Chow's get around! Every mutt seems to be a chow mix!

[Shell Beau]

What is this about? They are some seriously horny dogs or something!

[Gidney N Cloyd]

1. They don't handle the word "no" well.

[Shell Beau]

2. Yes! Ain't that the truth!

:P

[dropkickpa]

3. Whoever is labeling the mixes

Is a fan of the breed. Seriously, it's hilarious, you'll get 300 animals in a year at a shelter that are "Basenji" mixes, because one of the employees is a fan of the breed (totally ignoring the fact that they are a very rare dog in the US).

Chow mix is easier to say than "long-haired shepardishy looking dog with curly tail". Just like EVERY dog with black and tan markings is a rottie mix (even if it weighs just 12lbs) because the people think only rotties have that coloring (they don't, there are many others with the exact same markings).

[Shell Beau]

4. Yeah! I always wonder how you really know what is in a mixed breed.

Mine is for sure chow mix. It is obvious, but I have another they labeled a chow mix and were wrong. Maybe somewhere in his blood is a little chow, but he is clearly Golden Retriever and Australian Shepherd.

[idgiehkt]

10. actually

in the south they are overly common. I have found the reverse of what you are saying to be true, many dogs are actually labeled 'golden retriever mixes' when they are clearly mixed with chow; it's just easier to 'sell' a golden retriever because it is a much more desireable breed.

[flvegan]

5. Almost every dog with dark spots in the mouth is called a "chow mix"

It's an old and erroneous belief that a chow is the only dog that can/will have the "purple spots" in the mouth or a darkly colored tongue. In shelter situations, much of the time they do this quite often, as there's still a bias against having a chow with children. Same with pits. If he/she looks like a pit, then they put "pit mix" on the kennel card, just in case.

[Shell Beau]

6. I never buy the blackish tongue thing! My little mini-pin has a black

spot on her tongue and she hasn't any chow in her.

[spinbaby]

7. I didn't know that

Our neighbor's shepherd mix has a black tongue and we always assumed she was part chow. She's a real sweetheart--I bake bacon-flavored dog biscuits for her.

[idgiehkt]

8. Well, I could tell you a story of why I think it is

but it's not a happy one.

In this part of the country they are mainly owned by irresponsible people who neither take care of them (properly caring for their coats) or keep them confined to the yard. They are either left to run or tethered, in which case they get loose often. They are ferocious, intimidating dogs. They get around and they will fight another dog to the death over a female. People from other parts of the country may not know what you are talking about, it may just be a southern thing, but you are right, they are everywhere.

[Shell Beau]

11. Maybe it is a southern thing!

:shrug:

[BOSSHOG]

9. Funny

I've noticed that damn near all of the cats in the neighborhood are strikingly familiar in coloration, coating and hairlength.

[Shell Beau]

12. Yep! I notice that too!