Yesterday I became a temporary Step-Mom to a Golden-Chow mix from a local Golden Rescue Group. He is 4yrs old and was surrendered by the owner who'd kept him tied to a tree most of the time. The dog was fed and cared for by neighbors who eventually talked the owner into giving him up. He has recently learned to walk on a leash and sit within a matter of days. We taught him to shake last night and by noon today, he had it mastered. He loves to snuggle, belly rubs, wags his tail so hard it almost knocks him over, follows us everywhere.

This dog is the sweetest, most loving and eager to please dog I have ever met. The problem is that my husband and I are concerned about the "Chow" part in him and future problems we might face. I am unfamiliar with Chows, have tried to do some unbiased research, and keep getting mixed answers. I don't want to "label" as a potential problem just because he's part Chow but can't help but feel a bit nervous about him.

We brought him home last night and he has been an angel to both of us, although when I walked him this morning, he was a bit aggressive to a female Golden across the street. With male dogs, he seems curious but easy enough to handle - with her, he was pretty crazed. He's not fixed so I'm not sure if that's a part of it either (I'm used to having female dogs so this whole guy thing is new to me). Can you train to stop that reaction from a dog, or are there certain breeds that may always have that aggressive instinct no matter what? (I hope that doesn't sound stupid but I just don't know.)

My kids are coming home tonight from visiting relatives and we are going to see how he reacts to them before we make a final decision to keep him or not. As I mentioned, he is truly a loveable dog and really deserves to finally have a good life and be loved. Any help or feedback you could provide would really help us in making this decision.

Thanks!

My dog is a pit bull/chow mix. I got her at 2.5 months old from the Asheville Humane Society here in N.C. I have never had the first problem out of her as far as being aggressive or aloof with humans. She loves EVERYONE, and I'm in the process of getting her certified in therapy work now. She just turned 2 in February.

You can't let certain beliefs or ignorant comments influence you. For example, pit bulls are one of the best family dogs. They're excellent with people and many of them make poor guard dogs unless poorly bred or poorly cared for because they are naturally human-friendly. They were bred to be dog-aggressive, yes; but a pit bull should never be aggressive towards people. That's an example of bad breeding, bad raising, and ignorance.

I wouldn't worry about the dog having chow in him. Most likely the traits of the golden will override the catlike traits of many chows. There are chows out there that act just like the labs and goldens that everyone has, you know; not all of them attach so strongly to one person that they dislike everyone else. You just have to evaluate them on a dog by dog basis. You can't just put them into a stereotype.

Oh, and having him neutered will help with the so-called aggression towards female dogs. It might not have been aggression; she could have been in heat and he wanted to get to her and got mad because you wouldn't let him.

And yes, some breeds are predisposed to be aggressive towards other dogs/animals (see my reference to pit bulls above). Shar-pei's fall into this category, as do Jack Russells, Airedales, Akitas, Malamutes, Mastiffs, Australian Cattle Dogs, Basenji's, Bedlington Terriers, Chihuahuas, Dobermans, Fox Terriers, Schnauzers, Irish Terriers, Karelian Bear Dogs, Lakeland Terriers, Manchester Terriers, and even Yorkies.

Terriers are very high-strung dogs, and they have to be tenacious to do what they were bred to do. They were bred to go down into rat holes, fox holes, and even badger holes and attack the rat, fox, badger, or whatever out.

Thanks for your responses, Kristen. Yes, I am trying not to stereotype the dog because of the Chow in him and I really do appreciate your feedback.

So far, he has not shown any aggression towards me, my husband, or my daughter. He has been very loving and eager to please, although he did do one beck of a bolt last night when we took him with us (off leash, stupid me) to take out the trash. My husband hasn't run that fast in 20 years! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I have noticed quite a bit of submission in him, cowering down and rolling over on his back sometimes. I try to reassure him that he is a good dog, and feel sorry for him and the sad life me must've had before he was rescued.

When you got your pit/chow, was it a pup? If not, how did you accept the dog having an unknown past and become comfortable with it? My other dogs were always adopted as pups and we had them until the day they died. This new guy is 4 y/o and comes with a past of serious abuse and neglect. I have concerns that something may come out eventually, yet know that right now there's no way to know that.

We want to rescue one of the many good dogs out there that needs a loving, safe home, but the unknown bothers me. Normal or paranoid?