Chow chows are a breed of dog. Identification is easy. They are on the large side of medium, stocky and square. They have a huge, thick coat of hair, a black tongue, a short snout and their tail usually curls up over their back. They are alledgedly the oldest recognized breed of dog, via China about three thousand years ago. The story goes that they were once bred to protect Chinese nobles, and that would explain their fixative loyalty: If you raise a chow, it will love you in an aloof way, but it will react very agressively to anyone who ain't in the family. May God have mercy on your soul if you break into a house with a resident chow chow. On a personal note, my girlfriend owns a chow, and to tell you the truth, I'd prefer it if she owned a crocodile. They are fairly intelligent and can be trained well by a firm hand. Georgia O'Keeffe was an avid fan of this breed.