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The Chow Chow is a Chinese dog breed that's perceived as noble as a lion, as whimsically amusing as a panda, as adorable as a teddy bear, as graceful and independent as a cat and as loyal and devoted as a true dog. It has been in existence for more than 4000 years and therefore is one of the most ancient of dog breeds appearing originally in Mongolia. The Chow Chow flourished mainly in China and numerous ancient Chinese arts depicted this fact.

In recent DNA testing efforts, the fact was revealed that the Chow Chow is one of the oldest breed of dogs and that it is one of the first descendants of the wolf which resided in the northern parts of China and Mongolia. Some believes that the Chow Chow is originally from the Arctic Circle and only migrated later on to Siberia, China and Mongolia. Experts also conclude that the Chow Chow is the predecessor of several modern breeds such as the Pomeranian, Samoyed, Keeshond and the Norwegian Elkhound.

During its time in ancient China, the Chow was used in hunting and was assigned to pull carts and boat guarding. One interesting fact states that in ancient China, an emperor owned 2500 pairs of Chows which accompanied all of his 10,000 hunters during hunting. Additionally, Chow's meat is also considered as a delicacy by the Chinese and until now, dog meats are still being eaten in their country. The late President Calvin Coolidge also had a Chow named Timmy and their companionship was popular during his time.

The Chow Chow is a unique kind of dog and a lot of owners don't understand this kind of personality and so misconceptions often arise. Owners who do not fully understand the characteristics of Chows tend to mistreat and mishandle the dog and these results to a disconcerting disposition of the dog. The best thing that owners can do, however, is to research well about the Chow Chow so they may understand the special trainings and unique treatments that the dog needs.

It is in the nature of the Chow Chow to love being quiet and alone by itself and people shouldn't interpret this as rudeness and ill-behavior on its part. It does love to socialize but it is generally a one person type of dog. In order to develop the Chow's social inclination, it must be exposed and trained to be sociable at an early age because failure to do so will make the dog wary and suspicious of strangers as an adult.

This breed reacts well to owners who has firm and imposing tone, is consistent and confident. People who own or will own a Chow Chow should develop these characters in order to instill to the dog that the master is the leader and should be obeyed pertinently. A Chow Chow is active and participative in activities that it doesn't know how to do yet at first but when such activities become repetitive, it becomes bored and would turn away and ignore commands indefinitely.

In terms of obedience and intelligence, the Chow Chow performs rather poorly and ranks 76th only in Stanley Cohen's The Intelligence of Dogs. Indoors, the Chow Chow is not very active and is in fact, placid for most part of the day. An apartment living suits the Chow Chow and a small fenced yard will suffice their activities, however, it still needs daily forms of exercise such as walking in order to keep it healthy mentally and physically.

What gives the Chow Chow a lion-like appearance is its big ruffle around its neck and its double coat of dense hair all over its body. It is also unique physically through its bluish-black/purplish tongue, stiff gait due straight back legs, and a hairy and curled tail. The Chow often appears in shades of red, black, blue, fawn or cinnamon, and cream.