The Chow Chow is a member of the Spitz group , a family of breeds which are very closely allied and were probably one of the original canine types, the others being the sight hounds and the mastiffs. The Chow Chow is quite definitely a Spitz breed but it must be considered separately from the others for although the Chow Chow also fits into the overall ‘spitz ‘pattern it also has a number of remarkable features that have led palaeontologists to speculate that the breed is an evolutionary accident and has descended from the Llemicyon, which was an intermediate animal between the Cynoelesmus (from which descended the true canids) and Daphoneus, the direct ancestor of the modern bear.
From what historians have been able to piece together, Chow Chows were first used as hunters, guards and war dogs by the nomadic fighting tribes of Mongolia and were first brought into China and Tibet a thousand years before the birth of Christ.
. The ancestor of the Chow was probably established in Mongolia many many years before the evolution of ape-man into homosapiens. Barbaric tribes north of China inavded China and brought with them their war dogs, which were called "mastiff", indicative of their size, power and hunting ability. They were described as "lion-like, large and powerful, and distinguished by black tongues" which legend has it that "the blackness of the mouth was to ward of evil spirits" and such legend enhanced the Chow's reputation as a guard dog of both palaces and monasteries. Records show that China's Emperor Wu Want (1122-1116 BC) was given a large number of these dogs as gifts. These "war dogs" were found to be worthy of the use of man and were highly valued for hunting, herding and guarding. The Chow was also found to be living like royality themselves with the Emperors and noblemen of the time, but they were also use eaten, being raised much like cattle. Marco Polo was the first European person to visit China and write about the Chow in his travel ledger. The name of the breed is commonly supposed to have come from the pidgin English ‘Chow Chow’ which meant ‘miscellaneous cargo’ but it is more likely that the word ‘Chaou’ which means ‘dog of great strength’ is the true derivation. The first reference to the Chow in Britain is in a letter written by Gilbert White to a friend in I78I. These specimens were brought in as zoo animals and it was not until the establishment of dog shows in I859 encouraged the importation of foreign breeds that other references occur.
 

The first appearance of the breed at a show could have been in I876 but the entries were merely described as ‘Chinese Dogs’. It is not until I880 when a dog bred in ‘China, red, purple tongue’, was exhibited that the Chow Chow really arrived. In I88I the Prince of Wales exhibited a Chinese dog called Chang who, from the published critique, was a true Chow Chow and whose owner naturally gave the breed a boost in the right direction.In 1895 the Chow Chow Club was formed and by this time many of the breeders who were responsible for establishing and popularising the Chow Chow were already exhibiting. One dog and one breeder of this time deserve mention. The breeder was Mr. W. R. Temple who not only dominated the breed with his Leyswood prefix for many years but was also responsible for the formation of the Chow Chow Club and the compilation of the Standard. The dog, which was imported by Miss E. Bagshaw, is Chow VIII who was described as ‘the first of the great ones’ and who was the model for the standard of the breed. He was only beaten on two or three occasions at a time when competition was particularly keen.
The breed is unique in its blue tongue and stilted gait. The movement of the hind legs is the result of an almost straight hock which has a pendulum movement rather than the up-and-down movement of other breeds. It is said that the purpose of this is for easy movement in snow, the rear parts being used to flick the snow out of the way as the foot moves through the snow instead of the leg having to travel up and out of the snow before it can move forward. I am not convinced about this one but certainly many of the Spitz breeds have a little of this look about their movement, although not as much as the Chow Chow. However, this should not prevent a Chow Chow having movement which is straight and free.
An ancient folk tale of China explains that the Chow Chow got his blue tongue by picking up the scraps of sky that dropped to the earth while the stars were being set in their places. The breed is rich in folklore and history and has been bred true for many hundreds of years. It deserves the high place it has attained in the world of dogs. The Chow Chow is not every man’s pet but its marked individual characteristics appeal to many and once you have been owned by a Chow Chow you are unlikely to transfer your allegiance to another breed.