History
Recent DNA analysis confirm that this breed is one of the oldest dog breeds. Research indicates it is one of the first primitive breeds to evolve from the gray wolf, and is thought by many to have originated in the arid steppes of northern China/Mongolia, although other theorists conjecture that its origin is in Siberian regions of Asia. A Chinese bas-relief from 150 BCE shows a hunting dog and a dog very friendly toward children similar in appearance to the Chow Chow. Later, Chow Chows were bred as general-purpose working dogs for hunting, herding and protection of the home. The black tongued Chow Chow was also bred for human consumption. Some scholars claim the Chow Chow was the original ancestor of the Samoyed, Norwegian Elkhound, Pomeranian, and Keeshond.
In the United States, the Chow Chow was a highly popular pet among the rich and famous during the Roaring Twenties. President Calvin Coolidge and his wife owned a black Chow Chow named Timmy. Chow Chows were also popular in the 1930s and 1980s.
Read more about this topic: Chow Chow
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Free from public debt, at peace with all the world, and with no complicated interests to consult in our intercourse with foreign powers, the present may be hailed as the epoch in our history the most favorable for the settlement of those principles in our domestic policy which shall be best calculated to give stability to our Republic and secure the blessings of freedom to our citizens.”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)
“The history of men’s opposition to women’s emancipation is more interesting perhaps than the story of that emancipation itself.”
—Virginia Woolf (1882–1941)
“A man acquainted with history may, in some respect, be said to have lived from the beginning of the world, and to have been making continual additions to his stock of knowledge in every century.”
—David Hume (1711–1776)