Page 115 - (DK) The Dog Encyclopedia

SPITZ-TYPE DOGS

Chow Chow THE PET THERAPY

PIONEER

HEIGHT WEIGHT LIFE SPAN Cream Blue Today many different dogs are used as “therapy
18–22in 46–71lb 8–12 years Fawn Black dogs” to comfort troubled or stressed people. The
(46–56 cm) (21–32kg) All colors may be shaded but not in patches first canine therapy assistant was a Chow Chow
named Jo-Fi, who worked with the father of
This handsome dog with a coat like a teddy bear is loyal psychoanalysis himself: Sigmund Freud (below, in
Austria c.1935). During therapy sessions, Jo-Fi
to its owner but can be reserved with strangers would remain in the room with Freud and was
given clues to the clients’ mental state. Jo-Fi
Dogs of this type have been known in China in Chinese is actually Songshi Quan, often would stay close to quiet or depressed people,
but move away from those who were tense.
for at least 2,000 years; one bas-relief carving translated as “puffy lion dog.” Larger
Freud noted that Jo-Fi had a calming, reassuring
from about 150BCE shows hunters with dogs numbers were imported to the UK in the late
influence on his clients, particularly children.
resembling Chow Chows. The dogs’ original 19th century, and when Queen Victoria
uses included hunting birds, guarding obtained one, their popularity was assured.
livestock, and, in winter, pulling sleds. In The dogs were first shown in the US in 1890
addition, some of these dogs were raised as but were not popular there until the 1920s.
a source of meat and fur. They were prized The Chow Chow is now usually kept as a
by emperors and the nobility; in the 8th pet. Rather aloof in nature, the breed is
century CE one Tang dynasty devoted to its family but may be wary of
emperor had 5,000 chowlike strangers. It can have a dominant character,
dogs in his kennels. so needs firm training and early socializing.
The first few dogs It requires only moderate exercise but benefits
reached the West in the from the mental stimulation of a daily walk.
late 18th century. They The breed is notable for its thick coat and
acquired the name Chow lionlike ruff, its furrowed face, and its
Chow in England, where blue-black tongue. There are two varieties:
the term simply referred to rough-coated with an immensely thick,
curios brought back from upstanding coat, and smooth-coated, with
East Asia. The breed’s name short, dense hair.
PUPPY

Profuse coat stands
out from body Distinctive stop

Small, thick,
rounded,
erect ears

Blue-black
tongue

Characteristic
scowling
expression

Red

Lighter hair on
back of legs
ROUGH-COATED

Small, round feet

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