The Chow Chow breed of dog is instantly recognizable, with his wrinkled face, small eyes, dense solid color coat, plumed tail curled over his back, scowling expression, and distinctive blue-black tongue, lips and gums. He is powerful, sturdy, and squarely built, with strong muscular development and heavy bone. The body is compact, the tail set high and carried closely to the back. Viewed from the side, his hind legs have little apparent angulation, and the hock joint and metatarsals are directly beneath the hip joint. This structure produces the characteristic shorter, stilted gait unique to the Chow Chow breed of dog. He carries his large head proudly, accentuated by a ruff. His expression is essentially a scowl: dignified, discerning and snobbish. The scowl is achieved by a marked brow with a padded button of skin just above the inner, upper corner of each eye, by sufficient play of skin to form frowning brows, and by a distinct furrow between the eyes. Wrinkles on the muzzle do not contribute to expression and are not required. The Chow Chow breed of dog has smallish dark brown eyes, deep set and placed wide apart, almond in shape. The eye rims are black. His ears are small, moderately thick, triangular in shape, carried erect but with a slight forward tilt, and placed wide apart with the inner corner on top of the skull. The Chow Chow's top skull is broad and flat from side to side and front to back. The muzzle is short in comparison to the length of the top skull but never less than one-third of the head length. The muzzle is broad and well filled out under the eyes, but should never be so padded as to appear other than square in shape. The upper lips completely cover the lower lips when the mouth is closed. The Chow Chow breed of dog has a large, broad nose that is black in color. Only in blue Chows is another color accepted: they may have solid blue or slate noses. The edges of the lips are also black, and the tissues of the mouth and gums should be mostly black. A solid black mouth is ideal. The top surface and edges of the tongue are a solid blue-black, the darker the better. The neck of the Chow Chow breed of dog is strong, well muscled, nicely arched and of sufficient length to carry the head proudly above the topline when standing at attention. His body is short and compact, as are his back and croup. His chest is broad, deep and muscular, the ribs close together and well sprung. The floor of the chest is broad and deep extending down to the tips of the elbows. The Chow Chow's tail is set high and carried closely to the back at all times. The Chow Chow's shoulders are strong and well muscled. The heavy-boned forelegs are perfectly straight from elbow. Viewed from the front, the forelegs are parallel and widely spaced commensurate with the broad chest. Pasterns short and upright. The dewclaws may be removed. Feet are round, compact and catlike. Likewise, the Chow Chow's rear assembly is broad, heavy boned, powerful, and well muscled. The Chow Chow breed of dog comes in two varieties of coat: rough and smooth. Both are double coated. For the rough coat, the outer coat is dense, straight and off-standing, coarse in texture, while the undercoat is soft, thick and woolly. The coat forms an abundant ruff around the neck, framing the head, and the tail is well feathered. Length of the coat is not as important as thickness, texture and condition. Trimming or shaping the coat is frowned upon, although the whiskers, feet and metatarsals may be trimmed. For the smooth coat, the Chow Chow is judged by the basically the same standard. However, the smooth coated Chow Chow should have no obvious ruff or feathering on the legs or tail. The Chow Chow breed of dog may be solid or solid with lighter shadings in the ruff, tail and featherings. The five acceptable colors are red (light golden to deep mahogany), black, blue, cinnamon (light fawn to deep cinnamon) and cream. None is preferred. The Chow Chow breed of dog has a distinctive gait, and proper movement is a crucial test of conformation and soundness. The dog must be straight moving, agile, quick, and powerful. The rear gait is shorter and stilted because of the Chow Chow's unusually straight rear assembly. When viewed from the side, the rear leg moves up and forward from the hip in a straight, stilted pendulum-like line with a slight bounce in the rump, the legs extend neither far forward nor far backward. The hind foot has a strong thrust, transferring power to the body in an almost straight line. Viewed from the rear, the line of bone from hip joint to pad remains straight as the dog moves. Viewed from the front, the line of bone from shoulder joint to pad remains straight as the dog moves. The front legs must not swing out in semicircles nor mince or show any evidence of hackney action. Although not speedy, the Chow Chow breed of dog gas excellent endurance, in part because of its rear leg action.