This breed has been known for thousands of years. It is said that one emperor kept 2500 Chow pairs. Throughout Mongolia and Manchuria its meat was once considered a delicacy. Its coat was then used for a popular fur for clothing. In the 1800s, English sailors named it after the term they used to describe miscellaneous ship cargo.

Recent DNA analysis confirms that this is one of the oldest breeds of dog that probably originated in Siberia or Mongolia, used as temple guards.[1] Later Chow Chows were bred as a general-purpose working dog for herding, hunting and guarding. Chows are also known to be one of the many dogs in China fattened up and eaten by peasants living in sparse, rural lands.