A new family memeber
Moderator: chowadmin
A new family memeber
Greetings all.
A cinnamon Chow, approximately three years old, just came to live with us today. He was found by a man, who tried thoroughly to find the owner, but to no avail. Circumstance led to Buddy coming to live with us today.
He--Buddy--seems to be fitting in very well with the family. My husband and I have three young boys, ages 9, 6, and 3, plus my elderly Mom-in-law. We cautioned the boys that we don't know what kind of homelife Buddy had prior to being lost so to approach him with respect. Buddy likes to be pet and is already following my oldest boy and me around. In fact, he is right now running around the back yard with the boys playing 'tag'.
I would love any advice as to how to make this transition easy for Buddy. I have spent part of the morning researching Chow's and combing through this site for information. Any and all advice would be well recieved and much appreciated.
A cinnamon Chow, approximately three years old, just came to live with us today. He was found by a man, who tried thoroughly to find the owner, but to no avail. Circumstance led to Buddy coming to live with us today.
He--Buddy--seems to be fitting in very well with the family. My husband and I have three young boys, ages 9, 6, and 3, plus my elderly Mom-in-law. We cautioned the boys that we don't know what kind of homelife Buddy had prior to being lost so to approach him with respect. Buddy likes to be pet and is already following my oldest boy and me around. In fact, he is right now running around the back yard with the boys playing 'tag'.
I would love any advice as to how to make this transition easy for Buddy. I have spent part of the morning researching Chow's and combing through this site for information. Any and all advice would be well recieved and much appreciated.
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Judy Fox
- Rank 4
- Posts: 6320
- Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2005 9:49 am
- Location: Cheshire, On The Island.(But always wishing she was back home in Wales)
First of all, Bless you all for giving this boy a home! 
I do not really have any experience of homeing a stray - my Mabel came to live with us at 6 months old but she was still very young.
As you have been reading this site, you will have gathered that Chows are unique and very different - dogs but not like other dogs.
They are very proud.
So, I suggest you all take it slowly and let him get to know you as you will him. It is lovely that he was, as you wrote, running round playing with your boys. But, they might find that suddenly, the game will be over - the only thing is Buddy will not bother to tell them!!
You might find that as he gains confidence he will start to organise his life to his own liking.
He will be very loyal and once he loves you all, he will guard you with his life. Meantime, don't let him get overwhelmed with attention from others. Give him a nice bed or a blanket and some cuddly toys that are his. Chows seem to love them - don't actually play with them, just have them.
Listen to him because he will be very vocal and will talk to you. Listen to the subtle differences in his grunts and snorts - don't be surprised to hear, when he is contended and resting to hear a sound suspiciously like a deep resonant purr rather than a snore - chow snores are very snore-like!!
He will probably be very, very clean in the house.
I suggest you encourage the children to help feed him and change his water and dole out treats etc. then he will realise they are valued in the household.
Chows have a reputation for loving just one member of the family - try to make sure everybody does a bit for him then he will realise that you are all in it together, and not just him and his chosen person.
If he wants to go and sleep - Chows are good at that - try to ensure that the boys let him sleep.
Explain to your boys that Chows do not have peripheral vision. Because their eyes are quite deepset and they have a furrowed brow, they tend only to be able to see ahead of them. Encourage the boys not to approach him from behind without him knowing - it might startle him.
Of course, once he knows you all and loves you all, you will find that you all might not know exactly where he is but you will be able to bet your bottom dollar that he will jolly well know where you all are. That will be his job, guarding you all.
Don't let your boys get upset if they want to do the 'go get the ball' job - Chows don't do playing like that! He will probably sit, plonk down on his bottom and suggest to the boys they 'so-n-so well' go and get it for themselves.
In havn't really any more to say other than, start now on the right footing - you are the Mummy Person, there is a Daddy Person and the boys must be respected. Buddy must be respected to and I am sure you will find that you have a wonderful Chow to love and love you.
It might take him a week or six to come to love you and if you wonder in the future, just look into his beautiful eyes and you will see the love there.
Good luck and let us know how you all are.
Purple kisses from Milly and Mabel.
p.s. It might be a good idea, if he has not been relieved of them already, to relieve him of his 'nuts'!! Will stop him getting too big for his paws!
I do not really have any experience of homeing a stray - my Mabel came to live with us at 6 months old but she was still very young.
As you have been reading this site, you will have gathered that Chows are unique and very different - dogs but not like other dogs.
They are very proud.
So, I suggest you all take it slowly and let him get to know you as you will him. It is lovely that he was, as you wrote, running round playing with your boys. But, they might find that suddenly, the game will be over - the only thing is Buddy will not bother to tell them!!
You might find that as he gains confidence he will start to organise his life to his own liking.
He will be very loyal and once he loves you all, he will guard you with his life. Meantime, don't let him get overwhelmed with attention from others. Give him a nice bed or a blanket and some cuddly toys that are his. Chows seem to love them - don't actually play with them, just have them.
Listen to him because he will be very vocal and will talk to you. Listen to the subtle differences in his grunts and snorts - don't be surprised to hear, when he is contended and resting to hear a sound suspiciously like a deep resonant purr rather than a snore - chow snores are very snore-like!!
He will probably be very, very clean in the house.
I suggest you encourage the children to help feed him and change his water and dole out treats etc. then he will realise they are valued in the household.
Chows have a reputation for loving just one member of the family - try to make sure everybody does a bit for him then he will realise that you are all in it together, and not just him and his chosen person.
If he wants to go and sleep - Chows are good at that - try to ensure that the boys let him sleep.
Explain to your boys that Chows do not have peripheral vision. Because their eyes are quite deepset and they have a furrowed brow, they tend only to be able to see ahead of them. Encourage the boys not to approach him from behind without him knowing - it might startle him.
Of course, once he knows you all and loves you all, you will find that you all might not know exactly where he is but you will be able to bet your bottom dollar that he will jolly well know where you all are. That will be his job, guarding you all.
Don't let your boys get upset if they want to do the 'go get the ball' job - Chows don't do playing like that! He will probably sit, plonk down on his bottom and suggest to the boys they 'so-n-so well' go and get it for themselves.
In havn't really any more to say other than, start now on the right footing - you are the Mummy Person, there is a Daddy Person and the boys must be respected. Buddy must be respected to and I am sure you will find that you have a wonderful Chow to love and love you.
It might take him a week or six to come to love you and if you wonder in the future, just look into his beautiful eyes and you will see the love there.
Good luck and let us know how you all are.
Purple kisses from Milly and Mabel.
p.s. It might be a good idea, if he has not been relieved of them already, to relieve him of his 'nuts'!! Will stop him getting too big for his paws!
(Thank you Sweetpea for my new banner.)
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Rogansmommy
- Rank 2
- Posts: 796
- Joined: Thu May 12, 2005 4:26 pm
- Location: Apollo Beach, Florida
- Contact:
Congratulations and thank you for giving Buddy his forever home. Chows are an amazing breed. There are many people here who have rescues; they can counsel you more than I on the subject. Just give him lots of love and reassurance. Also, let him have his own space. Chows like to be pet and loved on their own schedule! 
Michele
^Rogan^ at the Bridge on 5/16/09 -- always in my heart
^Rogan^ at the Bridge on 5/16/09 -- always in my heart
Bonnie,
Congratulations and thank you for giving Buddy a forever home. My Shiloh is a Chow Chow mix. She found us when she was approximately 3 months old. She had a few things to work out but it sounds like your Buddy is good to go and is rapidly adopting you and your family. Judy gave a lot of great advise - just like she did when we first got Shiloh. You're on the right track and this site will help you in many ways.
Hope you can post some pictures - we all love seeing pictures!
Karen
Congratulations and thank you for giving Buddy a forever home. My Shiloh is a Chow Chow mix. She found us when she was approximately 3 months old. She had a few things to work out but it sounds like your Buddy is good to go and is rapidly adopting you and your family. Judy gave a lot of great advise - just like she did when we first got Shiloh. You're on the right track and this site will help you in many ways.
Hope you can post some pictures - we all love seeing pictures!
Karen
I'm so sorry to have posted and ran. Life is amazingly busy *big smile*.
Thank you all so much for your wonderful advice. We are incredibly lucky to have Buddy with us. He has settled right in and he's loving, surprisingly affectionate well mannered and is already and very loved and valued memeber of the family.
I feel so terrible for the people who lost him. He was obviously well loved and cared for. I would already move a mountain to find him if he disapeared. Although, I can imagine what happened; Buddy likes to roam if he gets out of the yard or house. He also seems to think it's a game...he'll wait til we are almost to him, then take off again. He led me on a merry four block hike just yesterday when our three year old let him out. It inspired me to put a latch on the screen door I can tell you.
Now I'm off to see if there is info as to how to best bathe our handsome young man.
Thanks again, everyone!
Thank you all so much for your wonderful advice. We are incredibly lucky to have Buddy with us. He has settled right in and he's loving, surprisingly affectionate well mannered and is already and very loved and valued memeber of the family.
I feel so terrible for the people who lost him. He was obviously well loved and cared for. I would already move a mountain to find him if he disapeared. Although, I can imagine what happened; Buddy likes to roam if he gets out of the yard or house. He also seems to think it's a game...he'll wait til we are almost to him, then take off again. He led me on a merry four block hike just yesterday when our three year old let him out. It inspired me to put a latch on the screen door I can tell you.
Now I'm off to see if there is info as to how to best bathe our handsome young man.
Thanks again, everyone!
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Judy Fox
- Rank 4
- Posts: 6320
- Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2005 9:49 am
- Location: Cheshire, On The Island.(But always wishing she was back home in Wales)
Oh dear!!
I forgot to mention that - although there are some chows that are very good off the lead, most of them tend to go walkabout. We never let Milly and Mabel off their leads because when they were younger we tried to train them and they led us a right dance and the last time we did it, about 3.5 years ago, they frightened us.
We were determined not to be beaten as we had always trained our dogs to walk without leads when it was safe. So we took M & M to a nearby forest on a weekday when there was only us around and let them off. They were fine for about 10 minutes then off they went at a trot and refused to answer our calls. We followed them faster and faster and the faster we went until we were all running.
About 50 yds from the main road running through the forest, we caught them and that was the last time ever they were off the lead. Now, we have 27 ft. leashes for them and they are perfectly happy with that. Little madams.!
I forgot to mention that - although there are some chows that are very good off the lead, most of them tend to go walkabout. We never let Milly and Mabel off their leads because when they were younger we tried to train them and they led us a right dance and the last time we did it, about 3.5 years ago, they frightened us.
We were determined not to be beaten as we had always trained our dogs to walk without leads when it was safe. So we took M & M to a nearby forest on a weekday when there was only us around and let them off. They were fine for about 10 minutes then off they went at a trot and refused to answer our calls. We followed them faster and faster and the faster we went until we were all running.
About 50 yds from the main road running through the forest, we caught them and that was the last time ever they were off the lead. Now, we have 27 ft. leashes for them and they are perfectly happy with that. Little madams.!
(Thank you Sweetpea for my new banner.)