Today the Chow Chow is most commonly kept as a companion dog. Its keen sense of proprietorship over its home paired with a sometimes disconcertingly serious approach to strangers can be off-putting to those unfamiliar with the breed.
However, displays of timidity and aggression are uncharacteristic of well-bred and well-socialized specimens. Inexperienced dog owners should beware of how dogs of this breed encounter those it perceives as strangers, their notoriety is so established that many homeowners insurance companies will not cover dogs from this breed.
The proper Chow owner will be just as willful and stubborn as the Chow they keep, thus weaker-willed individuals would be best served to evaluate their commitment in controlling an animal who is happy to take over any household. Specimens of opposite sex typically co-habitate with less tension than those of the same sex, but it is not unheard of for multiple chows of both sexes to live together peacefully in a home setting.
The Chow is extremely loyal to its own family and will bond tightly to its master. The Chow typically shows affection only with those it has bonds to, so new visitors to the home should not press their physical attention upon the resident Chow as it will not immediately accept strangers in the same manner as it does members of its own pack.
Today the Chow Chow is most commonly kept as a companion dog. Its keen sense of proprietorship over its home paired with a sometimes disconcertingly serious approach to strangers can be off-putting to those unfamiliar with the breed.
However, displays of timidity and aggression are uncharacteristic of well-bred and well-socialized specimens. Inexperienced dog owners should beware of how dogs of this breed encounter those it perceives as strangers, their notoriety is so established that many homeowners insurance companies will not cover dogs from this breed. 
