Chow Chow Did You Know?

• A bas-relief was discovered recently that dates back to the Han Dynasty (150-200 BC) which definitely places the Chow as a hunting dog in that period in China.
• The Chow-Chow has a blue-black tongue, unique to the breed and the Chinese Shar-Pei only.
• Martha Stewart owns a number of Chows and often featured them on her morning show.
• The theory has been advanced that the Chow originated through a crossing of the old Mastiff of Tibet and the Samoyed, from the northern parts of Siberia. However, the blue-black tongue refutes this theory and leads many to believe that the Chow was one of the original breeds of dog.
• In modern times, the Chow has become a fashionable pet and guard dog, but evidence abounds as to the Chow's usefulness as a sporting dog in ancient China.
• The name Chow-Chow has little basis for its origin in China; it is believed that the expression evolved from pidgin-English terms for knick-knacks brought over from the Orient in the 18th century.