Chow Chows & dog walkers

[sporkle]

Any chow chow owners out there?

Does anyone use a dog walker with this breed and is the dog is accepting of the person entering the home?

Have been considering this breed for a long time and looking at getting one in the next 12 months but have one concern.

There are a couple of days a week that no one is in the house all day so would look for a dog walker to pop in/walk on these days. Given their breed temperament, will a Chow have difficulty with this or be aggressive?

TIA

[sporkle]

Bump for the evening crowd.

[StillMedusa]

Mine is not a chow, but a Eurasier ( originally chow/wolfspitz cross years ago and retains many chow characteristics)

What we found is... introduce the walker pretty much as soon as you get the puppy and all will be fine. We introduced ours at 10 weeks.. we got the puppy at 9, and she sees our walker as a family member.

She barks at any other men who come into the house (settles eventually but it can take a while) but not Adam.. he walks in and she go bonkers with delight because she's known him from very tiny.

She's also reserved with stangers generally so we introduce people carefully and she is 9 months now and better than she was (used to back away very nervous) but is never going to bounce up and love strangers.

Other tip if you get a chow... when they are small(ish!) and incredibly cute.. every stranger wants to touch them. We weren't firm enough in telling people NOT to and I'm sure it made her more nervous. Eventually I told people she bites (she doesn't) so that they didn't try and fluff her fur constantly and she began to relax!

[sporkle]

@StillMedusa eurasiers are gorgeous! Thanks so much, that is a good advice - as & when we are looking at puppies I will arrange a walker too so they can bond. And great advice about the touching too. The only chow I know is unusually pretty friendly so harder to judge the practicalities of the breed.

[whateveryousay]

I’d echo that advice. Start them early! I have a reactive dog who will not tolerate visitors to our home even when we are in, but the dog walker can come in and take him because she has done so since he was a puppy.

[AppleBang]

My husband has owned a couple of chows! Not aggressive at all, both lovely dogs. But they need an experienced owner and socialising early. They will not be at all aggressive to anyone coming to your home IF they know them and have met them previously.

[RedRed9]

Don’t be afraid to change walkers if the first isn’t right.

I used to send my dachshund to a day care and he was so unhappy about going (scared of the other dogs, scared of the owner) and it took me a while to realise that that wasn’t normal. Now he goes to a breed specific day care (dachshunds only) and he absolutely loves it - he cries at the door to be let in! I felt terrible about moving him from the other day care (for the owner’s sake) but I’m so glad I did.