An 0 
ST \ O Y\ T 
THE CHOW-CHOW,'A FUR-COATED 
WITHOUT A BOOM—ONCE A CHOW, 
COBBY FELLOW WHO WON FAME 
ALWAYS A CHOW —HIS MYSTERY 
by Williams Haynes 
Author of “Doggy Great Britain,’’ “Practical Dog Keeping" 
I T was just about eight years ago when I 
was first introduced to that suave, digni¬ 
fied, self-contained gentleman from China, 
the chow-chow. In those days one did not 
run into him very often about 
town. To be sure, he did turn 
up occasionally at the bench 
shows, but even in the very 
doggy set there 
were only a few 
who knew him 
well enough to 
speak to him. He 
had but recently 
visited this coun¬ 
try, and though 
he bore capital 
letters of intro¬ 
duction from 
some English 
friends with 
w h o m he ha d 
stopped on his 
travels from the 
Far East, still he 
was never the 
sort to push him¬ 
self forward. 
Since that time, 
however, he has 
made a host of staunch, good American friends in all parts. 
I don't suppose there was ever a dog who worked up to the 
front with less fuss and racket. One does not ordinarily think 
of the chow-chow as a very popular dog, but nowadays no 
one is at all surprised at meeting him anywhere, and the entries 
at the bench shows, which are generally a pretty good practical 
gauge of a breed’s popularity, have several times doubled in num¬ 
bers. Certainly there never was a “boom’’ in chows, and for a 
dog with so mysterious a past they have had but very little pub¬ 
licity. 
Usually the arrival of a new breed is the signal for a loud blare 
of trumpets and a clash of cymbals—their history, points and good 
characteristics are literally shrilled from the housetops. Not so 
with the chow ; he slipped into our midst as quietly as if he had 
had to evade the Asiatic exclusion laws. He stood all ready to 
welcome us to our friends’ homes before we more than suspected 
that there was any such dog. 
The very first chow I knew professionally was Champion Patoo. 
He had been born in England of Chinese parents and later natur¬ 
alized in the United States, but in spite of all this he was always— 
first, last, and all the time—a chow. In that he was typical of 
his race. Many dogs will reflect their environment. The chow 
njerelv absorbs his and remains a chow. Indeed, you could never 
tell, no matter how much might depend upon it, whether a chow¬ 
-chow had been born on the Bowery or on Fifth Avenue. In this 
he is a true Oriental, rising triumphant over our petty mushroom 
civilization. You suspect, and not without reason, that a chow 
was a chow when our own ancestors lived in a 
cave and hunted with a stone axe. 
When you first meet a chow—I remember it was 
so with me when I was presented to Patoo—you 
may not be very favorably im¬ 
pressed. The dog’s wolfish ap¬ 
pearance, his obvious strength, and 
his famous scowl are forbidding. 
Moreover, he has a very disconcert¬ 
ing way of sniff¬ 
ing at your an¬ 
kles and then 
standing off to 
survey you criti¬ 
cally. His truly 
Chinese mind 
persists in re¬ 
garding all men 
as guilty till they 
are proved to be 
innocent. Once, 
however, he has 
convinced himself 
that you are “all 
right,” he is a 
very different 
sort of a dog. On 
better acquain¬ 
tance he proves 
to be a rather 
rollicking, decidedly good natured dog—qualities with which a 
stranger would never credit him. In fact, many people who do 
not know him well have the idea that a chow is a surly, short- 
tempered brute, and time and again he is summarily condemned 
as such without so much as a mock-trial. This is the result of 
his stand-offish disposition and his very evident distrust of 
strangers. It must be confessed that sometimes he carries his 
policy of eternal vigilance too far for the peace of mind of ner¬ 
vous visitors, but with his own people he is always a very lovable 
dog. 
The true chow-chow is not to be known in ten minutes, and 
if you do not know him well, you do not know him at all. Among 
his own family and friends he casts off his suspicious air and 
Chinese aloofness and becomes a jolly playfellow, thoroughly 
capable of enjoying a good romp and with a remarkably keen 
sense of humor. He is bright, faithful and affectionate. A better 
natured dog, especially with young children, does not live. By 
appearance, by reputation and by nature he is a splendid watch¬ 
dog, and he has courage enough and strength enough to be a 
very real protection. In his dealings with other dogs the chow 
adopts the hands-off motto ; he bothers no dog who does not bother 
him. His owner can rest assured that he will not be 
mixed up in street brawls, but be had best be on his guard 
if he has a neighbor with a flock of prize sheep, for 
Mister Chow has been known to satisfy illegally his appetite 
for mutton. 
Externally the chow-chow has three unique points, points that 
He carries his head high, not a little cocky. 
Folks who do not know him have the idea that he is a surly, short- 
tempered brute 
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