[brody8898]

I'm in love with the look of Chow Chow's, especially the big red ones with the super wrinkly faces. I would love to own one but super-intensive grooming regimen is putting me off. Can anyone suggest a breed for me?

Same goes for Keeshond's and the like. Love the look, but again, the grooming.

*afterthought"

Also, I love the Shar-Pei look, anyone know about grooming with them?

I have faith that I could handle any breed, as I'm a life-long dog owner, but am not as used to purebreds.

 

[groomerwantabe]

I know i am not any help but my mom and them had a chow. The one we had was a great dog and their fur is part of it beautiful dog and he was so good tempered. wish i had a pic of him.

 

[Avie]

Shar pei don't require much grooming as far as I know of (shorthaired ones) but their wrinkles will have to be kept clean.

 

[Keechak]

Any spitz breed is going to be a shedder you can't get away from it if you like the look of that coat.

 

[Avie]

I think you should look at the character of a breed first, and go from there. Look at what temperaments suit you, then see if the appearance works with you. If you want to know specific things about grooming requirements, go talk to owners or breeders. Dogs101 is fun to watch, but not always very accurate imo.
Maybe you'll end up with a spitz breed that suits you in temperament and looks and turns out to be manageable in the grooming department as well. There are many spitz type breeds, lots to choose from. I'm sure there's something there that suits you.

 

[Lamora]

We had a Chow/Shar pei mix once, beautiful dog, but it only lasted maybe 2 mths. She was getting aggressive towards our Dane and was not good at being alone. She ended up with a very nice family with 3 boys that just loved her. I can see why you would want one, but also like you, the grooming thing. I just don't have the energy to keep up with it anymore. Wash and wear is more my speed, tho Sadie does get a brushing about every 2-3 days.

Anyway-- good luck with your quest--

 

[Bordermom]

You usually won't get away without some form of grooming, skin care or shedding issues, regardless. If the dog has coat you'll need to comb and keep on top of it. If the dog doesn't have a lot of coat or has wrinkles, then you'll have skin care. If it's a short haired dog, they're the worst shedders on the planet! Give me my fuzzballs anyday.

 

[Zoopie]

Canadian Inuit dog. Big, majestic (though mine is only in a goofiesque way) and the shedding is really minimal. You need to brush a bit so the fur doesn't get tangled because of its length, but the shedding is not bad at all. He mildly sheds twice a year and the fur is makes little balls in the hallways you can easily pick up by hand. They are a lot of work though (really energetic, needs a lot of time and socialization).

 

[Crantastic]

Why not a smooth chow? They will still shed, obviously, and will definitely need a fair amount of brushing and grooming, but the grooming regimen isn't as intense as it is with the rough chow. Plus, they're really cute! Here's one (Tigger, young female) that I met at a show:

And the poster "grab" on this forum has a gorgeous smooth chow (Goose, also a female), as well: and -

 

[Avie]

Didn't know smooth haired chows existed! They're... more attractive than I thought they'd be.

 

[brody8898]

Can you tell the coat difference from birth, or does it show later?

 

[Crantastic]

According to a couple of sites I looked at, a good breeder can tell smooths and roughs apart a few days after the pups are born, and then again (definitively) when they are 4-5 weeks old. Because most good breeders won't let potential owners choose a pup that early (if at all -- many breeders suggest specific pups based on what qualities people are looking for), they know within plenty of time to make sure you go home with a smooth and not a rough.

Didn't know smooth haired chows existed! They're... more attractive than I thought they'd be.

Yeah! They're recognized and shown to the same standard as the rough ones. I think they're just as pretty, too.

 

[grab]

If you like the Chow temperament and just don't want to do the extensive grooming, the smooth coat is a great variety to look into I have both coat varieties and Goose is so much less time consuming in the grooming aspect. Both are fabulous, of course.

 

[Snowcone]

Try asking your local animal shelters or looking on Petfinder.com for Chow mixes. I know in the shelter i volunteer at, there was a Chow mix named Chowder and her Pup Oyster. Chowder was a golden-chow mix and had the looks of a chow but with sliky and not as thick fur. Oyster was a cute little bugger that looked like his mom but with black fur. When you petted him he only left a few small black hairs on your hand unlike his mom who gave off clumps. Shelter dogs are always the best! ~Alice​

 

[Keechak]

Smooth coated chows still shed a lot but their coats are easier to care for.