Fit for Function?

The Chow Chow dog first appeared at London’s Crystal Palace Dog Show in 1878, where it was billed as a “Chinese Edible Dog”.

That same year, a Chinese Edible Dog was also exhibited at the Westminster Dog Show in New York City.

The name “Chow Chow” was given to the dog in 1882, the name supposedly a pidgin derivative of a Chinese word for lower-class common food.

From The Illustrated London News of 1882 comes news of the name change:

CHINESE EDIBLE DOGS

“At the Crystal Palace Dog Show of the Kennel Club, which was noticed last week, there was a class of "Chinese Chow-chow," in which four male dogs and five females were entered. Two of the females, Papoose and Peridot, owned by Lady M. Gore, were offered at 500 pounds each. The two males represented in our illustrations are a black and a red animal, named respectively Chow III and Chow IV.; the former, owned by Mr. C. F. M. Cleverly, is two-and-a-half years old; the latter was born in 1877 and belongs to Mrs. F. Porter. These won the first and second prize in their class.”

So when dog show judges evaluate Chow Chows as “fit for function,” are they thumping their briskets and looking for fat that suggests good marbling?

And when they say “please WOK your dog,” are they spelling it out and pointing to a ring-side grill?