I would show chow chows:
I just love their gaits. They are the exact opposite of what you’d want in a working retriever. It’s this stilted, yet smooth and rolling gait.
The temperament of this breed is far better than it once was, and they have no specialized working instincts or abilities that can be ruined through breeding for the show ring.
They are just aloof creatures that bond really strongly with their people. The bond very strongly with only a few people.
I could see me showing these dogs.
However, I much prefer working dogs like retrievers and active herders.
http://k-9solutionsdogtraininginc.blogspot.com/2009/05/wordless-wednesday.html#links
My breeder friend has some VERY non-aloof chows. I can go into any of the kennnels of dogs I’ve never met and be welcomed as a long lost friend. I once heard her answer the question of what was their purpose as “Food, fur and companionship. Whatever the people needed at the moment.”
I am considering one of her smooths as my next dog. :-)
Chows have changed a bunch in recent years.
That’s what happens when a breed loses just enough popularity that the backyard breeders stop producing them and serious dog people can begin breeding them for better health and temperament.
A chow shouldn’t be like a golden retriever or Samoyed. It shouldn’t be a man-eater, though.
I knew one that lived to be 21, so they are capable of being rather long-lived.