New-York tribune., 1918-03-17
Exhibition Will Be Held in
Big Hotel Here Next
Month
By ]. S. Mitchell


here. Although the breed has enjoyed
official recognition from the Westmin-
ster Kennel Club Cor the last fifteen
years there has never been a special
exhibit, and the fanciers thought 1T
was about time some definite move was
made toward gathering a little more
popularity for this attractive and COM
panionable dog.
Prior to 1908 very little was known
of the Chow, and what was shown as
specimens of thc h""-i figured chiefly
u miscellaneous classes, and was re-
garded as more or less of curiosity,
for the general run of fanciers and
others were led to believe that the dog
was raised in China principally to sup
ply chow steaks and chops for the
table, and that only the ultra-wealthy
in the Monaghan empire enjoyed these
table dainties.
Whether or not this reputed feature
of Chow existence Is true has never
been established, and neither has it
been very emphatically contradlcted,
but the idea has gradually diminished
among the general followers Of the
canine race. In the Westminster Ken
mel Club catalogue of 1901 Chow or
two of what was supposed to be pure
specimens OIL the OOS WSIe SAeCA CNs Wv
they were afterward found to be un-
worthy of the title, although they did
happen to be brought from China.
Proctor First to Show Chow
To Charles f. Proctor belongs the
credit OF showing the first real Chow
in America, IN 1903. He was followed
by John Z. Adams, who has for years
been the foremost fancier of the breed
H. oe <h1
show in Madison Square Garden Mrs.
John z. Adams showed Champion Lord
Cholmondeley II, dog with an un-
beaten record up to that time, and
even then he gave Champion Yuey
close rub in the winners class Tor
dogs.
After a long study of the points Of
these two dogs John Richardson. the
Judge, gave the rosettc to Yuey, Lord
Cholmondeley II, whose picture is
shown here, getting the reserve. "A
Young dog which attracted lot OF at
tention in the novice class was Nippon
owned by Mrs. William Fitzgerald.
1t is nearly thirty-five years since
the first specimens of this dog began
to appear in England, and they were
all imported from China. The forma-
tion of the Chow-Chow Club did lot
toward the Standardization of the
breed. which, after only a few years,
took it's class beside the poodle as a
popular companion. 1t has the one tralt
which always recommends it to the
woman fancier above all other pets, and
that is it knows only one mistress.
II will grow attached to one mistress,
or master for that matter, and will
not divide its affection, giving atten-
ton now to one and afterward to some
one else. 1t remains the most constant
slave of whoever happens to gain ITS
favor, and no amount OF coaxing by
others will succeed in diminishing Its
devotion. To the general observer the
Chow is "stand offish" sort of dog,
but such conduct is far from the genlai
instinct of the representative from
China.
No foreign dog ever imported into
England or America has thrived better
than the Chow. On the whole, they
are hardy and capable of undergoing
a great amount of hardship. One thing
peculiar about the Chow is that 1T IS
easy enough to discern the specimens
produced in England or the United
States from the ones imported direct
from China. AS a general rule, those
seen here and on the other side of
the Atlantic are solid red, while the
importations show a sort of graylsh-
white breeching on the inside of the
legs.
Forty-Pound Dogs Best Formed
1t is largely matter of fancy what
size a Chow might be, but it has been
found that dogs weighing between
forty and fifty pounds as a general
rule show the best conformation as to
coat, head marking, body, legs and
other points.
When the Chow began to earn no.
h. ~~1l eh LA Oto~
of the coat came in for lot of criti-
cism, and as to what might be accepted
as the most fashionable caused unlm-
tied concern among the connoisseurs.
Many were of the opinion that the red
should be accepted as the standard, but
not q few favored the yellow, fawn,
black and white, while, of course, the
real dyed-in-th -thewool students had it
that the blue was the most beautiful
and should be given precedence above
all others.
AS sort Of extra point of beauty in
the blue Chows, it was said the really
correct shade should show that the
backs of the thighs should be lighter
hue, and that the under side of the tail
should be the same shade as the thighs
A dog correctly marked according to
these points at the present time is as
rare as the dodo. although it has been
SI"AHhctl ny SOME DTccOeIS or the OCHer
side that they have produced dogs
marked on these lines.
One point Of the Chow which the
modern judge of the bench show looks
into most critically is the coat. and, ir-
respective Of all other markings, a
good coat will 20 a long way toward
securing the winning RIBBON. There
arc two kinds of coats-the rough and
sfnooth-the former being the most
popular.
Rough Coat Should Be Dense
When Of the right texture the rough
coat should be dense, straight and
rather coarse to the touch. and with a
soft woolly undercoat. Toward the
neck it should be prolonged into frill
and to induce these features the coat
should always be brushed the wrong
way, or against the grin. In the smooth
variety the Chow's coat should be per
fectly fiat, and smooth
Next 70 the coat the head ia the
important point of the Chow, and 10
conform to orthodox lines it should bo
broad and fiat with broad muzzle. a
tFrdercf 10 Darrowness in the latter
point being defect The muzzle should
De blunt and the nostrils broad The
he.N should be rather short, with the
taii well curied over the back.
Diaquaiifying. points in Chow arc
red nostrils, red tongue and droopino
cars. What is styled as the cat-foot i,
accepted AZ the correct thing in the fee,
Of the CHOW, and the legs should be oi
fair length and perfectly straight
k<t, .tl