Creme or Samoyed?

[Sojourner11]

Hey Everyone,

Last November, a wonderful rescuer in South Carolina posted a pic of what looked like a Creme Chow on Facebook, it got shared to Chows in Need, and since he looked so much like Solo in the pic I went and got him. Now the rescuer has a Creme, but never saw this boy in person. I got him home and since he'd just had surgery (neutered) I held off on getting him bathed. So after a few weeks I got him bathed and ....well.... he came back solid white. I thought they could be white since his ears have a tinge or tan in them. But still doubt set in. Then I began to notice a preponderance of "neediness". Always jumping up on me no matter where or what I am doing. The bed, couch, when I am at the PC...always up on his hind legs with the fore paws in my lap..or chest...or face. His bark isn't right eight, a little too high pitched. His paws are smaller too, and narrower. I have researched both the Samoyed and the American Eskimo(aka German Spitz or close cousin too) and found photos pf both that could be him. His size as of now could be around 45-50 since he has bulked up in my care (he's eating very well), it was around 39 when i got him. And his tongue has little blue on it, some speckles on the lower side. I am leaning towards the Sammy at this point and no longer think he is a Chow or is even a mix.

Don't get me wrong he is sweet as they come and I'm keeping him, bring the pack to 4. I still have Emma and Hannah, and the little Chow mix Marco who I got about a year ago. But I am still lacking the Chowness in my house I really want.

Anyway here is a picture of Metto (short for Palmetto, as in South Carolina is the Palmetto State....and you can say it as Paul Metto or ...wait for it .....Paw Metto )



This was before I had him bathed....the reddish in his coat is the red clay of the south. Now he is a cotton ball...

[Zhuyos mom]

Hi Sean,

Metto looks primarily like a cream chow. Maybe down his lineage there was sammie mixed in. However, how does his gait look like? The chow butt walk is unmistakenable. Although her face has an apricot kabuki mask, Leonora's (Leo's mum) coat is very white. Kingalls' Nakohe has a very white coat. Lots of chows here are under 45lbs (Auddymay's Lily) and some are needy. His former owners must have gave him treats when he asked for attention so animated.

[Rory's Dad]

Definitely chow, mostly at least. Having owned 2 creams in the past, the variation in the ear tones are clinchers, but even the eye set and muzzle are chow.

[Pinoy51]

Metto, behaves, sounds and looks like Nala. She is a pure bread cream Chow, but very different than Simba.
She behaves exactly as you describe Metto, with being on her hind legs all the time.
But she is Chow.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1360034929.596886.jpg (46.75 KiB) Viewed 6439 times

I have seen the dame and have the papers from PCCI with the sire being a champion from a well-known Kennel in Manila.
So Chows come in different shapes and sizes and temperaments, makes them even more lovable.

[Sojourner11]

So you have to keep in mind that most of the "tan" you see in his picture is dirt or red clay. After getting his bathed he is pure white. Also his paws and are not that of a Chow, and hid front legs are long and skinny. Even as a pup Marshall has big paws. His muzzle is narrow and pointed too.

Since his coat was a mess when I got him it is hard to say if he has the typical Chow hind end, the puff on the legs. Time will tell on that one.

One thing I do get a lot of is zoomies. He zoomies all the time. I want to run my kerosene heater this winter but not with him around. Don't know if zoomies is a Sammy trait or not.

He is also smitten in love with Emma, I mean over the top, Looney Tunes kinda love. If he were black with a white stripe he'd be Pepe Le Pew. It's hilarious until she has had enough then she puts him in his place and zooooom, there he goes, zooming all over the place. It's quite comical. And for that matter quite scared of Hannah and keeps his distance and respects her space. The first night or two I had him, he was up on the couch and Marco came over to get his little bit of scratching and Metto just lept off the couch and attacked Marco. He was very jealous but that has mellowed over time as well.

He is also very toy/item possessive. I got him a toy and he'll bury and dig it up a few times a day. At first he was a thief too, stealing anything he could run in and grab, clothes from the hamper, shoes...anything that could fit through the pet door. But that has cooled off thank god.

I'll get him bathed and groomed this week and post some new pics to give you a better look at him, then compare it to the Sammy pics out there.

[applebear]

It's not the coloring [in the current pic] that makes me think he's chowish, it's his face and eyes...I can see his muzzle is more narrow/pointy, but it's very hard to see the other things because of the view and he's laying. Going on the above though, he looks very chowish to me...like a open faced mix chow. When you have new pics with different views, that'll help us see a lot more and know what you are trying to get across.

[Tippsy'smom]

Hey Sean! I seen a cream chow. He MAY have sammy way back in his heritage, but I definitly see chow. His muzzle and eyes scream chow to me, not sammy.

[Rory's Dad]

I think you are missing on the true chow clues. It's not the puff on the back of the legs, its the leg formation itself, very stiff and gaited...no true 'dog leg' bend. The color difference in a creams ears are not 'dirt' or 'red clay' related, and thats not what i see in the pic.

The muzzle is very much Chow in appearance. If you are limiting yourself to closed faced, rough Chows then that is your error. American Chows have been bred to be a shorter, more stocky type of dog. Closed or 'mushy' faces are more common in North America nowadays. European and Asian Chows still tend to be taller and more athletic looking with the open muzzle. Regardless, they all can be traced to purebred Chow roots. In fact, the taller types are more typical of the Chow origins.

[Sirchow]

I too see a chow muzzle, eyes and ears and no sammy signs in the face. Perhaps there are other breeds in there but that face looks all chow to me. My creams are all very light and barely have the biscuity ears. I am thinking to get the pure white you are talking of that perhaps there was a Samoyed mixed in at some point and that where the slim pointy front legs are coming from but honestly until we can see some side on shots it is hard to really be sure about the rest of him. Can we have some more pics please?
My cream girl is much more responsive and clingy than the others and she likes to sit on the settee like a human. She yips in a high pitched voice like a sammy and is very very loving.