Coat

There are two types of coat; rough and smooth. Both are double coated.

Rough

In the rough coat, the outer coat is abundant, dense, straight and offstanding, rather coarse in texture; the undercoat soft, thick and wooly.

Puppy coat soft, thick and wooly overall.

The coat forms a profuse ruff around the head and neck, framing the head.

The coat and ruff generally longer in dogs than in bitches.

Tail well feathered.

The coat length varies markedly on different Chows and thickness, texture and condition should be given greater emphasis than length.

Obvious trimming or shaping is undesirable.

Trimming of the whiskers, feet and metatarsals optional.

Smooth

The smooth coated Chow is judged by the same standard as the rough coated Chow except that references to the quantity and distribution of the outer coat are not applicable to the smooth coated Chow, which has a hard, dense, smooth outer coat with a definite undercoat.

There should be no obvious ruff or feathering on the legs or tail.