Japanese Chin | Dog Breed Information & Facts – Pictures

The Japanese Chin is a faithful companion and frien. Its remarkable features are grace in behavior and grace of movement.

At home, the Japanese Chin is considered not only an ideal companion, but also a “cure” for depression. The cheerful, friendly disposition of this small, cute dog can relieve boredom of any person. His main fear is to lose his master.

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The Japanese Chin is distinguished by its small size and delicate build, and the smaller the dog in the standard, the more valued it is. This elegant dog of aristocratic appearance has a thick, long and straight coat – soft and silky

These graceful dogs have a square format, with a weight of 3 to 5 kg and a height at the withers of 25 -30 cm.

• Head: the skull is round with a prominent forehead, on which there must be an hourglass-shaped white band, preferably wide. Cheek pads above upper lip. The muzzle is always white and short with a black or light colored button nose. Non-uniform coloring of the nose is not allowed.
• Jaws: Small, white and strong teeth. Level bite, scissor bite or bottom bite are allowed.
• Ears: Suspended with long hairs, always black or red.
• Eyes: Large – dark set, rounded and shallow.
• Body: Tight, longer in females than in males. With chic white collar on the neck and chest. The tail with long hair, like a waterfall, is thrown over the back.
• Legs: Slender, muscular with a “fringe” on the back. Preferably with pompoms on the fingers, with bunny pads.
• Coat: Silky, long and thick, resembling human hair. Repels dirt and dust. Almost no undercoat. Color white-black, white-red, white-brown. A monophonic fur coat is a vice of rejection.

The Japanese Chin is often confused with the Pekingese.

The Japanese Chin is a friendly, discreet, proud and courageous dog. Only inattention and rude attitude of the owner can spoil his character. What is valuable in such a pet is that it adopts the way of life of its owner.

This dog is friendly to all members of the household, but it certainly singles out the main one. The greatest pleasure for such a dog is to participate in everything that family members do.

Despite their innate friendliness and playfulness, the Japanese Chin does not tolerate familiarity with strangers. It is better that a stranger does not try to caress him; in response, he can not only growl, but also bite.

The Japanese Chin rarely barks, only in justified cases. Most often he arranges temper tantrums, during which he can “scream”, hiss and even spit. In anger, the Japanese Chin completely loses his mind.

Japanese Chin has no particular health problems. Most often, there are diseases to which almost all decorative dogs are predisposed. The list of these diseases is set out below:

• Hypothyroidism is a pathological condition that develops as a result of a long-term lack of thyroid hormones.
• Mitral valve stenosis is a pathology characterized by narrowing of the left atrioventricular opening.
• Distichiasis is an abnormal growth of eyelashes.
• Erosion of the cornea of ​​the eye – epithelial damage to the cornea, often of a traumatic nature.
• Progressive retinal atrophy is an inherited eye disease that leads to loss of vision.
• Cryptorchidism is a pathological condition characterized by the absence of one or two testicles in the scrotal cavity.
• Dysplasia of the hip joint – at the last stage leads to immobility and intolerable pain.
• Dwarfism is a disease associated with a deficiency of growth hormone (somatotropin) produced by the pituitary gland.
• Dislocations.
• Semi-vertebra – manifested by a very significant shortening of the vertebral body, often accompanied by a decrease in the height of the vertebral body.
• Entropion is removed by surgery.

The Japanese Chin has a long coat that should be carefully combed at least 2-3 times a week. Tangles may appear there, especially during the moulting period. In spring, autumn and after childbirth, remove dead hair with a brush 2-3 times a week.

Also, always make sure your pet’s ears and eyes are clean – eyes are cleaned of deposits daily, and ears are cleaned 2-3 times a week.

Bathe the dog at least once a month or more often.

• In ancient times, a thief who stole a Japanese chin was punishable by death.
• Representatives of the Japanese breed have starred in many films (“Mimino”, “Stone Flower”).
• In Japan, Chins are often called “makurar-tzem”, which translates as “sofa dog”.
• Because of the habit of chewing the food of the Japanese Chin for a long time and thoroughly, in his homeland they call the “chewing dog”.
• The Chins kept at the palaces had one main duty – to create harmony in the imperial chambers and maintain a positive mood of the royal people.
• Marshal Georgy Zhukov had a pet in the form of the Japanese Chin.

The homeland of Chins is Japan. Although, with regards to the origin of this breed, two options are known:

1. Tibetan spaniels are considered the ancestors of the Japanese Chins. They were brought to Japan in the third century by Buddhist monks from India and China. Buddhists compared these dogs with the lion of Buddha.
2. Dogs, which are considered the ancestors of modern Chins, were brought to North Korea and China by emissaries.

In 732, one of the Korean rulers presented a pair of such dogs as a gift to the Japanese ruler. This couple became the parents of the Japanese Chins.

In the twelfth century, the first descriptions of the exterior and character of the Japanese Chin appeared. The exterior was visible in ivory, wood, or bronze figurines. The rulers of China and Japan talked about the nature of these dogs.

The fact is that the Japanese Chin was a pet only for high-ranking, wealthy persons. Poor people, representatives of the lower strata of the population, such pets were not available.

Despite its popularity, it was only in the fourteenth century that Chin breeding began seriously. Wealthy ladies used to wear these dogs in the sleeves of their kimonos. Therefore, miniature individuals were especially valuable. In our time, preference is also given to small chins.

The Japanese Chin has become very popular all over the world. Until 1977, the Americans called him the “Japanese Spaniel”.

In the twenties of the twentieth century, breeders came to grips with improving this decorative breed. A little later, according to the results of their work, this type of dog was divided into several types:

1. Edo is the smallest.
2. Yamato – coat with brown spots, medium size.
3. Kobe – a very fluffy tail, in comparison with other varieties of Japanese Chin it has large dimensions.

In modern chins, signs of all three of the above types are observed. But at the same time, like ancient times, preference is given to miniature size and length, the splendor of the coat.