Sorry, just getting back to this thread!
Hey Zoom! Just popped back in this past week after taking a break for a few months.
It's doubtful that I'll breed Khana. Am going to give it some last thoughts over the next few months and then probably have her spayed. I just don't think that my situation at this time is right for breeding, although I do think that Khana would be an excellent breeding prospect. She'll be four in November so time is getting short. I would dearly love to have a litter of "little Khanas" but life doesn't always work out to fit what we want!
Tahla9999 - No, these breeders are not trying to produce improper temperament. A well-bred chow should be accepting and approachable, without aggression unless it is absolutely warranted. In the words of Samuel Draper, chow owner/breeder for 40 years, judge at Nationals and Westminster, co-author of "Book of the Chow Chow" and "World of the Chow Chow":
""We must prove the goodness of the breed to the world by showing the public that the Chow is a friendly, steady, stable dog, one that can be loved, trusted and counted on always to be agreeable with strangers."
The concept of "aloof" is too often interpreted as "can be mean if it wants to". Good breeders are working hard to correct the mistakes made by popularity and overbreeding. The temperament of all of my chows - all from different bloodlines - has been stable even with strangers. In the case of the Redcloud lines, there's been a big push for health, too, which is vitally important in a breed that ranks #1 in elbow dysplasia with some 47% of chows being affected.
Grab01 - very glad to hear you have chows with proper temperament too!
Melanie and the gang in Alaska