The coarse-haired Chow Chow is a small, compact, square-looking dog. The tail is carried arched on the back. The inside of the mouth and tongue are blue/black. There are two types of fur – coarse and soft, and a wide range of colors, black, red, blue, tan, cream or white.
The coat of a Chow Chow is dense and straight. The coarse variety has a rough texture, is stout, and does not have an excessive length, while the lower layer is soft and woolly. Around the neck and on the back of the thighs, the hair is thicker. This coarse coat requires daily care. The soft coat is shorter and requires grooming two or three times a week.
So will Chow Chows Shed?
Their shedding periods can occur 2-3 times a year, and you need to be careful during these periods to avoid filling your home with hair. Most of the time these dogs prefer their owner to do the grooming, rather than being subjected to professional care.
You might also like my articles on the shedding of Bull Terriers and German Shorthaired Pointers, and on whether poodles bark.
When they are puppies, their fur grows very quickly and without a daily brush, it will tangle very easily. The transition from a puppy to an adult coat takes several months. An adult’s fur is easier to maintain, but it will take an hour or two a week to brush it in order to look good.
Are Chow Chows hypoallergenic?
Both adult and puppy Chow Chows shed abundantly, but they are often considered hypoallergenic. It is true that it is not easy to live with a chow chow if you are allergic to dog hair, but it is possible.
In reality, there is no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog. In order to minimize your allergy symptoms, you should groom it frequently, remove the hair from the brush, and of course vacuum the floor, the carpets, the sofas, all the places that its hair might get to. In this way, you will diminish your contact with the chow chow’s shedding fur.
How do I stop my Chow Chow from shedding?
Chow-Chow dogs are quite difficult to groom when it comes to their fur, and for this reason, they require more attention and time to care for it than other breeds of dogs.
Brushing is essential for maintaining the health of the fur, and it should be done at least 2 times a week. The coat of Chow-Chow dogs is very thick, with an underlayer, and therefore it requires special care, as incorrect brushing may lead to its destruction.
The puppies’ fur should be brushed with persistence, especially during the period when the underlayer changes to the adult fur. In order for them not to get tangled, it is advisable to use two types of brushes, one with rare teeth and one with thick teeth.
You can’t stop a dog from shedding, not even a chow chow, but many owners choose to trim the fur during this season. You can also diminish the shedding effects, as I wrote above, by grooming the chow chow every day and vacuuming all of your household.
Why you shouldn’t trim a Chow Chow’s fur
- The fur protects the dog from dust. A trimmed Chow Chow that is walking outside during summer through dusty trails or mud can develop irritation of the skin because microbes settle directly on the skin without the defense of the fur.
- The fur protects the dog from external parasites (fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, etc.). A trimmed Chow can be attacked more easily by parasites.
- Their fur protects them from the sun. When you trim a Chow Chow and then expose it for a long time directly to sunlight it can burn its skin, just like a man who stays at the beach all day long (because the Chow Chow’s skin is not used to being exposed directly to the outside environment)
- The dog does not have sweat glands, through which he can sweat and thus cool, except in the paws’ cushions. A Chow Chow can only cool down in two ways. One, through its tongue. The main fan of the body is the tongue, through which blood circulates to the surface, cooling due to strong breathing and thus lowering body temperature. This explains why dogs breathe in the summer with their tongue pulled out of their mouths to ventilate. The second way to cool down is through the cushions, which sweat, thus cooling the skin and blood which circulate to the internal organs.
The arguments against trimming a Chow Chow might be based on the fact that this breed has double fur, made of outer hair, and a soft and fluffy underlayer.
As the hot summer approaches, the Chow Chow begins to shed, mainly to lose the underlayer that is no longer needed during summer.
So, during hot summers, a Chow Chow loses its underlayer used for cold weather and, generally, keeps only the thick, shiny outer fur, specially made to retain as little heat as possible from the sun rays and protect its light skin.
Why do chow chows shed?
In addition to shedding, hair loss can also be caused by vitamin and mineral deficiencies, especially in growing puppies where the need for these elements is essential. Therefore, it is advisable to give your dog vitamin-mineral supplements to support not only the dermis and the fur but the entire body, which is quite in a demand during this period.
Another cause of excess fur loss is food. Chow-Chow dogs are sensitive, and inadequate feeding can lead to many problems, including hair loss. Feed your dog with commercial products specifically designed for its size and age, but also consult a veterinarian.
If you feed it homemade food, avoid preparing it as for human consumption. Avoid oils, spices, apart from salt, which should also be in moderate amounts and foods that are fried. The food should only be cooked by boiling, and the water in which the meat is boiled should be thrown away because it contains most of the fat. It is ideal to use rice mixed with chicken/beef/fish and vegetables such as carrot, celery, and bell pepper. When offering this type of diet, it is mandatory to supplement it with vitamin-mineral supplements.
During the shedding period, you can relatively limit the fall of the fur by using the methods listed above. With patience, however, you can significantly reduce the problem. The first thing you can do is brush the Chow Chow as often as possible.
