KENAI
Chow Chow

The breeds · companion

AKC Non-Sporting · UKC Northern Breed · FCI standard 205

Chow Chow.

AKC standard: an ancient breed of northern Chinese origin, an all-purpose dog used for hunting, herding, pulling and protection of the home; primarily a companion today. FCI 205 utilization: guard dog, companion (kept as a guard dog and also used for hunting). UKC: originated as a sporting dog; today primarily a family companion and guard dog. Royal Kennel Club: a guard dog of the Han Dynasty, also used for hunting and, in early China, reared for meat and fur. Wikipedia: a basal breed; legends of war dogs, and use pulling sleds through swampy terrain..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

12.1YRMedian lifespan11.7 to 12.5, measured on real dogs.
0INHeightdogs null, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
35–90LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 40 to 90 lb; breed bitches 35 to 85 lb.
1HRSExercise, every dayRoyal Kennel Club: exercise up to 1 hour per day.. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 16.9 to 22 in · bitches 16.9 to 22 in

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2020

No ideal printed. The breed-wide AKC, UKC and Wikipedia ranges count in this row; Wikipedia's 17 to 22 in sets the span, above the FCI female maximum of 20.1 in.

Weight

dogs 40 to 90 lb · bitches 35 to 85 lb

Breed clubAKC

No standard prints a weight. The AKC page's 45 to 70 lb (breed-wide) sits inside Wikipedia's female range; low/high span both.

Coat

AKC: two coat types, rough and smooth, both double. Rough: abundant, dense, straight, offstanding, rather coarse outer coat over a soft, thick, woolly undercoat, with a profuse ruff, longer in dogs than bitches; trimming of whiskers, feet and metatarsals optional. Smooth: hard, dense, smooth, no ruff. Five colours: red, black, blue, cinnamon, cream. FCI 205: rough (profuse, dense, stand-off, not excessive in length, with a woolly undercoat) or smooth (short, dense, upstanding, plush-like); the dog 'must not have so much coat as to impede activity or cause distress in hot weather'; black, red, blue, fawn, cream or white. UKC: two equally acceptable coat types, both double. Royal Kennel Club: coat length medium; sheds.

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2020

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

2 of 5 · Profuse dense double coat with a heavy ruff (rough) or short dense double coat (smooth); short broad deep muzzle (AKC); FCI 205 says the coat must not impede activity or cause distress in hot weather

DerivedFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2026

Derived from the coat description (heavy double or long = 2). No measured data; the FCI's hot-weather line is a registry statement, not a measurement. The muzzle is short and broad but no source calls the breed brachycephalic, so it is not scored 1.

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

12.1 years (11.7 to 12.5)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

UK sample, n 940 with 395 deceased: the interval is for dogs that had died by the study date. The AKC and RKC bands sit lower; the sources disagree and both stand.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

Royal Kennel Club: exercise up to 1 hour per day.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band 'up to 1 hour' recorded as 60 minutes.

Exercise need

Royal Kennel Club: up to 1 hour per day; large house; small to medium garden; country. AKC page: Energy Level 3 of 5, Mental Stimulation Needs 3. UKC: somewhat lacking in speed but excellent endurance.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Band words as the RKC prints them.

Energy

AKC breed page: Energy Level 3 of 5, Mental Stimulation Needs 3, Trainability 3, Barking Level 1, Good With Other Dogs 2, Openness To Strangers 2, Watchdog/Protective Nature 5. AKC standard temperament: keen intelligence, independent spirit and innate dignity; reserved and discerning with strangers; limited peripheral vision, best approached from the front. FCI 205: quiet dog, good guard, independent, loyal yet aloof. UKC: dignified, aloof, reserved with strangers but never timid or aggressive.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands, not measured.

Grooming load

4 of 5 · Royal Kennel Club: grooming every day; coat length medium; sheds. AKC page: Coat Grooming Frequency 3 of 5, Shedding Level 3.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band 'every day' = 4. AKC page rates 3 of 5; both shown. The smooth coat (AKC, UKC, FCI) is a lighter job than the rough.

Grooming

Royal Kennel Club: every day, medium coat, sheds. AKC page: Coat Grooming Frequency 3 of 5, Shedding Level 3, Drooling Level 3.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

AKC bands.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

AKC standard: an ancient breed of northern Chinese origin, an all-purpose dog used for hunting, herding, pulling and protection of the home; primarily a companion today. FCI 205 utilization: guard dog, companion (kept as a guard dog and also used for hunting). UKC: originated as a sporting dog; today primarily a family companion and guard dog. Royal Kennel Club: a guard dog of the Han Dynasty, also used for hunting and, in early China, reared for meat and fur. Wikipedia: a basal breed; legends of war dogs, and use pulling sleds through swampy terrain.

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2020

Hunting is history in every source, not current work. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Primary game

UKC: used by Chinese aristocrats to hunt pheasant and partridge. FCI 205 and AKC standard: hunting, no game named. Royal Kennel Club: hunting, no game named.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2020

UKC is the only source naming game. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Also used on

AKC standard: herding, pulling and protection of the home. Wikipedia: pulling sleds; legends of war dogs. Royal Kennel Club: guard dog.

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2020

History, not current use. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Field trial standard

FCI 205: without working trial (FCI group 5, section 5 Asian Spitz and related breeds). No hunting test standard was read for the Chow Chow.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2026

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

21.6% · OFA all-data: 6,469 evaluations, 21.6% dysplastic (mild 11.4, moderate 7.5, severe 2.6), 75.9% normal; rank 46. Wikipedia cites a North American study of over a million records at 6.44% hip dysplasia against 3.52% overall.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA submissions are breeding-stock skewed and under-report affected dogs; period undated ('current all-data', accessed Oct 9 2026). The Wikipedia figure comes from a different dataset and is far lower; both stand, and the study was not read at source.

Elbow dysplasia

51.5% · OFA all-data: 1,788 evaluations, 51.5% abnormal (grade 1 29.8, grade 2 16.4, grade 3 5.3), 47.2% normal. Rank 1 of all breeds OFA lists. Wikipedia cites a North American study of over 250,000 elbow scans that found the Chow Chow had the highest prevalence, 48.6% of dogs over age 2.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA submissions are breeding-stock skewed and under-report affected dogs; period undated ('current all-data', accessed Oct 9 2026). Most abnormal elbows are grade 1, but 21.7% are grade 2 or 3. Two datasets agree the breed has the highest elbow figure.

Most common disorders

Wikipedia (veterinary literature): elbow dysplasia (highest of any breed in a 250,000-scan study); hip dysplasia and cranial cruciate ligament deficiency (4.3% against 2.52% overall); glaucoma (4.7% against 0.89% overall, third highest); alopecia X; atopic dermatitis; pemphigus foliaceus; exocrine pancreatic insufficiency; stomach cancer and oral melanoma over-represented; pyometra; diabetes mellitus; autoimmune disease. The Royal Kennel Club lists elbow, eye and hip testing as Good Practice, a breed club health scheme, and conformational concerns. UKC and AKC standards note limited peripheral vision from the deep-set eyes and the entropion/ectropion fault.

EditorialWikipedia

Wikipedia summarises the studies; the primary papers were not read.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 3; Mental Stimulation Needs 3; Trainability Level 3; Barking Level 1; Watchdog/Protective Nature 5; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 2; Good With Other Dogs 2; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 3; Drooling Level 3; Affectionate With Family 4; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 3.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 8 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Chow, Songshi Quan

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