The standard is listed with comments and pictures in the Norwegian Section - main comments to the standard are in the Article about the Chow Judge conference in Norway. 

Any article here written by me, you might use, provided you mention me as the author.

Chows in Norway, written in 1999. 

From 1999:

CHOW CHOWS IN NORWAY

by Mona K Selbach

The first Chow Chows came to Norway as early as in the 1880’s with sailing-ship captains and ship-owners. There is no record of any breeding from these animals. The first known Norwegian litters were born in Oslo between 1935-40. The parents were apparently imported from England, among others carrying the Rochow prefix. We know that a dog, registered as bbeing "yellow", was exported from Norway to Sweden. His name was Cho Sen Peter of Kang Shi, and he was born December 29th, 1935. He became a Swedish Champion, and through exports from Sweden to Norway in the 1960‘s, his lines came backto this country. Trough Chows imported from the Swedish kennel KANSU and others, my breeding line descends from Ch Cho Sen Peter of Kang Shi.

There is no record of any Norwegian Chows surviving World War II, so in the 50’s Norway started afresh with imports from England, Holland and, as above mentioned, from Sweden. The most important Chow from England at that time was Int. Nord. Ch. Mairim Ly-Chee. She was mated to a son of Ch. Bbormot Dan-Ul, and the offspring are behind several of Norway’s lines today. The imports from Holland in the beginning of the 60’s included offspring of Tzar of Junggwaw. More imports from England included Ch. Minhow Marathon, Baytor Black Dahlia and offspring from Swed. Ch. Jason of Junggwaw, owned by the Kansu kennel in Sweden. From 1970 the most important imports from England to Norway came from the Tanlap, Miyun, Baytor and Nashetna kennels.

In 1977 the Norwegian Chow Chow Club (NCCK) was established. Earlier, the breed was organised in the Norwegian Polar Dog Club, where the breed obviously did not fit in. NCCK has branches in different regions of Norway. At one time the club had more than 600 members, today there are approx. 300 members and the number of registrations for the breed has dropped from approximately 300 to less than 100 Chow Chow puppies per year.

The most influential English import to Norway in recent time was Int. N S Ch. Perlrema Trikki Tom, born Oct. 9, 1984. He was bred by Mrs Maureen Lynch, but being a son of Ch Tomboy of Hanoi x Hanoi Dancing Doll he was a full-blooded Hanoi. He won the Group at the Norwegian Kennel Club (NKK) winner show under Bobby James just one year old. He also won all breeds Best in Show awards, and the Best in Group at one and the same show 3 years running. But he was not just a pretty face; he sired 16 Champions including 4 International Champions. 13 of which had another important import to Norway as grandfather on their mothers’ side; USA import Int. N S Ch. NV-88 Melody’s All American, bred by Judy Tarpley. All American was himself father of 8 champions, including one International champion. The offspring of these two are in their turn mothers and fathers of more than 40 champions in Norway.

In 1981 a smooth Chow Chow puppy came as a surprise from two longhaired Chow Chows at the Lohov kennel. He was black, was named Lohov’s Fiasco, and later became a Norwegian and Swedish champion. Fiasco, by no means a fiasco, ignited the interest for smooth Chow Chows in Norway. Later smooths were imported from the Tanlap and Brosscroft kennels. The C’hengtu kennel also took an interest in smooths. Descending from Fiasco, but born at the C'hengtu kennel and sold to Sweden as a pup, comes the world’s most winning smooth, Int. Nord. Fin. Ch. C’hengtus Golden Nugget. A fine selection of smooths is born in Norway each year, and quite a few have been exported around Europe.

Some cream pups were born in Norway in the beginning of the 70’s, and in 1978 Perkychow Polar Bear, bred by Joan Bennet, was imported to Norway. His offspring, mated to S Ch. Jowtrix Creme Columbo - exported to Sweden by Jack Trick, created a good and solid cream line that has produced, among others, the first International Cream Champion; Int Nord. Ch. Jo-Fu-s Creme Marino. Several creams from these lines have been exported around Europe and even to England.

NCCK’s first speciality show took place in 1978 and was judged by Mrs. Vi. Elsworth. Later on there has been a speciality run by the club itself each year, and the regional branches also run their yearly chows. English judges who have been judging the national club’s yearly show includes Mr Tom Nash, Mr Bill Mascord, Mrs Sheila Jakeman, Mr Rodny Oldham, Mr Maurice Baker, Mrs Iris Bowker, Mr Eric Egerton, Mrs Vi. Elsworth again in 1989 and 1993 - she is the only person to have judged the speciality 3 times, Mr Terry Elsworth in 1996, and Mrs Elaine Cannon in 1998. Mrs Babs Elsworth judged the puppies in 1989, and Mrs Kate Ridding judged the NCCK Open Show in 1998.

Winners trough these years include several English Chows:

N S Ch. Ukwong Spot On and N S Ch. Miyun Ebony Vicomtesse in 1979.

Int. Nord. Ch. Tanlap Tammerglow and Int. Nord. Ch. Lord Julian of Sherivale in 1980.

GB Int. Nord. Ch Ukwong Texson of Taibel in 1983.

Only 3 Chows have won twice:

Int. N S ch NV-88 Melody`s All American in 1990 and 1991,

Int. N S ch Royal Bacardi Oelan Oede (a dutch import with Edlen lines onmothers side) in 1994 and 1995 and

Int. Nord. Fin. Ch. Nord. V-94 Minister Churchill Cathay (with All American and Trikki Tom appearing more than once in his pedigree) in 1996 and in 1998.

English imports to win the award for top winning dog or bitch in Norway since the club was formed in 1977 are:

Int. N S Ch. Perlrema Trikki Tom in 1988, and

N S Ch. Lechan Miss Roseanne in 1993.

Lately, consistent winners of top awards have been:

The blacks Int. N S Ch. Royal Bacardi Oelan Oede and N S Ch. Nord V-98 Lai-Troll’s Rubicon (with N S Ch. Zabanda’s Russ Tee Boy and Ukwong Chow Tyme in his pedigree),  the red Int. Nord. Fin. Ch. Minister Churchill Cathay (with Int. Nord. GB Ch Taibel Texson of Taibel, as well as Nord. Ch Sherivale Harlem Queen, Int. Nord. Ch. Lord Julian of Sherivale, and Trikki Tom as English background, and even further behind, as he is in a lot of pedigrees here in Norway, S Ch. Miyun Ebony Boyse-Too, imported to Norway in 1977).

Int. Nord. Ch. NV-95, SV-95, Nord. V-95 Pei Fang Moving Revelation, a red bitch, has been a constant winner on the bitch side with some of the same blood lines behind her as Lai-Troll`s Rubicon. The last two years have seen Ch Marco Il Sung (with SN ch Zabandas Russ-Tee Boy in his pedigree) owned by the Lai-Troll kennel produce several offspring that havewon top awards.

Others that have made their presence felt by winning all breed Best in Shows are NS Ch Tsingfu’s Yankee Goldbar (All American, Trikki Tom and Royal Bacardi) and NS ch Nordic V-98 Lai Troll`s Rubicon. N Ch Weschow Winston has won a group show, and so has Int. N S Ch. Tsingfu`s Waltzing Mathilda (Trikki Tom and All American).

In the past years there have been some imports from Holland: Int. N S Ch Royal Bacardi Oelan Oede sired 8 champions but died all too early. Private Dancer of the Royal Club has, with a small number of offspring, proved himself a dominant sire with several champion offspring.

The future might look bright for Norwegian Chow Chows. Although only approximately 60 pups are born each year, the last years have witnessed imports from Belgium, Canada, England, Sweden and Denmark. These Chows will put their mark on the Norwegian Chow Chow scene for years to come.

The latest Chow Chow to gain his crown in Norway this year is N S Ch. Jowtrix Red McGuffin, originally exported to Sweden by Jack Trick, but sold early this year to Norway.

In 1987 NCCK published a 10th anniversary book, and again in 1997 a 20th anniversary book was published. The last book contains Chows in Norway before 1977 and after 1987. The books are of course written in Norwegian, but contain a lot of interesting pictures. The books may be obtained from NCCK.

 

Chow Judge Conference in Norway Oct. 2000

NCCK (Norwegian Chow Chow Club)’s breed conference in cooperation with AHF (Authorized Dog judges Association) in Oslo October 12, 2000.

 

NCCK had for a couple of years talked about a new judges conference for Chows. The last conference was in 1990, and although we had given out a new set of comments to the breed standard  in 1997 (first edition came in 1990), an exchange of viewpoints with the breed judges

was probably long overdue.

 

In Norway we are fortunate enough to have AHF where most of the NKK judges are members. This association in cooperation with the different breed clubs, have breed conferences which is very interesting to the experiences judges of the breed in question, but also extremely valuable for judges to be.  Those judges who live more than 100 km away from the  place of the conference get money from NKK to cover some of the expenses.

 

The judges play a very important part in preserving a breed as close to the frame of the standard as possible, and to maintain the breed’s special points as sound as possible within this frame.  If we do not have the judges on our side and make them look at the Chows from our point of view, we as a parent breed club for Chows for instance here in Norway, have not done our jobs properly.  The judges select the winners in the ring, and the winners are those who will be chosen by the breeders to produce the next generation of Chows. Breeders will of course try to put their points forward to the judges, but the judges are the ones who goes abroad judging in several different counties, and thus very often be the ones that bring valuable information and inspiration to the breeders in their own country.  I think that at this stage when the authorities have started to interfere with dog breeding,it will be even more important in the future for the breed clubs to cooperate with the judges  to get Chows that are really sound and still look like Chows according to the standard.

 

Our conference started at 6 P.M. with the invited 12 Chows being presented at the outdoor parking space. All 5 colours were present, as well as several different types.  The AHF had particularly asked us to bring the different colours as some judges find it difficult to know if a Chows is red or fawn, black or blue. All judges evaluated the Chows, and saw them move.  We also talked about the difference in size and balance of the Chows present.

 

All of us then went, including the owners who had brought their Chows to the conference, indoor to have coffee and look at the club`s Breed Compendium.  We had chosen GB Ch King Solomon as “The Chow” to keep in the back of the judge’s minds. The standard was presented together with the Compendium and addition information on overheads.  It turned out to be a very good and informative exchange of views between the 20+ persons present.

 

As a conclusion NCCK and AHF made the following points:

 

1. Balance: Never to forget that the chow is a square breed, and the distance from ground to top of the shoulders can be split in two equal parts: From the shoulders to the elbows, and from the elbows to the ground.  Quite a few of the recent winners are too short on legs (or maybe too long in body ??)
2. Size, dogs 48-56 cm and bitches 46-51.  The problem is not too big Chows, but too small. We know there are Champion bitches in Norway today down to 40 cm, and also male champions around same size.  Teddy bears are cute, but….  We know it is not always easy to measure a dog, specially in outdoor rings where the ground is not level, so we decided on a plus minus 2 cm in relation to the standard as being acceptable. Each Chow, judged in Norway in 2001, is to be measured at every show, and the resulting cm to be put in the written critique. At the end of the year we will know a lot more about size for Chows in Norway.
3. Upper arm/shoulder blade.  To day we find an alarming number of chows having a too short and upright upper arm. Quite a few lack correct angles in the front: upright shoulder blade, too straight upper arm, narrow fronts.  The judges need to be aware of these problems. If the angulations in the front are not correct, the chow will loose his lovely arched neck, and the good solid fronts will be gone forever. It is amazing to see how many of to days Chows with front legs like an upside down V..
4. The typical stilted gait of the Chow is a problem to judges as it is so seldom seen these days, and might be completely lost if we do not pay close attention to it.  And what is true stilted Chow gait? Some judges are inclined to think that lameness is true stilted gait. Chows with too much angels in the hocks (bicycling) seem to appeal a lot to some judges. True stilted gate is when action comes from the hip and the rest of the back leg moves like a pendant.  A Chow moves easy and freely, but has certainly not the drive of a German Shepard. This is definitively not Chow movement.

Kennel Clubs and Authorities in some countries seem to have paid extremely much attention to the Chows’ straight back legs, and seem to have created some sort of a witch hunt on what we in old days used to call “double hocks”.  The reason is, I believe, that lack of angulations in the hocks is blamed for bad knees in Chows We in Norway are happy to say that the NKK’s veterinary expert has told us that the problem with Chows’ knees are decreasing.  We think the breeders are so aware of these problems that they have dealt with them. A witch hunt  for “may be” weak hocks should not be necessary. 

5. One other point we in Norway think need attention, is  trimming of the Chow coat.  Chows are no Poodles, and the standard clearly state that any trimming that alters the dog’s outline or expression are not acceptable. Judges must be aware of the fact that a well trimmed Chow compared to an untrimmed one, can make as much difference as between a trimmed or untrimmed Bichon Frise.  Trimming is an increasing problem.

 

Further judges and Chow owners exchanged views on the breed’s soundness: fertility, blindness, deafness, mentality, entropion and other points that the breeders must consider in their breeding program and which are interesting to the judges as well. The Compendium was sent to all judges not present and also to the new Chow judges to be.

 

How wonderful it would be if Chow people across the borders could come together and discuss Chows and Chow problems .  This book is a super example of teamwork across the borders. Can we extend this further on into World Conferences for Chows?  There were Coventry in –99, there will be Amsterdam in 2002.   I hope we will be able to continue these wonderful events in the years to come.

                                                                                               

Article made for the Canadian Chow Chow Club.

Judging Chows       by  Mona K Selbach.

  I got my first Chow in 1963, showed my first Chow in 1966, bred my first litter in 1972, and finally in 1982, I was passed by the Norwegian Kennel Club to judge Chows at Championship show level.  Today I am passed to award certificates in approx. 50 breeds – with more to come.

Being for many years the only active breeder judge of Chows in Norway, has given me much of the responsibility of teaching other judges about Chows and how to judge them.  We have a unique breed compared to most other breeds in our Spitz Group  (FCI Group 5), and thus it is important to tell the judges what is so special about our breed and how to maintain our breed for the future.

One problem that has come forward, is the Authorities of the Common Market wish to alter everything about the different breeds that they think is abnormal – or not as sound as they, themselves, think it should have been. Which means f. instance Cocker Spaniels might have ear problems, then breeders should try to breed Cockers with standing, not hanging, ears, to give a simple explanation to the problems.   Of course Chows have also caught the eyes of the Authorities, and straight back legs and deep set eyes are their main targets in Chows.  Some judges these days seems to just look at eyes or angles in back legs and forget about the rest of the Chow, although type, and type again, should be their main concern.  If the type is not right, you cannot put up a Chow to win although it might have dry eyes and/or lots of angles in the back legs.  If we loose type, we will loose the Chow, and the result will be a dog that hopefully still has a blue tongue, but apart from that, could be any Spitz breed, for instance a Finnish Spitz.

  I therefore think it is very important for the judges to have a “picture inside the head” of a Chow Chow who can be a sample for what we want a Chow to look like.  For the judges in Norway I have used GB Ch. Ukwong King Solomon as a sample.  Probably quite a few Chows would have been OK to use, but everyone in Norway know about “Solly”s wins.

He has type, size and balance.   And balance is utmost important: depth of body compared to length of legs, length of back, the arched neck, the tail set, strength of head and bone, all add to the overall balance of the Chow.  The Chow should be well built, solid, but not overdone in any direction.

  True Chow Chow gait is really a problem for most judges not used to Chows.  You very often hear judges say: “This and this Chow really moves well”.  Very often I feel that the movement of these special well moving Chows would have been more correct for a German Shepherd than for a Chow. The stilted gait where the action comes from the hip with little action in knee or hock is seldom seen these days, and I really feel the judges have to be very aware of this and do their best to help maintaining this unique characteristic of the breed.

  I think the judges play a very important part when it comes to the future of a breed.  What they put up in the ring to day, will most certainly be the mothers and the fathers of the Chows of tomorrow. Although Chow breeders know what they like and know what they are breeding for, Champions and winner titles are vital to get your studs used and your puppies sold.  It is very important for breed clubs to keep close contact with the judges and inform them about things that need special attention in the ring.   Of course there is the standard to be followed, but I cannot see any harm in the breed clubs helping the judge to fill the frame as correctly as possible.  And the judge in his turn, should report back to the club and breeders if he finds problems that seem to be increasing.

  In Norway today these items are according to the breed club, important for the judges to pay attention to.

* The balance of the Chow.  Quite a few of today’s Chows in Norway have too short legs compared to the length of the body – or too long bodies compared to the length of the legs. But if the body is too long compared to the length of the legs, the Chow would not be up to the size required in the standard.  It is important to the judges to be aware of these problems and choose the well balanced Chow if they otherwise think two exhibits are equal.

*The Chow should an active dog, it is not right when the dog drags himself around the ring.  The Chow has pride and dignity,  you can not achieve this with a “come help me and die” type of Chow.  Exhibitors some times excuse their Chow to me in the ring, and say they are sorry he or she is so lively.  I do not think they should be sorry, they have a happy healthy lively Chow, what is wrong about that!

*The angles in the front and the length of the upper arm. Quite a few Chows today seems to have lost the angles and length of the upper arm, thus you loose the lovely arched neck, the good fronts and the head is carried between the shoulders and not on top of them.

  There will always be points concerning the Chow judging that might be improved, but I feel as long as the judges, clubs and breeders keep in close contact and exchange views and keep a firm eye on the standard, we are on the right track to maintain and maybe improve our beautiful breed.