The Chows Page  Updated: May 7, 2004  Please note: All pictures are Copyright (c) 1986-1998 Dave Meckanic. All Rights Reserved. The next two pictures are the dogs, Ceasar and Cleopatra. These are Chow Chows. As I understand it a dog bred in China to be a companion in some cases and a staple food in others. How anyone could eat a dog I'll probably never understand, but then again, if it was the only food source, I suppose hunger could push one to extreme limits.... anyway, enough of that.... Chows were primarily used by the Chinese as pets and utility hunting dogs. The were generally kept in small packs of 4 to 6 animals and used to hunt and kill tigers, some types lions and bears. From what I have seen of Cleo's hunting skills, I wouldn't want to be a bear. Cleo is a Silky Haired Chow and extremely intelligent. Ceasar on the other hand is a Coarse Haired Chow and has the IQ of lumber. When you look at his eyes and you really can't tell if anyones home, but he is pretty. It was taking Cleo an innordinate amount of time for her to train him to make puppies... and he still can't get it right! Chows have purple tongues, medium length hair with a mane around the neck and retractable claws like a cat...they also seem to clean themselves like a cat. Their claws can get so sharp and large that they can easily rip through leather, as has been done a number of times with my coats and vests....but as well, they can be incredibly affectionate and are very protective of my son and daughter. They take a long time to get used to people other than the family and if anyone ever broke in, I would expect to have to pay steam cleaners to attempt to fix the mess.   Cleo(patra), is an 8 year old purebred Chow. She weighs about 65 pounds, mainly black with slight red trim. Not show quality, but she is very well trained, does many tricks and is an excellent watchdog and house protector. Personally, I think she is the best dog I have ever had. Like all Chows she is very independent and basically a one person/family dog. She don't take no crap from strangers . As I said, I was hoping, Cleo would breed with Ceasar (behind her and in the next picture) but she never did. She walks around the house and kills mice in the fall for fun, cats when they stray into her territory and I have seen her stand on her hind legs, sneak up and bite birds in half in small trees. This is (Julius) Ceasar.....little monster that he is. He is about 12 weeks old in this picture, he was born July 30, 1997. He may turn out to be show quality, not sure yet, but like Cleo, he is a purebred Chow. He is starting to show his independance, but does usually come when called. He is outdoors trained allready, luckily he has a good example in Cleo. When he first came, there was a fight for territory, and it was finished quickly. Even though Cleo is in charge for now, I thought this would change. Bad news, Ceaser died on May 10, 2002 due to complications with anethestetic He had been diagnosed with autoimmune diseases (Pemphigus Follacia) which were causing cancer lesions all over his body. He was about to go on Imuran, an immuno-suppresant drug. He died peacefully during his biopsy and now resides in his urn on top of my mantle. But I miss him and wonder how he would be today if he hadn't died. His disease was apparently very painful, made him grouchy in the end, and he was losing his sight and the small amount of mental faculties that he had. And then there is Kyra... a little purebred Lhasa Apso. One of the only dog breeds Chows seem to get along with. The kids were quite upset the day Ceasar died, so impulsively, I went out and got them this monster. She doesn't act like a female dog, she rough houses with Cleo almost constantly. As you can see, she is also my drinkin' buddy. She smiles a lot at the bar and prefers small amounts of beer rather than hard liquor ;-) But she does make a damn good advertisement for Cueva Vieja Tequila!        for dropping by !