Chow Chow care on Cape Ann

The AKC calls the chow dignified, bright and serious-minded, and VCA describes a devoted, protective family dog that is reserved toward strangers and not friendly toward strange dogs. That reserve is the temperament the breed was kept for, and a well-raised chow can still be calm and polite with visitors. The realistic goal is a relaxed dog that tolerates new people, not one that greets everyone at the door.

The AKC recommends early socialization and puppy classes, says patience and positive, consistent reinforcement are the keys to training, and warns that harsh methods should be avoided so the chow learns to trust. Let visitors ignore your chow and let it approach in its own time, reward calm choices, and give it a quiet room to retreat to. A chow that growls at guests or lunges on the leash needs a trainer's plan, and Dogtown's force-free private sessions start from $94.

The AKC says the chow does not tolerate high heat or humidity well and advises avoiding exercise in the hot part of the day, suggesting instead a moderate-paced walk four or more times a day. VCA's guide says the breed enjoys cold weather and becomes overheated easily, and that it is not physically suited to overly vigorous exercise. A humid Cape Ann July, with the sun on the granite and the pavement, is the hardest month for a dog in that coat.

Plan the summer around the heat. Walk early and late on shaded grass, keep a cool room or floor for the afternoon, and remember that Gloucester's beaches are off limits to dogs through the summer in any case. VCA lists elevated breathing, abnormal gum color and disorientation among the signs of heat stroke and calls it an immediate medical emergency; cool the dog with cool, not cold, water, then call your vet or Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital in Woburn.

The AKC lists eyelid entropion, hip and elbow dysplasia, allergies and thyroid function among the breed's health issues, and recommends patella, hip, elbow, eye and thyroid evaluations for breeding dogs. VCA explains that entropion is an eyelid that rolls inward, names the chow among the predisposed breeds and says it is usually diagnosed in puppies under one year old. Most affected dogs squint, hold the eye shut and tear heavily, and the treatment is surgical correction.

The deep-set almond eyes the AKC describes are part of the chow's look, so keep watching them. A puppy that squints, rubs its face or has a wet streak under the eye needs a vet visit, not a groom. VCA also recommends a large-breed growth food for chow puppies and says it may lower the incidence or severity of hip dysplasia in adults. The AKC gives the breed a life expectancy of 8 to 12 years.