purebreds.
Gene

[applebear]

Though I agree he needs out of the cage, it sounds like you are trying. So to start with, yes get him out of the cage if you are still using it a lot...constant caging will only worsen the behavior and frustrate him. He needs to be included and part of your family to truly see the benefits. As for the walking part, I went through this with my chow/husky, pulling and no focus whatsoever. He takes more after the husky [a breed that is worse than chow in the independence and stubborn department imho], and his desire was to pull and run. His attention span was that of a gnat. I tried everything...waving high quality treats in his face, he'd rarely notice them and if he did, he grabbed it in excitement and just spit it on the ground. I finally found some info on how to work with it.

I'm basically just going to give you the short version, but you should be able to find this info with simple searches online. To help my overstimulated dog learn how to walk politely on a leash, I first taught him how to focus [look at my eyes] with both cues and no cues [verbally asking and not saying a word]. I started this in the house with no distractions and then gradually moved it to front door, open door, outside in yard, to street and eventually to the walk itself [look up focus games on you tube if you don't understand]. I started with kibble and lower quality treats inside, then upped the quality as we moved outdoors. I used this to teach him to focus/look at me when he absolutely wouldn't before. I then mixed it with clicker training and the walking, by using a method described as "stand like a tree." So when he pulled, I simply stopped and waited until he came back and looked at me to see why we were stopped. It's a incredibly long and painful process, but consistency is your buddy here and you will see progress if you stick to it. Your dog obviously wants to walk, use that to your advantage...we reward proper walking with treats and moving forward. We don't move for pulling and even go home if he persists. Take several short walks throughout the day. If either one of you become frustrated or the walk is not progressing, simply turn around and go home. Don't get angry, sad or react at all when it goes bad...simply turn around and go home. Try again a little later. Keep the walks close to home until you see progress.

To the cliche, "This is Chow...they do what they want to, etc." I agree to some extent, but not completely. My puppy was giving me direct eye contact by verbal command before he was 9 weeks. He is 13 weeks now and not only does he give me direct eye contact by command, he also sits, down, waits, stand and comes. My last two chows were the exact same [with the exception of focus, as I didn't know about it back then]. A lot of it depends on individual dog and yes when a chow says "absolutely not," he means it, but you'd be surprised what most are quite capable and willing to do with just the right tools and motivation. Don't use the chow cliche to not try, it never hurts to try and there is a huge variety of methods to go through. If one doesn't work, try another.

[Judy Fox]

Do you have a collar on him or a harness?
Can I suggest that you use a harness and a longer lead and then try and take him somewhere where he can walk without interruption and sniff around and investigate the surroundings.
A walk to a dog - and yes even a chow chow - is a bit like us reading a newspaper. They walk along a bit and then stop and sniff and "read" the bit of information they sniff. Then they walk along again and sniff and walk and sniff and then maybe stay and "read the longer bit". We pick up the newspaper and read an interesting item and then skip the bits that don't interest us then read the next bit we find interesting.
Do you see what I am trying to say to you.
When you take him for a walk you must remember the walk is his and you must give him time to "read"!
I don't like the idea of crates - I have never used them.

[chow4life]

Do you have a collar on him or a harness?
Can I suggest that you use a harness and a longer lead and then try and take him somewhere where he can walk without interruption and sniff around and investigate the surroundings.
A walk to a dog - and yes even a chow chow - is a bit like us reading a newspaper. They walk along a bit and then stop and sniff and "read" the bit of information they sniff. Then they walk along again and sniff and walk and sniff and then maybe stay and "read the longer bit". We pick up the newspaper and read an interesting item and then skip the bits that don't interest us then read the next bit we find interesting.
Do you see what I am trying to say to you.
When you take him for a walk you must remember the walk is his and you must give him time to "read"!
I don't like the idea of crates - I have never used them.

To funny i like how you describe the walk, like reading a newspaper. Matilda must have a big newspaper because it takes her forever to move along. It's exactly how you describe it. I never thought of it that way.
Gotta love them chows.

[JasonandNat]

Some great humour here, you need that with a chow(s).

As I have had 4 in my life, and with Nat 3 in the last 5 yrs and currently a 5 yr old and 15 wk old puppy I can say your getting the proper treatment.

Get a really long leash, that you can hold at various lengths and still drags several feet behind you. Do not use a harness at this stage, that are for pulling, hint, hint. Get a nice collar with a choker on the outside so as not to wear the neck fluff. Start you walk with the lead short, let it out, real it in as you see fit. When your chow starts to pull, call the little cuties name and if the pulling doesn't stop, drop the lead ans step on it. Guaranteed that chow will stop, you could way 30 lbs and that chow will stop. Walk up the lead until your beside your chow and wait until sitting commences, say nothing, your not the bad guy, your along for moral support. When all is calm, reach down and pick up the lead a bit behind you. If your baby is still calm, step off the lead. Off you both go, repeat as necessary. Takes no more than a month, 2 weeks usually and your chow will go with you and pay attention to you. Even loose in the ravines, ours never stray more than 50 yards without asking for permission to continue, or just sit and wait. If we stop to talk, they sit or lie down, no commands, just mutual respect. Just don't make it about control and don't get excited or angry or frustrated, like all good relationships its about communicating not yelling. When you want someone to come, pay attention to you, you call their name.

Keep us filled in.

[Aileen]

Hi what kinda collar is best that won't choke your chow? I'm using a thing that's wrapped around his body. Thanks!

[JasonandNat]

Actually it is a choker we use, but it comes with an integrated collar to keep the chain from the fur. This will always provide the greatest control until you get things the way you want. We still use these even though its completely unnecessary now. Even FuShiLu at 15 wks is almost completely voice and gesture controlled.

You can try the harness but the response time is delayed and you aren't always sending a clear timely message when you should.

[Cairo]

http://www.petco.com/product/102822/Pre ... Dogs-.aspx I really love this harness. It connects the leash to the chest of the dog, so if they try to pull it will just turn them around. The weight is evenly distributed so there is no pain involved. I really hate the idea of choking your dog to make them obey. Most dogs will continue to pull even though they are being choked and are in pain. I walk my dog all the time and have no problems with pulling using this harness. I wish you all the sucess.

[JasonandNat]

I've never choked a dog, just so we're clear. A choker is a tool, if your dog pulls until it actually chokes you have far more serious problems than you think. To be clear, ShenLung could pull you up a cliff while you dangle from his choker and leash without missing a breath, not that it's recommended. He is far too muscular in the neck to even notice, similar to a horse. What he does is respect the pressure long before its an issue. A harness across the chest is a different device and also has issues as it is derived from pulling harnesses. If you can find something that works for you and your chow, use it. Try several things, over time. Nat and could use dental floss at this point in time, even on 18 week old FuShiLu.