What do you think about mixed breed dogs? They have enjoyed a roller coaster ride vacillating between popularity and disdain.
The Victorian Age saw a coming of age of the purebred along with its elevated status.
Subsequent generations would exhibit snobbery against so-called mongrels and mutts in prosperous times and revert to the good old standby when purebreds became too expensive.
Designer dogs skyrocketed both the demand and status of certain mixed breeds. The Rottweiler-Chow mix, although it seems an unlikely match, is one of these designer breeds.
Like most hybrids, first-generation results are somewhat unpredictable. However, fitting characteristics within the parameters of each contributing breed, you can reasonably expect a medium-large, loyal, protective dog.
Furthermore, your Rottie-Chow will most likely be black and tan with medium-long thick fur, a powerful and compact body, drop ears, a broad head, and a moderately short muzzle.
When you imagine a mixed breed dog, a rottweiler chow mix may never cross your mind. However, a Rottie-Chow is a viable alternative to a classic purebred as a loyal and protective family companion.
Where did the Rottweiler Chow Mix come from?
It is unclear who bred the first Rottweiler Chow mix or why. It is easy to speculate that the first owners wanted a reliable guard dog. Maybe they want additional plushness in the Rottie or a black and tan Chow Chow.
The breed most likely arrived in significant numbers after the peak of the designer dog craze in the 1990s.
It is still a relatively uncommon mix. Enough interest is present that there are a few second-generation crosses.
Rottweilers are German-based with a Roman heritage
The Rottweiler is an old breed. Historians believe the Rottie’s ancestors were Molosser war dogs that had branched into war Mastiffs and livestock guardians. Livestock guardians likely branched again to give rise to herding dogs.
When Romans invaded Germany, they brought their cattle and the dogs that herded them along. Rotties were drovers, meaning they mostly prodded cattle forward from behind at a casual pace.
They snapped at their heels or pushed them with their bodies to keep them organized and help them maintain pace with their tenders.
Rotties, unlike other dog breeds, could control cattle by establishing a dominant relationship over the lead animal.
In Rottweil, Germany, Rotties maintained their duties of driving cattle to market and hauling carts of butchered meat. Owners soon discovered the knack these dogs had for guardian valuables.
Facing extinction in the 1830s when the railroad overtook their jobs, the Rottweiler found a role on the police force and in the military during World War I. They have maintained their strong work drive and versatility.
Chows are an ancient Chinese breed
Chows originated from indigenous Chinese dogs around 6700 BC. They belong to the East Asian group of dogs, classified as a basal breed or one of the earliest descendants of the gray wolf.
Chows developed as a sporting breed during a period when humans were becoming more agricultural.
Chows would take on additional diversity as their owners used them to pull sleighs, herd livestock, and guard their property as well as hunt. They became a prominent and distinct breed 2,000 years ago.
During the Tang Dynasty, Chows guarded the rich Imperial palace and hunted. Chows retained their original noble purpose after the end of the Tang Dynasty only in monasteries and among those who could afford to keep them in luxury.
Poverty drove widespread farming of the dogs for meat and pelts, although such practice likely existed to a lesser extent earlier.
However, they received their name from the term the English applied to ship cargo and not the practice of eating them.
The English did not make fare of dogs but looked at the Chow as an exotic novelty and kept it much like a wild animal exhibit. Chow Chows started commanding the show circuits in England in 1879 and in America in the early 1900s.
What does a Rottweiler Chow Mix look like?
You can guess what most Rottie-Chows will look like based on the physical characteristics of their parents.
A Rottweiler is a bear of a dog
Rotties are large, the males standing 24 to 27 inches tall and weighing 100 to 130 pounds. Females are usually significantly smaller at a maximum of about 110 pounds and 22 to 25 inches tall at the shoulders.
The Rottie is an impressive dog without being as massive as some of its close relatives such as the Great Dane. She has a broad and deep chest with powerful legs and a frame that is almost square.
The head is also broad with wide-set eyes, medium triangular ears that sit high and fold over, and a slightly shortened wide muzzle.
Rotties have an efficient ground-reaching springy trot and a barrelling gallop. Where permissible, they have a short docked tail.
Otherwise, the tail is rather full and hangs just below the level of the hock with slight feathering towards the tip. Dogs carry their tails in a slight curve over the back when working or excited.
Rottweilers are black and tan without exception. tan exists in stereotypical points above the eyes, on the chest, along the cheeks, down the lower limbs, and inside under the tail.
A Chow is more than a Teddy bear
Chows are much smaller than Rottweilers but their relatively large heads and massive thick coats make a visual impact just the same.
Often compared to lions, Chows have a large skull with rather small upright ears, a short face, and deep-set eyes.
Their double coat is long and very dense with a ruff of thicker hair around the neck that resembles a mane.
Furthering the lion dog image, many owners manage the coat by shaving it in the summer leaving it long on the head and neck, the tip of the tail, and lower legs.
A chow is compact, square in shape, and strong. The curl pattern of the tail is tight and against the dog’s back. Chows are quite unique among dogs with a blue-black tongue, 44 teeth, and straight hocks.
These traits are more reminiscent of bears than wolves. While athletically built, Chows have a characteristic stilted gait because of their hocks.
Colors
There are only a few acceptable colors for the Chow Chow.
- Solid black
- Blue – Blue is a result of a dilution gene that acts on black pigment; Gray Chows are not acceptable. Blue is a color that the ancient monasteries perfected in the breed, and blue Chows largely stayed in China until 1937.
- White – Likely the result of a gene that suppresses the expression of brown or red pigmentation; White dogs can be white to cream to honey
- Red – A most common color
Rottweiler Chow Mix can be pretty standard in appearance
The Rottie-Chow will retain a square and powerful build from both parents. He will likely be smaller than the purebred Rottweiler, around 23 to 24 inches tall and 50 to 100 pounds.
Rottweiler Chow mixes will have a full tail that is slightly curlier than a Rottweiler’s. The mix will also have semi-prick medium-sized ears, a medium-long dense double coat, a rather short snout, and wide-spaced intelligent eyes.
Keep in mind the description applies to a balanced sharing of traits from both parents. Most will be a little to one side of the middle. For example, your dog may have shorter or longer fur than the average mix or may have a straighter tail.
A few individuals will look just like a Rottie or identical to a black and tan chow. Second- and third-generation mixes will begin to look more like one parent or another depending on what the breeder is selecting for.
Briefly, a next-generation dog is a Rottweiler Chow mix that the fancier breeds back to a purebred Rottie or Chow or is a cross that breeds with another cross.
Why is your Rottweiler Chow Mix likely to be black and tan
Color hereditary in dogs is a complicated matter even when dealing with purebreds. You may be wondering why most Rottie Chow mixes would be black and tan? Black and tan are not a very dominant color patterns in dogs.
However, in Rottweilers, it is the only gene choice they have. The Black and tan color appears dominant to the red that is so common in chows. And it is dominant to white, blue, and solid black.
Dogs require recessive genes to appear in both parents for that color to show up. Since there are no white, blue, or solid black Rotties, presumably a Rottweiler parent of a Chow mix would not be able to carry these genes. The dominant black and tan gene will prevail except in a rare mutation.
Socialization is key to a well-mannered Rottweiler Chow Mix
Despite their similar reputations for viciousness, Rotties are different in many ways as they are the same in many features of their personalities.
Are Rottweiler Chow Mix dangerous dogs?
When you consider both the Rottweiler and Chow share the qualities of loyalty, protectiveness, and coolness towards strangers, you might conclude the Rottweiler Chow mix would be a dangerous dog.
Unsocialized Rottweilers can be either shy and anxious fear biters or aggressors that use no discretion or inhibition in their attacks. Chow
Chows who remain sheltered as puppies grow up unfriendly. All dogs require socialization, but your mixed-breed puppy needs exposure to lots of people and places to avoid an overdeveloped and indiscriminate guarding instinct and unprovoked biting.
Your hybrid should be calm and watchful with strangers but likely will inherit quite a bit of aloofness from the Chow.
Your goal is a well-rounded dog that will accept guests over time and will only act overtly aggressive with real threats.
Despite the fact that any dog can be dangerous, be aware that many states, countries, and localities have breed-specific bans.
These bans apply to dogs of mixed heritage if the contributing breeds are on the specific lists. Bans can affect where you live with your dog.
Are Rottweiler Chow Mix hybrids intelligent?
While your dog will be very smart, she will probably not be among the easiest to train. Rotties rank #9 in working intelligence compared to #76 for the Chow Chow according to a Petrix’s quote of the research of renowned canine psychologist Stanley Coren.
Your puppy could be one of the two extremes, but if she fell in the middle would be about as trainable as a Samoyed. Expect the strong independence of the Chow and dominance tendencies from both parent breeds.
How much exercise does Rottweiler Chow Mix Need?
Although you may not think about it much, Chows are a brachycephalic breed. Their ever-shortening muzzles make it difficult for them to breathe normally, and they suffer from the heat.
Despite their thick coats, their short faces make them less adaptable to the cold than some of their Northern relatives like the Akita. Nevertheless, they require 30 to 45 minutes of exercise daily.
Contrary to Chows, Rottweilers have tremendous stamina and require two or more hours of exercise every day.
Your Rott-Chow mix should get an hour to ninety minutes of daily exercise with over 40% dedicated to strenuous activities. You also need to make sure you set a potion aside for training and socialization.
Even when your pup grows up, training and mental stimulation are crucial.
Although your mix will tolerate the cold well, avoid exercising in conditions above 85 degrees Fahrenheit and humidity above 15%.
Are Rottweiler Chow Mix good guard dogs
Both Rottweilers and Chows have a long heritage of guarding mostly property. their loyalty has extended their ability to guard people in their families as well. Your cross will protect you and your family without any special training.
You can expect many dogs to come into their own and start displaying effective guarding instincts by the age of two years, although some aggressive expressions such as growling and barking may begin as early as six to eight months old.
Are Rottweiler Chow Mix good with children?
Your mix will be good with children in the family as long as you socialize with him. Rottie-Chow mixes are likely to act against strange children the same way they do against strangers in general.
Since small kids have body language and behavior that may seem foreign or even offensive to dogs, your Rottie-Chow may show more aggression against youths than he normally would against unfamiliar people.
What about Rottweiler Chow Mix and other pets?
Because o their size and the fact that Chows found extensive use in hunting, Rottie-Chows are not trustworthy around small animals, including little dogs and cats.
Every dog is an individual, but the general makeup of the mix is not a good match with unfamiliar dogs either, especially of the same gender.
How to keep a healthy Rottweiler Chow Mix
Rottie-chows are prone to the same health problems as either of the purebred parents.
- Hip dysplasia
- Elbow dysplasia
- Obesity
- Heart problems Dilative cardiomyopathy of Rottie; Large heart, this walss
- Bone cancer – Rottweilers
- Entropion – Both breed; Eyelids roll inward
- Skin infections – Chow
- Luxating patella – Chow
- GDV – Rottie – The stomach can swell and twist leading to heart irregularities and imbalances in electrolytes
How to feed your Rottweiler Chow Mix
Chows need between 300 and 500 calories per day while an active Rottie may need close to 2000. During early times, people selected Chow Chows or their efficient metabolism.
Plan on feeding your Rottie-Chow about 800 to 1400 calories per day depending upon activity level and how easy she keeps weight on.
This works out to about two to four cups daily of high-quality food for a 50 to a 70-pound dog.
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