Chuandong Hound - TOP 10 Facts

1) Origin
The Chuandong Hound is a very old, ancient dog breed, that hails from Chinese Sichuan province, to be more specific, from the eastern part of Sichuan province, around the city of Chongqing. In the 1980s archeologists found statues of unknown dogs in tombs near the city of Chongqing. The tombs were more than 2000 years old and they also located dogs in the surrounding area that were very similar to the statues. These dogs are the ancestors of todays Chuandong Hound. The breed had developed by adapting to its local environment and being fit for a purpose as a scent hunting hound for more than 2000 years. It can be said, that this breed evolved next to a man, rather than by a man.

​2) Almost extinct
The Chuandong Hound is extremely rare breed. There are few reasons for it. One of them is that after the establishment of communist regime in China, dogs were associated with capitalism and population of most dog breeds in China rapidly declined. Some rural families kept their dogs for hunting and guarding, but they had to pay big taxes for keeping them. Luckily, few families in Sichuan province really kept their Chuandong Hounds and they preserve the breed. In 1980s, the pet ownership was allowed. Out break of SARS epidemy in 2002 was another tragedy for the breed. The Chinese government killed many dogs in order to prevent spreading of the disease. But luckily, the Chuandong Hound once again survived in small numbers and today, there are few kennels outside China as well.

3) Chongqing dog
For a long time, the Chuandong Hound did not have an official breed standard, or an official name. The breed was known as the East Sichuan Terrier by the owners who still value their dogs hunting ability. That changed in 2018, when the first breed standard was published by Chinese kennel union. The C.K.U recognise the Chongqing dog and the Chuandong Hound which have both developed from the East Sichuan Terrier. The Chongqing dog is a companion and guard dog. The Chuandong Hound continues to be used as a scent hunting hound and some owners still refer to them as the East Sichuan Terrier. Both breeds are similar in appearance, but the Chuandong Hound has a longer muzzle with much less wrinkle, a scissor bite and is longer on the leg. The Chongqing dog has a shorter muzzle with wrinkles, an undershot bite and is reffered to by some owners as a Chinese Bulldog.

4) Coat and color
On the first sight, the Chuandong Hound might look like a hairless breed, but that is not true. The Chuandong Hound has a short single coat all over its body and the only permitted color is red in all kinds of shades.

5) Maintenance
Speaking of coat, the maintenance and grooming is incredibly easy with this breed. The Chuandong Hound does not shed and they do not require almost any grooming at all to keep the coat in good condition. They are almost cat like when it comes to cleanliness, they keep themselves super clean in all parts of their body. Just like with any other breed, you should also regularly check their eyes, ears, nails and teeth and clip them or clean them if needed.Chuandong Hounds only have fine wrinkles on top of their head so they do not have any problems with wrinkle soreness.

6) Lifespan
Another amazing fact about this breed is their longevity. Just like majority of breeds that evolved through natural selection, they are very healthy and hardy dogs that does not suffer much from any serious health issues. And what about the lifespan? It is between 16-20 years and it is not uncommon for these dogs to be active and healthy even at their later teens.

7) Size
This is medium sized dog breed, with average height between 40-50 cm, which is 15-20 inch and weight between 20-25 kg, which is 45-55 lbs. Females are naturally slightly smaller than males.

8) Companions
The Chuandong Hounds make excellent companion pets. They are very playful and affectionate, very loyal to its owners, protective over their loved ones and quite intelligent. They can definitely learn all the basic obedience commands fast and easy. On the other hand, they can be stubborn, which is why patient and consistent training is essential. These dogs are perfect companions for kids as well, as they are typically very playful and gentle with kids, but of course, you should never leave any dog breed with a very young child unsupervised. The Chuandong Hound can also live with other dogs in the family, especially if socialized together from the puppyhood.

9) Exercise
This is not a completely hyperactive dog breed, but it is not a total coach potatoe neither. The Chuandong Hound will need daily exercise to stay in good shape, healthy and happy. It can be longer daily walks, hikes, vigorous playtime or fun training sessions, just anything that will occupy them physically, but also mentally. Without the exercise, they might potentionally develop some unwanted behaviour, such as destruction.

10) Tongue and tail
The last point in this video will be about the interesting appearance features of the Chuandong Hound. The first one is the tongue, which might or might not have blue coloration. Rather than fully blue tongue, you will see blue-spotted tongue, which is quite normal for Chinese breeds and there are even legends about it in Chinese folklore. One of them says that when Buddha was creating the world, dogs were allowed to lick up all the little pieces of blue sky that fell on the earth when the stars were set in their places, so they got their blue tongue from the sky. The second one is the tail, which is sometimes reffered to as bamboo tail. The tail is very thick at the base and sharp at the end and it stands completely straight.