- Whole coloured black, red, blue, fawn, cream or white, frequently shaded but not in patches or parti-coloured (underpart of tail and back of thighs frequently of a lighter colour)
About the Chow Chow
Origin: China
- Typical life span
- 8-12 years
- Size
- Large — from its typical weight
- Weight
- 20-32 kg
- Height
- 43-51 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Spitz and primitive types
- Origin
- China
- Known hereditary risks
- 5 documented conditions, with the test for each
About
What is a Chow Chow?
An ancient, powerful, and sturdily built dog of Arctic spitz-type, known for its distinctive lion-like mane, unique blue-black tongue, stilted gait, and dense double coat
Chow Chow history and origins
One of the oldest recognizable breeds with origins dating back over 2,000 years in northern China, where it served as hunting, herding, guarding, and companion dog. Refined during Tang Dynasty and recognized by AKC in 1903.
Chow Chow appearance and size
Typically 20-32 kg and 43-51 cm at the shoulder — published as one range rather than separately for males and females.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Guard dog, companion
- Behaviour and temperament
“Quiet dog, good guard. Independent, loyal, yet aloof”
Quoted from FCI standard n°205. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Large
- Exercise needsRead from what the breed was bred to do, in the registry’s own words: “Guard dog, companion” That is a working purpose, not a measured exercise requirement — an individual dog’s needs depend on its age, health and household.
- 2 of 5
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- 4 of 5
- Grooming needs
- 4 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- 5 conditions documented
Rough4 of 5
Smooth2 of 5
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Chow Chow
What you get with the Chow Chow
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Guard dog, companion”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Quiet dog, good guard. Independent, loyal, yet aloof”
What you are taking on
- 2 serious inherited conditions are documented, mainly in bones & joints and cancer. The health guide tab has the test to ask for on each.
- High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “Especially thick round neck forming mane or ruff and with good culottes or breechings on…”
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard; Chow Health — OFA/CHIC Health Testing Requirements. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Chow Chow
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.
Coat
Either rough or smooth.
Outer coat coarse, with soft woolly undercoat.
Especially thick round neck forming mane or ruff and with good culottes or breechings on back of thighs.
Any artificial shortening of the coat which alters the natural outline or expression should be penalised, with the exception of feet which may be tidied
Notes
- Rough: Profuse, abundant, dense, straight and stand-off but not excessive in length.
- Smooth: Coat short, dense, straight, upstanding, not flat, plush-like in texture.
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°205 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Chow Chow in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
Health & screening guide for the Chow Chow
Known hereditary risks for the Chow Chow breed, and the specific documentation to request from any breeder before paying a deposit. A responsible breeder will have these readily available; deflection is a red flag.
5 conditions documentedThis is breed-level literature, not veterinary advice about an individual animal — your vet knows the animal.
Health checklist (PDF)Bones & joints
Hip and elbow dysplasia
Serious
Malformation of the hip and/or elbow joints causing pain, lameness and early arthritis; the breed's restricted hindquarter angulation (part of its standard gait) is a separate, related area of conformational risk noted by the FCI.
What to ask for
OFA (or OVC) hip and elbow evaluation, on both parents
Patellar luxation
Monitor
The kneecap slips out of its groove, causing an intermittent skipping gait or lameness.
What to ask for
OFA patella evaluation, on both parents
Eyes
Entropion
MonitorInherent to the breed
The standard's small, deep-set eyes are named by the FCI's own judging guidance as a specific area of risk for eyelids rolling inward and rubbing the cornea.
What to ask for
No DNA test; an eye examination by a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist (already part of the breed's own CHIC panel) will catch this.
Immune system
Autoimmune thyroiditis
Monitor
The immune system attacks the thyroid gland, usually leading to hypothyroidism; manageable with lifelong medication once diagnosed.
What to ask for
OFA thyroid evaluation from an approved laboratory, on both parents
Cancer
Gastric carcinoma
Serious
A stomach cancer markedly over-represented in this breed compared with dogs generally; a national cancer-register study found an odds ratio around 23 times higher than other breeds. It usually appears in older dogs (median age around 10) with vomiting, loss of appetite and weight loss, well after most breeding decisions have already been made.
What to ask for
No test or screening protocol exists before clinical signs appear. Ask about stomach cancer in the line, particularly on the dam's side.
How long the Chow Chow lives, in the records
Median survival 12.1 years
95% confidence interval 11.7–12.5 years, from 395 recorded deaths among 999 dogs
Mortality hazard 1.05 (0.95, 1.16) relative to crossbred dogs, whose median is 12.0 years.
Measured in the United Kingdom from 584,734 dogs. Median survival is not a prediction for an individual dog.
McMillan, K.M., Bielby, J., Williams, C.L., Upjohn, M.M., Casey, R.A. & Christley, R.M. (2024) Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death. Scientific Reports 14, 531.
Gallery
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Puppies
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