Why do people think Chow are so bad?

Question

I think that the Chow has gotten a bad name. I have been raised around chows all my life and I have never expericenced this meaness that a lot of people talk about. Righ now my fiance and I have a 9 month old chow that is just as sweet as she can be. She is great with children, she does not get aggressive and she loves to play. I think if you are a good owner and you are expericenced in training there is no reason why your Chow swhould be mean.

Answer 1

I think you are right. Good breeding, good ownership are keys to taming aggression. Chows can be aggressive, but so can cocker spaniels. Chows, Rottweilers, and Pit Bulls are the three breeds that I think tend to end up with bad owners, and I guess we tend to focus more media attention and horror stories on those breeds than we do say Pomeranians who also seem a bit feisty!
I have a dog who is part chow, and he gets aggressive when other people try to discipline him. Which I think is perfectly within his right. No one should come to my home and decide that they should discipline my dog. People can be so dumb!
Anyway, back to your question, my suggestion to you is that any dog could eventually exhibit aggression to the newest member of the "pack" so as to establish pecking order. So, no unsupervised playtime with baby, no allowing baby to waddle around the house with food.
Hope that helps.

Answer 2

A Chow was our first dog and he was the sweetest dog. But, he portrayed many of the traits a Chow is known for. He was loyal to us , often refusing to have anything to do with guests. His stubborn streak prevented him learning many of the behaviors our other dogs picked up quickly. We gave him to a Vietnam Vet paraplegic and they became best buddies.
We never, ever, allowed him to play with children alone. While he was tolerant and curious, we knew that wasn't his favorite thing to do.
Your Chow is still a puppy and socializing her as much as possible will make a positive difference. But don't ignore the breeding. Hopefully you purchased your dog from a Chow breeder and that person is still available to answers any questions. You can't "wish" a dog to be something it's not. Her environment is only 50% of who she is, so try to keep things quiet, balanced and predictable. Chows think they're in charge of the schedule :)

Answer 3

The same reason people think ALL pitbulls are so bad. It's not the dog, it's terrible owners. A lot of people use their dogs for fighting and such and it makes them mean and aggressive. My husband's family only has pitbulls and they are not like that. They have no problems with them and their children. And my grandfather and aunt have had a chow in the past and they were great. I guess they were just better owners than most people, probably like you are with your dogs.

Answer 4

Chows are aggressive dogs and because of that, they have a bad name. Dogs like Rottweilers, German Shepards, Dobermans, Pits, are all known to be aggressive making them receive a bad name. When I was younger, my parents had a chow. His name was Ninja. He was generally a good dog but he was super aggressive. I was attacked by him when I walked by him once. He bit me in my face and now I have slight scars on my face due to him attacking me. He attacked my older brother Tom when he walked into our back yard. My brother had to go to the hospital to get stitches for the open gash on his arm. Ninja had to be put down after he attacked a man during a tag sale. Due to attacks such as this, chows have bad names. It isn't all chows though. It depends on how they are raised. Ninja was a rescued dog that my mom brought home. I have a 9 month old Rotti who is a big 90 lb teddy bear yet people are scared of her! It is just how it goes.....

Answer 5

Unfortunately, sometimes it comes from experience.

As a groomer, I've had a total of 7 chows come in for grooming throughout my career. 3 of them were lovely dogs, very sweet and well-behaved, you couldn't ask for a nicer dog and I was happy to have them as regular clients.

The other 4 were nasty, 2 were so nasty I had to send them home without grooming - and I can handle tough dogs.

This does not mean I don't like chows or think they are all bad. I like a nice-tempered chow and think they're great dogs, but unfortunately due to careless breeding or ignorant owners a lot of them are aggressive.

Answer 6

because they also like pitbulls get a bad name because they have a history of biting the hand that feeds them let alone attack. the temperment in show varies with each dog but has a tendency to hate a lot of attention and cant stand children. its just the way they have acted for years and even now when i go with my family. when we see a chow, my dad goes ooo look its one of those mean chows. those things r nasty. or wont let anyone near it because hes scared they will bite us. its just the way it is and some ppl love them but i have had a bad experience with chows and im still not giving up on them but i prolly will never own because i am a labrador and beagle person

Answer 7

It is because the chow has had bad publicity just like the pitbull, and they were known for some attacks. Just like the rott, and the shephard,dobermans and cocker spaniels had bad media coverage and people are afraid of them. I have owned chows and they were loving animals. Any dog raised wrong can be bad, but if treated right more than likely they will be loving and loyal.

Answer 8

I was bit by a Chow as a child. I was just petting the thing! My best friend had it. It was supposed to be a family dog so I was very surprised when it hauled off and bit me. I've disliked Chows ever since!

Answer 9

Maybe beacuse Chow is considered one of the most stupid dog. It might hurt but I read this somewhere that they are amongst the last in the intelligent dogs cathegory in among more than a hundred breeds. Aside from that, they shed like hell you can even make a new pillow with their shed coats every other day.

Answer 10

We used to have one and I remember its bark was really squeaky. And he was alittle annoying, but cute. I remember I really liked him though. I have not heard that they are mean. It is like you said: It depends on the owner.