Chesapeake Bay Retriever Dog Breed

Chesapeake-Bay-Retriever-hunting

The Chesapeake Bay retrievers are known to be waterdogs that hunt and retrieve ducks or fowls.

Its origin is traced back to the early 1800s when a British ship, which was wrecked off near the coastal line of Maryland Chesapeake bay, had two newly-found land retriever puppies on aboard.

The puppies, later, were given to the rescuers as a token.

The retrievers were registered at the American Kennel Club in 1933 as an American dog though they were bred originally by the British.

Eventually, various attempts and developments in locally breeding these dogs were made by the two retrievers.

It was believed that these Chesapeake bay retrievers were crossbreeds from Flat-coated retrievers, Irish water spaniels, and Coonhounds which all contributed to its unique features.

Traits and Behavior

Chesapeake retrievers are intelligent, skilful and obedient canines. They may be trainable but sometimes they can be slow in learning specific tasks and tricks. These dogs are mainly used for seasonal, outdoor activities like hunting ducks and fowls.

During those periods, they are left free to roam around the open fields and run along with the hunters.

They have webbed toes, a gainful facet for them as they can be trained to retrieve fallen ducks on lakes and ponds where their ability as natural swimmers are attributed to their webbed toes.

Chesapeake-Bay-Retriever-swimming-in-the-water

Since they tend to be wary and destructive when still puppies, it is advisable for dog owners to train them to mingle with other pet dogs.

With proper training and management, these dogs can become friendly and affectionate companions to children.

If owners decide to train these dogs for hunting purposes, they have to ensure that training methods should be strictly obeyed and that owners must show firmness when they implement the rules, as these types of retrievers tend to be aggressive or controlling.

Chesapeake retrievers are well-known to be more dominant among the types of retrievers and can be an alpha dog to a pack of dogs.

Appearance

Known for being a powerful and muscular dog, the retriever’s head is broad, muzzle at a brim of the same length of the skull and has distinctive color features on its eyes like yellow to amber.

The length of withers is about 58-66cm, while they weigh about 29-36kg.

Chesapeake-Bay-Retriever-with-collar

For its coat, the dog has a medium double-coat cover under which it produces oil to protect it from any changes in climate conditions. Dog’s feet are webbed and are an excellent natural body structure for swimming.

They have three usual colors that are commonly seen – dark brown, sedge (red to chestnut in color), and dead grass (faded tan to dull straw color). Its ears appear small and hang loosely at the level with the eyes. Their chest is deep and wide.

General Information

The Chesapeake Bay Retriever can live up to 10-13 years. An average litter is about 7-8 puppies. Other names include Chessie, CBR, Chesapeake

Breed Club

Visit these dog club websites dedicated to Chesapeake Bay Retrievers. Click this link:

https://www.amchessieclub.org/

https://www.chesapeakebayretrieverclub.co.uk/

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