7/6     If you're gonna get a dog, DO NOT get a Chow Chow.
        http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/thisweek/story/0,12977,1083409,00.html
        \_ Agreed. Not a good choice:
           http://en.allexperts.com/q/Dogs-701/chow-chow-2.htm
        \_ "Coren's study says Chows were originally bred as food animals.
           Who needs smart food?" I've actually met a few Chow Chow owners
           who got them as pups and were surprised at how lazy and
           aggressive Chow Chow's turned out, and their lack of motivation
           for learning new trick. In many cases they would defend the
           intelligence of their dogs by saying something to the effect
           "Well *my* dog is different, it's too smart to listen to
           anyone." In short, stupid owners own stupid dogs (or put it
           another way a dog's behavior is a reflection on the owners)
           \_ Chows aren't an aggressive breed in the sense that pit bulls
              are.  Mostly they just want to be left alone so unless you go
              out of your way to find and harass a Chow the Chow will happily
              ignore you, but sure if you go harassing the poor thing then
              expect to be snarled at.  Duh.  The deal with Chows is they're
              not social pack oriented dogs.  They will find a single person
              they decide is theirs and want the rest of the world to go away.
              If you're that one person you've got a great friend, if not then
              just ignore it and leave it alone and it'll leave you alone.
              Tricks:  their one person can get them to do stuff but they tend
              to choose someone who lets them alone in the first place so no
              they tend not to be a trick performing dog.  In short, they're
              not family dogs, but they can be really good for a widow(er) who
              won't inundate the poor creature with hordes of family.  I'm not
              sure where you came up with all these Chow owners you've known.
              It isn't a very common breed.
              \_ I lived in Asia. It's common there. Sadly, most owners
                 I've met buy dogs because of their looks (oh it looks
                 so cute and the color matches my purse!) and do not
                 understand anything about temperament, health, genetics,
                 maintenance, etc. Dogs are well behaved when their owners
                 are assertive and lead. Most dogs do not behave well and
                 bark excessively or have some neurotic behaviors because
                 the owners are shy or incapable. This is why so many
                 dogs are let go on the streets and end up as chows.
                 In conclusion, people are stupid.              -pp
                 \_ Like I said the other day, before getting any dog the
                    wanna-be owner should research the breeds they're
                    interested in and dog care requirements in general.
                    Chows are great for some people, terrible for others.
                    The same can be said for any breed.  For example the
                    dogs they train as 'assistance dogs' for para/quadra-
                    pelegics(sp?) are not the super whip smart dogs.  They
                    grow bored too easily or in some cases do great in
                    training but won't respond well for someone who can't
                    physically dominate them.  Assistance dogs tend to be
                    mellower, slower, less smart but willing to work for
                    their person all day long while the smart dogs give up
                    after a few minutes.
        \_ Very scientific.