I'll admit, I'm a tad late in posting about this, considering I got my dog at the end of April 2019. It's something I've been continuously putting off but have always wanted to do. I've wanted to share the euphoria I felt during that first week/month/year of being a full-fledged dog owner, as well as the struggles and lessons along the way. So without further ado, let's get to it!

About a year and a half ago, my boyfriend (now fiancé) and I were going to watch End Game the movie. Right before that, I had scheduled to meet with a Chow Chow breeder who had posted an ad on kijiji for the sale of some Chow puppies. My intention was just to see some cute puppies in person to get a feel for what Chows were like, as I had never actually interacted with one before. Also, Chow ads in the Greater Vancouver area were really rare; this was the first time I had come across one. Leading up to this, we had been casually bringing up wanting to get a dog one day and we had compromised on a Chow. (My first preference was a Pug, and his was a German Shepherd.) At this point we had even tossed around potential names for if we ever did get a dog - Congee McGregor (after the UFC fighter) being one of them.

When we met up with the breeder, she had two puppies with her, and that was all she had left. One was considerably bigger than the other, and they were brothers from the same litter. They were adorable. We fell in love right away with the bigger, more playful one and decided right then and there to actually buy him. It was SUCH an impulsive purchase, to be honest. We told the breeder we would meet back with her after the movie to pick up our new dog. Needless to say, we could not really focus on the movie, but it wasn't as great as expected anyway.

After the movie, we picked up our dog from the breeder and from that point on, he was officially our son, Congee! We quickly got some pet supplies from a nearby pet store and brought him home. He was super nervous the entire time (during the car ride, he puked...a LOT) and he pooped right as he walked into our home. For the first two days, he was nervous around us. He would often hide and sleep in the washroom (out of our sight). However, he warmed up to us on the third day and seemed much more comfortable with his new territory. He would run back and forth repeatedly (what experienced dog owners call "zoomies") and nip at everything in sight (due to growing teeth discomfort). Some of our drywall and coffee table got completely destroyed, and I'm not even being dramatic.

Congee was born on Feb 14, 2019. We brought him in for neutering in October 2019, way after the six-month mark and after all his baby teeth had fallen out. He calmed down considerably after the neutering and became less nippy. I'm not sure if this applies to all Chows but my Chow shows affection through love bites. When he's happy and excited to see me, he will eventually start biting me affectionately. Now that all his adult teeth have grown in, the bites don't hurt (that much) and I've accepted it. But during his puppy stage, it was definitely something that bothered me. I'm glad that's behind us now. By the way, no one ever talks about how challenging neutering is for everybody involved! Because Congee grew to around 55 lbs at the time, the cone he had to wear after the surgery was HUGE. He would ram it into the walls, into the door, into furniture...it was hard for him to walk around. It was challenging for us to guide him around as his cone would hit our legs. Not one of my favorite moments, that's for sure. Also the day I brought him to the vet, the vet had a hard time giving him the needle as he growled at her and kept dodging her when she came close. Eventually I had to slip a muzzle on him and hold him steady as the vet injected the anaethesia. I was late to work that day and my nerves were frayed. Seeing Congee in such a state made me extra stressed!

Something else we noticed is that Congee is very anxious with other humans, but loves play-fighting with other dogs. When other people try to pet him, he will dodge their hand and run away. For a dog of his size, this is very startling to people and it's something I've had to explain to kind strangers who just want to say hi. We tried to socialize him as much as we could when we brought him home at 2 months old, but it's part of his personality now. I've seen videos of Chows that are very friendly with other humans so this trait is definitely preventable, but seems to be common for the breed. Something worth noting is that when he gets particularly anxious, he will randomly release his anal glands. If you don't know what anal glands are, consider yourself lucky and I hope you never have to find out. Anal glands secrete brownish liquid droplets that smell like rotten fish. It's quite embarrassing when visitors come over and Congee releases them when he gets scared by sudden movements/noises. To prevent this situation from happening, we take him out to poop regularly so that the gland secretions get released into the poop rather than accumulate inside of him. He rarely does this now, but it still does happen from time to time.

Once having overcome the challenges of that first year, it's been smooth sailing with Congee. He's really matured and it is awe-inspiring to see an animal understand so much of what we say (and don't say). If I could give any advice to people bringing a puppy home for the first time, I would say: take lots and lots of photos of them as a puppy because in two weeks time, they will already look really different. Also don't expect them to nail potty training right away but do start as soon as they come home. Set them up for success by timing when to give them water; don't just leave a water bowl out. Limit their water intake and know that within half an hour of giving them water, they will have to go out to pee. They will soon associate the scent of grass with pottying. We were really lucky with Congee in this regard because he seemed to know not to pee/poo in the house within the first two weeks. I think Chows just like being clean in general; they're like cats in a way. One last thing related to pottying: if your dog ever has diarrhea, try feeding him some white rice.

Anyways, that's my #happygotchaday story with a few tips thrown in. Thanks for reading if you're still here! My dog has an IG account if you're curious and want to find out more: @congeethechow. Good luck if you've brought home a new puppy and enjoy making special memories with your newest family member!