Is Chow Chow German Shepherd mix make a good guardian dog?

[Okie Amazon]

As a long-time vet tech, I will tell you that I have seen more than a few Chows and Chow mixes bite their owners and threaten to bite their owners when trying to even mildly restrain them. I also had to assist in the euthanasia of a Chow (full blood) that had killed a three year old boy who walked too close to his food bowl. Having to handle a dog soaked in a baby's blood will tend to put you off a breed with good reason.

 

[sfw2]

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Having owned chows, I think they get a bad rap in the intelligence department. It's not that they don't understand what you want. They just don't care. If a cat came in a canine body, it would be a chow chow.

That said, I would NEVER have expected any of my chows/chow mixes to make a good livestock guardian.

 

[Ksane]

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I don't mix mix my dogs and birds. I don't mix my turkeys and chickens or cats and Doves either. Why should I?

 

[JellyBeanCee]

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I too worked at a vet's office and would second your opinion of Chow's...they are UGH....some of the meanest dogs I encountered while working there.

 

[rilly10]

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I too worked at a vet's office and would second your opinion of Chow's...they are UGH....some of the meanest dogs I encountered while working there.

X3 them and the Filas

ETA: I agree...go with a GP (Great Pyrenees) what you are looking for is exactly what they were/are bred for!

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

Just like some others here, I have worked for several Vet hospitals, worked in large kennels and trained in large facilities as well as my own business training. I can say I have encountered a LOT of Chows and chow mixes. Probably upwards of 40 of them. I can count on one hand the number of them that were even remotely trustworthy. The rest? I would have euthanized them given the chance. They *can* be wonderful to their owners and rather tolerant of other dogs, even cats -- that they are raised with. However, they aren't the type of dog that naturally looks to you for direction, and they certainly nearly always resent being handled by a anyone other than their person.

They are a dog that gets a knee jerk reaction of a muzzle in most Vet hospitals and kennels I have worked at. Their personalities tend to be more hard wired than the average dog, IMO, so 'training' only does so much for them. I am not saying they are terrible dogs, a lot of people love them. I know of one Chow mix dog that I really liked. He was half German import GSD, 25% Sharpei and 25% Chow. His parentage was confirmed too. He was really a great dog, his brain seemed GSD though, coloring GSD, coat texture a longer version of Sharpei with the head shape of a Chow. He really was a wonderful dog, but...I never had to examine him, or give him shots or handle him outside of his family. Who knows how he would have been...

This isn't a dog that I would get to be a flock or farm guardian.

 

[livenwpeeps]

I have never owned a Chow but my brother's neighbor did. They, the neighbors, were having a birthday party for one of their kids and had a yard full of kids. They also had the Chow running around lose stating it "loved kids". According to witnesses, the dog was not provoked by anyone but a little girl around 5 years old was bitten on the side of her head. Her ear had to be replaced by surgery. She had a lot of stitches on her face, head and neck. She had to have several surgeries to correct the scars later. I wasn't there but I'm sure there were a lot of kids running around and propably screaming and yelling like kids do at birthday parties. But my sister-n-law said at the time the kids were sitting at the picnic table eating cake and the little girl was standing at the end of the picnic table eating her cake and the dog was standing beside her when it happen. She wasn't even looking at the dog. That's why the ear and the side of the head took so much damage. No one knows why, not even the owners of the dog. The dog was put down.

 

[ben is a terror]

Sorry to say we had a golden ret. chow mix and he ate 2 of my parrots

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

There are no breeds of dogs that make good "poultry guardians" because that's not what LGD breeds were developed for.

Chickens don't behave or respond like herd animals, and dogs will not "bond" to them.
They may ACCEPT them, but that's not the same as "bonding"

Any well behaved dog can offer some protection by keeping predators away, but it's not because of any "devotion" to the chickens, but is merely territorial behavior.

Most people should NOT get a true LGD breed unless they have PASTURED sheep or goats to guard, and don't try to make the dog serve as a pet also

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Good guard dog, good chicken chaser/eater.