Chow verses the pit bull

[gebower]

Hello Chow Lovers Everywhere,
This is something that has bugged me for a long time and always wondered about it, but hope I NEVER have to experience it. I ADORE my Chows and don't want to ever see them hurt. What happens between a pit bull and and a Chow? Has anyone had to go thru this? Mind you, the ONLY reason I ask this is because I have two Chows in Tucson and there seems to be a LOT of pit bulls here. I look at my Chows as extremely strong dogs, I know from personal experience and also saw them fight and they fight like a bear, standing up on their hind legs. They don't fight like other dogs. Also, they have a whole lot of hair to protect them and loose skin and VERY BIG mouths. So, in my mind, I think they could handle it, but I'm asking out there what's the REAL story? Thanks for any info. I just need to know if this happens.

Gene.

[CHowgal]

My Tippsy was actually involved in a fight with a pit back in her younger years. The dog was charging me and she jumped on it. He attempted to grab her by the throat a couple of times but all he got was a mouth full of fur and she managed to get him by the hind leg, flip him and held him by the throat. Scared the crap out of me. Thank God though, that my dad was around and he dragged the dog off down the street and told the owners if they "don't keep that &@*# dog locked up" he'd "permanently deal with it next time". We never had another issue with them. But that one fight is engrained in my mind for forever.

[Victory]

The larger chows can handle most of the smaller sized pits. However, we did have a chow on the site either late last year or early this year who was attacked by a pit twice and had to euthanized because of his injuries. He was attacked by one of the really large pits, (they can get to be over a hundred pounds) and his throat was so badly damaged that they couldn't save him.
Some chows aren't fighters, most especially the neutered males, they are pack animals and often don't get it when other dogs attach them, all they want to do is get away.

A sixty pound chow can handle most other dogs up to 85 or so pounds, but like I said there is one breed of the Pit type that gets to be over a 100lbs. My little boy is only 40 lbs and while he's a fiesty thing, (gets it from his sister) there's no way I want him to get into it with a larger dog, (or a smaller one). Even if he wins he'd be injured and I don't want to see him go through that.

Frankly, I'd reccommend carrying mace, (see if you can find the police version) and a stout walking stick or cane. I have a nice strong walking stick and I'm not afraid to use it on any dog that comes after my two, or the dumb dog's owner either.

[gebower]

Thanks so much for that information. My Max is 70 lbs., but he's neutered and with good reason. When he was born, he was meant to be Alpha Male to the max. At 3 months old he challenged the vet standing on a table. The vet said this is surely an Alpha Male. But, now he is a good old boy, very mellow. At 70 lbs. and the strongest dog I've ever had to handle in my life, maybe it's best he's neutered. I have to tell you, it was the hardest thing to do, getting him neutered, my wife says I was a sissy but I am the male not her. I can tell you this, if Max hadn't been neutered, he would have been a bad boy. He's a lot bigger
than his father. Now, on the other hand, I have Zeena and she is his half sister, they both have the same father. She tells him who's boss and she is spayed, but it doesn't seem to change her attitude. "I'm boss". She's only 55 lbs. and jet black like her father. Max is a light red.
I love Chows so much and I hate to hear about that Chow that had to be put down. That SUCKS. The pit bulls you've mentioned, I've seen. A guy was walking his pit bulls, or should I say they were walking him, down the street and they were extremely muscled and one look like about 100 lbs. I thought, "Oh my God, my Chows wouldn't have a chance against this monster".
I have a 110ft. x 110ft. yard totallly fenced in and my Chows get the zoomies all the time so they have plenty of room for exercise. I'm not taking them out into the street. But, I like the thing about the cane and the spray, that way you're ready for anything. Thanks again.

Gene.

[lightforce18]

I doubt a chow can stand up to a 100lb pitt. I dont walk Yogi much either. We have a huge yard that he runs around alot in. Thats easier than risking him run into a Pitt. Theres a few pitt's in my area too.

[Victory]

Now, on the other hand, I have Zeena and she is his half sister, they both have the same father. She tells him who's boss and she is spayed, but it doesn't seem to change her attitude. "I'm boss". She's only 55 lbs. and jet black like her father. Max is a light red.
I love Chows so much and I hate to hear about that Chow that had to be put down. That SUCKS. The pit bulls you've mentioned, I've seen. A guy was walking his pit bulls, or should I say they were walking him, down the street and they were extremely muscled and one look like about 100 lbs. I thought, "Oh my God, my Chows wouldn't have a chance against this monster".
I
Gene.

That's quite normal for a female, especially a spayed one, in many spayed females the testosterone they have takes over and they can actually become MORE aggressive or assertive after being spayed. And the females are more bossy anyway. I once talked to a Sammy breeder and she said it is very normal for a male dog, neutered or intact to give way to the female, a male that doesn't shouldn't ever be bred.

Yeah it was very sad a lot of people on this site contributed to his vet bills, but after the second attack the injuries were just too severe.

[rougedriner]

I think a chow could handle a pit of equal size. The only dog my Bear has ever tangled with was a great dain and she could walk under her belly. Got them seperated and no harm done.

[Lisa_D]

My Tippsy was actually involved in a fight with a pit back in her younger years. The dog was charging me and she jumped on it. He attempted to grab her by the throat a couple of times but all he got was a mouth full of fur and she managed to get him by the hind leg, flip him and held him by the throat. Scared the crap out of me. Thank God though, that my dad was around and he dragged the dog off down the street and told the owners if they "don't keep that &@*# dog locked up" he'd "permanently deal with it next time". We never had another issue with them. But that one fight is engrained in my mind for forever.

Chowgal, I never thought about it but I have seen bear go after back legs in play also. I thought it was just some sort of weird thing Bear does when playing. That is like the first thing he does is go after the back legs. I never thought about it being a way to flip other dogs. He will also do this body slam thing in play and when he is not playing. He sees dogs running and will slam them with his chest to make them stop.
Bear can still handle the bulldog when he works on his nerves and will get him on his back. Bear is very patient with him but can only handle so much butt sniffing in one day! The Bulldog is 75 lbs and Bear is only 50 lbs. Bear once had a tangle with a Great Pyrenees He held his own until it could be stopped.
These chows have the heart of a lion especially if they feel their owner is being threatened. They are extremely fast and I don't think they show fear of anything which could be a bad thing and get them in trouble.

[Swerve]

Personally I don’t know, depends if the Chow has a fighting streak, just like humans as some can fight and others don’t. Loose skin will not save them if they don’t get ontop of the fighting.

Back in April 2009 we just took Duff (10 year old) Chow Cross dog to the dog park and two AMSTAFF’s attacked him. After the 1st time the owner had them on the leash. Just a informal group who meet every day at 5pm.


Since going to the dog park he never was aggressive and even when another dog had a playfull growl as in leave me alone he just goes away. During play they had a scuffle and the amstaff owner put her two dogs on the leash.

This didn’t save Duff as he ran past the amstaffs and they went him again, The two amstaffs dragged the owner who was sitting down, across the grass after Duff, After being dragged about 20feet the owner just let them go. (Now Duff was in the poo) Duff is a old fart who cant even crunch bones, let alone fight to save his skin.

Then they broke loose and were both on my Duff. I was pulling them apart (Duff and 1st Attacker) then the 2nd attacker would come in and get Duff. Then the same would happen until my wife dragged the 2nd attacker off.

When the attacking was going on dogs were everywhere I was just intent in getting them off Duff. He ended up with about 8 wounds and most needed stitches, he had to go under for surgery and all that. Worst this we can’t take him back to the park and he won’t let other dogs near him and he will growl and cant risk him getting in more fights He is just traumatised. This was one of the main reasons for getting Winston for company and he is a better dog for it also

Also Winston goes there a lot and has been pinned down by a few dogs and attacked once, he has shown NO ALPHA male attributes and goes fully submissive, I am pleased and just don’t want any vet bills. He is now Duff's backup should teh worst ever happen again







!!

[DOHMAN]

My allie has a best friend that is a pitt. He is about 75 - 80 pounds and allie throws him around like a rag doll. Allie is getting to be right around 50 pounds and has no problem playing rough with him. I would say most chows can handle themselves against regular pitts.

[lightforce18]

Saw a pitt Last night at petsmart. I quickly took yogi down the isle I didn't want a scrap at the store lol.

[chakasmom]

Hi,

Came across this while searching for an old answer to a question I had posted months ago. Yesterday Moomba was attacked by a pit at a fenced in dog park. As soon as I let her into the park a pack of dogs with a dog walker started going after her...I thought the normal hazing to the new girl but then a pitt in the group kept targeting her and then really went after her. She tried to hold her own and yes was up on her hind legs fighting like a bear. It escalated, I thought I might witness her get killed, I was able to grab Moomba and get her out of it. The dog walker was on the other side of the park trying to call the dog off but the dog would not listen. In the end luckily only her dew claw was ripped of. Her fur definitely saved her and the fact fact it was a smaller pit. She would not have survived a large pit attack...so NO, in my opinion they could not survive a medium to large pit attack.

I will say the dog walker was very responsible in that she immediately offered to pay for the medical since Moomba's paw was bleeding pretty bad and she was in pain.

Just my 2 cents. So I am wondering how I handle something like this in the future. I will not watch my dog die in an attack, so would mace work. I have heard pros and cons.

Thanks,
cher

[Swerve]

Cher,

Sorry to hear about your pup being attacked. I know your feeling as I watched Duff be mauled by two AMSTAFF's (See above Black dog).

When Duff was attacked mates and people say I should have kicke them. But kicking a dog mualing you dog is hard, without possibly taking your own pup out. I can't sp[eak for other but I just grabbed them by the scuff of there necks and pulled then off. But as I had two attafcking dogs I couldn't keep them both off.

Only think I could think off in the future is have some leashes ready with a loop to throw over the attacking dogs neck and pull away. But I'm a big block and have the strength to puyll them off, the two AMSTAFF's who attacked Duff, dragged there owner across the grass on leashes, untill she let go. Everything just happens so quick. I wasnt afraid in getting in between dogs as I was more worried about my boy.

Main thing is get there ID before they leave. I didnt get the persons ID as was more worried about my boy, in short council wouldnt do anything (had dog names and breed) but they wouldnt search or track her down. Also she didnt leave her name with the regualr group of people who meets up. poor form in my opinion.

Enough rambling from me and good luck.

Steve

[Debs chow]

I think it's a big mistake to start thinking your chow can handle any pit bull. Chows can get fired up but how long does it last before there ready for a nap.
They don't have the drive or the stamina to keep a pit off them without some help. We have both there is a world of difference in drive between these two breeds. It's our job as parents to protect our chows not the other way around.

Al & Deb

[JasonandNat]

These kind of things suck!

No dog should attack another, especially if the owner is present. That is unacceptable.

Even in play we have spent a lot of time training our 2 to be gentle with others. They play rough and run with us all the time putting their 52 and 80 lbs into very dominating positions even larger dogs. Curreny they look at us asking if things are OK as some of their friends are toy dogs and shelties.

When we have run across issues it has almost always involved a dog on leash. I try to get the owner to relax and drop the leash. They can stand on it but they need to relax. As do you of course. You must change the dynamic of the situation as quickly as possible.

Anyone who has a Chow without stamina it's time for exercise. Ours run everything down from greyounds and whippets to Rottweilers. They can run all day in the heat chasing huskeys and still chase squirrels going home. Yes they act lazy, but most predators act that way, even your cat acts that way.

(note: I'm not saying ours catch the larger faster dogs, at first, but they all tire first. )

[danova]

The dog was charging me and she jumped on it. He attempted to grab her by the throat a couple of times but all he got was a mouth full of fur and she managed to get him by the hind leg, flip him and held him by the throat. Scared the crap out of me.

[myboys]

When I take Butch and Sundance to the dog park (which isn't that often anymore) they don't have any problems with the pits there. In fact Butch seems "quite taken" with one of them! They're small pits though and the owners are extremely responsible and right there watching all the time. They're are a couple of rough dogs (a g/shephard and a boxer) that go for Sundance as soon as we enter. If I see them there, I don't stop. One incident brought us to the vet because I thought Sundance had ulcered his eye. He was ok but it scared me. Even though the boys love the interaction, I've got to be careful. One thing......my boys have never started anything. People at the park say their very mellow boys. Butch doesn't interact as much as Sundance. He runs the perimeter smelling and drooling over every scent...lol

[Victory]

Anyone who has a Chow without stamina it's time for exercise. Ours run everything down from greyounds and whippets to Rottweilers. They can run all day in the heat chasing huskeys and still chase squirrels going home. Yes they act lazy, but most predators act that way, even your cat acts that way.

(note: I'm not saying ours catch the larger faster dogs, at first, but they all tire first. )

I have to agree, my two can run for eight hours straight and chase everything on four legs, or with wings, (Dreamdancer especially likes to chase birds, butterflys and moths) My Firesong can run circles around rotties, she runs under them too . Don't be fooled by the fact that they don't chase balls or frisbees, they are as said above predators and they don't chase unless there is a purpose to it. Just ask anyone who's chow has gotten loose and they've spent a bit if time trying to catch them how little stamina they have. My two have even spent over an hour just play fighting and doing zoomies!

[Oscar rules]

It's such a shame when any dog gets attacked, Oscar is constantly being attacked but he is a tough little cookie and will stand his ground to any breed of dog, he has even given a Mastiff a run for his money, it wasn't a pretty sight let me tell you. It is the irresponsible dog owners where we live that are at fault, they know there dogs aren't safe yet they still let them off the lead. We have just reported a family to the dog warden who have 3 dogs, all off the lead and everytime they smell Oscar they attack him. I of course carry a walking stick with me and aren't afraid to use it, I just feel horrible hitting out at the other dog, I only wish I could use it on the owners, that shoud teach them. Oscar is quite a heavy dog around 70 to 80lbs, but I still don't like it when another dog attacks him, he looks so aggresive defending himself, not like my little baby when he is getting his belly rubbed, he acts like a little kitten then.

[carol t]

My chow-mix pumkin.Put's a paw on every dog she meets at the dog park.I heard this means she's letting them know she is in charge and then she ignores them.Accept for pit bulls for some reason she adores them every time she meets them she wants to lick them all over.I also kid around and say oh no she likes the bad boys.

[bama]

I agree with Victory, not all chows want to fight. When we first got Colonel, he wasn't as gentle as he is now. We had to work on this.
Now, he is so gentle...he almost let a 30 lb Terrior beat him up!!! The little S#!* attacked Colonel and Colonel just looked at me to help him!!!
All my "gentle with other dogs" training has created a wus! In fact, just a few months after getting him in March '05, we were able to host
Southern Chowfest in June '05. He had calmed down enough, and along with all the other well-behaved chowkids, we had no incidents.
However, if I am threatened, Colonel will have that threat for lunch!

[anita]

There is no contest - your chow will lose because of the bite style and tenacity of the pit bull - I experienced this first hand several years ago in Atlanta, Ga., when a pit bull broke through a pivacy wall while I was walking my dogs and nearly killed my two chows. If the owner/dogsitter had not been there to pull him off they would have both been killed and I may have been as well -

I would not under any circumstances take my chow to a dog park with pit bulls or let them play with pit bulls. They are just too unpredictable, and too strong, no matter how sweet they are when they are not attacking - it really takes a bullet to stop a hair trigger attack. And the thing is though there may be some pit bulls who never will attack another dog in their lifetime you can never know which ones they are. It's russian roulette.

Also, unlike a chow and most other dogs , a deadly pit bull gives no warning of attack - there is no growl, no hair standing up, it happens in a flash. That is because this red flag was bred out of them.

http://www.dogsbite.org/dangerous-dogs- ... #bitestyle

[Julie E-M]

Pit bulls were bred to be aggressive towards dogs, and to fight, Chows to guard. I can tell you from at least my experience, my handsome Chow mix was killed by a neighbor's American Bulldog/pit bull mix, who had escaped from his house and then broke through two rungs of my wrought iron fence to break in and suffocate my dog nearly to death. My Chow mix suffered from a stroke, and he had subsequent strokes and died three weeks later. I'm still waiting for the owner of the dog that murdered my dog to pay for my losses. Meanwhile, his dog is alive and well and tests the limits of the front screen door every night as I walk my other two dogs. Animal Control says this dog will get the opportunity to kill two more pets until they have a hearing to consider this animal dangerous. Two years ago, this same dog bit a little girl, and her mother did nothing about it. Had this been the case, that dog would have been put down, and my dog would still be alive. I'm not blaming this dog. He's a dangerous dog, and his owner has a disgusting nonchalance about the animal.

My first experience with a pit bull was the brutal mauling of my cat, who was doing his thing on his front lawn. He survived, but it was a horrible experience I have a hard time getting out of my head. It was a stray pit, no owner to be found. My cat hid for five days, came back to me dragging his intestines. The vet bills were over $5,000.00, but the vet had mercy on me and found a fund to help with half of the expense. Again, I'm not blaming the pitbull, but whom ever it was that just let their dog loose, or just abandoned it all together. It's true, it could have been any dog. My cats are never allowed to go outside again.

I have had prior experiences with my dog and three pit bulls off of their leash, and another pit bull that attacked my dog at a dog park, and I know this is a generalization, and it's coming from my own personal experience, but the owners of these dogs are even more frightening and do more harm to the image of the pit bull than their dogs maiming and killing people and pets at the rates they currently do. When my dog was attacked at the dog park, the hostile owner told me that her "dog is correcting my dog's bad behavior". My dog was minding his own business, peeing on trees. I went home to see if there was anything about her premise, but found this training sight called leerburg.com, by a trainer named Ed Frawley, and he said really, pit bulls and Chows have no place at a dog park. For selfish reasons alone, not wanting to expose your dog to health risks, not wanting to take the chance with a dangerous breed of dog (some of you may disagree, that's fine. My dog never showed any behaviors, but I know that Chow Chows are not always dependable) doing harm on another person's pet, and risking your investment, not to mention, your dog could also be attacked. I have noticed since, that Mr. Frawley has taken down the same suggestions he has made for pit bulls, he no longer advises owners to avoid the dog park, nor does he make the same claim for pit bulls as he does for Chow Chows, that they do not belong in households with small children. I digress.

My neighbor down the street also has two beautiful Chow mixes, and she was walking her two when attacked by a neighbor's loose pit bull. She was nearly ran over by a car, and she let go of her dogs so they could "run for their lives". One of her dogs required stitches, and the vet bills cost nearly a $1,000.00. The pit bull owner moved away when she presented him with the bill.

Chow Chows are no match for a pit bull. And even more dangerous than the pit bull, are the irresponsible owners of these dogs, who do not respect or empathize with what their dogs are capable of. (I'm generalizing, if you are a responsible pit bull owner, then this need not apply to you.) Let's be good stewards of the noble Chow Chow, and be vigilant and civil. Let's not kid ourselves about what are own dogs are capable of, and unless that pit bull is your other dog, I would keep your Chow Chow as far away as possible from a pit bull.

[leelegal]

They only take good care of themselves once in a situation of confrontation.
Not afraid to take on a horse for instance. They only serve and protect. I had 13 of them once and they all act diffirently in a fight.
It happens and and the best you can do is to not interfere. You might get bitten yourself. Nicholia bit off a pit bulls ear once and he was neutered.

leelegal

[chica_2626]

I don't really have much advice on this, my chow has never been in a fight, anytime at the dog park or anything if a dog growls at him he simply turns and walks away.

But just wanted to throw it out there, if you get a chance to catch a screen of a movie called Beyond The Myth, I would highly recommend it. I saw a screening here in Cincinnati, and they're hoping to release it to DVD in October, but need help raising funds to do so first. It's about all the thoughts and biases people have towards pit bulls. I have always tried to keep an open mind about breeds, but I will admit I was a little leery of pit bulls too, but this movie really opened my eyes.

And that's my two cents : )