Chow Chow vs Saint Bernard: Which Suits Your Home?

The Saint Bernard is a genuine giant here -- 120-180 lbs and 26-30 inches tall, more than double the Chow Chow's 45-70 lbs and 17-20 inches. This is the largest size gap in the whole batch. A Saint Bernard leaning against you is a different physical experience than a Chow doing the same, and door frames, car trunks, and vet scales all register that difference.

Surprisingly, these two tie -- both rate a low 2/5 on exercise need. Despite its size, the Saint Bernard isn't a high-drive working dog day to day; it's content with modest activity, much like the Chow. If exercise need alone were your filter, this pairing wouldn't help you choose much -- the real differences show up elsewhere in the table.

The Chow demands considerably more grooming -- 5/5 against the Saint Bernard's moderate 3/5 -- even though both shed at the same high 4/5 rate. The Saint's coat, whether short or long, needs regular brushing but not the intensive de-matting work the Chow's dense double coat requires. Given the Saint's size, though, even routine brushing simply takes longer per session than it would on a smaller dog.

This is the starkest gap in the table: the Chow rates a solid 4/5 for apartment suitability while the Saint Bernard sits at a very low 1/5. Sheer size is the obvious driver -- a 150-lb dog needs room to turn around that a small apartment often can't provide, regardless of how calm its temperament is. The Saint is also quieter on paper, 2/5 barking against the Chow's 3/5, which doesn't make up for the space problem.

The Saint Bernard scores better across the board for newer owners -- moderate 3/5 for first-time owners and 3/5 for trainability, against the Chow's 2/5 on both. Saint Bernards are known for a gentle, biddable temperament that makes training more cooperative than a Chow's independent streak typically allows. Early training still matters a lot with a Saint given its eventual size, even if the process itself goes more smoothly than with a Chow.

The Saint Bernard rates very high with kids (5/5 against the Chow's 3/5), high with other dogs (4/5 vs 2/5), and high with strangers (4/5 vs 2/5) -- a strikingly more social profile than the Chow's reserved scores across the board. If your household is busy with kids' friends, other pets, or frequent guests, the Saint's temperament does more of the social work for you.

The Chow actually outlives the Saint Bernard here -- 9-15 years against a shorter 8-10, typical of giant breeds carrying more physical strain. Entropion appears on both health lists, an eyelid condition neither breed is spared from; beyond that the Saint's remaining risks include dilated cardiomyopathy and bloat, both serious cardiac and gastric concerns tied to its large chest cavity.

The Saint Bernard is the pricier dog to keep -- $150-310 monthly and $2,200-4,200 in year one, both well above the Chow's $120-250 and $1,600-3,000. A giant breed simply eats more, needs bigger doses of medication, and often costs more to board or transport, and the table's own cost-level score reflects that gap directly (very high 5/5 for the Saint against the Chow's high 4/5).