Chabrador Information & Dog Breed Facts

The Chabrador is a designer breed dog, an international cross between an ancient guard dog hailing from China, the Chow Chow, and a consummate gun and retrieving dog, the Labrador Retriever. The resulting canine is typically a loyal but friendly fog, suitable as a family companion and as an effective guard dog as well.

However, to be able to understand the breed’s history, we have to look at the parent breeds’ histories. Experts have long speculated that the Chow Chow has been one of the oldest dog breeds, and genetic testing has confirmed this. The ancient breed is thought to have originated in Mongolia and Northern China, gradually migrating south with Mongolia’s nomadic tribes. Early representations of dogs like the Chow Chow can be seen in Han Dynasty pottery and paintings (206 BC to 22 AD). According to a legend, one Chinese emperor maintains 2500 pairs of Chows as hunting dogs. In addition to hunting, the dogs were also used to guard their masters’ belongings. On the negative side, their fur was used to trim coats, and their flesh was considered a delicacy. The black-tongue dog (hei shi-tou), wold dog (lang gou), bear dog (xiang gou), and Canton dog were all names given to the breed in China. The story of how the breed became the Chow Chow is quite interesting. Some of the bearlike dogs were included in the shipment of British merchants in the late 18^th century. The term “chow chow” was applied to a variety of goods, including dogs, and the name stuck to the breed. Moreover, in 1781, naturalist Gilbert White described the Chow in his book called ‘Natural History and Antiquities of Selbourne’. His neighbors brought home a pair of Chow Chows, and he included them in his observations of country life. Fanciers say that the breed has changed little since White wrote about them more than 200 years ago. Furthermore, it wasn’t a century later that Chow Chows were imported on a regular basis. Queen Victoria, who adored dogs, was a fan of the breed, which helped it gain popularity. In 1895, a breed club was founded in England. The first Chow Chow to make an appearance at an American dog show was named Takya, who took third place in the Miscellaneous Class at the Westminster Kennel Club show in 1903. The American Kennel Club recognized the breed in 1903, and the first Chow Chow registered with the AKC was named Yen How. During the 1920s, Chow Chows were all the rage among the wealthy and famous. They even made it to the White House, where Timmy, a red Chow, and Blackberry, a black Chow were kept by President Calvin Coolidge and his wife. Chow Chows were also a favorite of Sigmund Freud’s daughter, Anna, who maintained and bred the dogs. Sometimes Chows even appeared on Martha Stewert’s TV show. Today, the breed ranks 64^th in popularity among the 155 breeds and varieties recognized by the AKC.

On the other hand, the Labrador Retriever is the traditional waterdog of Newfoundland, long employed as a duck retriever and fisherman’s friend. The breed became popular in the early 1800s when Labs were spotted by English nobles who were visiting Canada. These sporting lords returned to England with fine specimens of ‘Labrador dogs’. Exactly how these dogs of Newfoundland became associated with Labrador is unclear, but the name stuck. During the second half of the 19^th century, British breeders refined and standardized the breed. The physical and temperamental breed traits recall the Labrador Retriever’s original purpose. A short, dense, weather-resistant coat was preferred because during a Canadian winter longhaired retrievers would be encrusted with ice when coming out of the water. In its ancestral homeland, the breed would be assigned to a fishing boat to retrieve the fish that came off the trawl. Moreover, the breed’s thick, tapering tail serves as a powerful rudder, constantly moving back and forth as the dog swims and aids the dog in turning. When it comes to characteristics, the breed is described as one of a kindly, outgoing, tractable nature, eager to please, and nonaggressive toward man or animal. The Kennel Club of England recognized the breed in 1903, and the AKC registered its first dog of the breed in 1917. The Labrador Retriever topped AKC registrations for the first time in 1991 and has reigned as America’s favorite breed ever since.

Overall, the Chabrador is a medium-sized dog that is both solidly built and athletic. They have a wide, flat head with almond-shaped eyes and they may or may not exhibit the distinctive blue-black tongue of the Chow Chow. The ears of the Chabrador can vary from dog to dog, with some dogs favoring the Chow genetics with triangular ears that are held upright, and others sporting long rounded ears that hang down from the sides of the head like the Labrador. As the breed is considered a hybrid, designer breed, it is not recognized by the American Kennel Club, but it is recognized by other smaller clubs.