Chesapeake bay retrievers

I have trained with several people that own chessies and they seem to be extremes, some are layed back and others are not for the inexperienced. They tend to be a little hard headed, but once they get something it seems to stick. The ones I have been around don't have as good a nose as a lab or golden, but have perservernce to make up for the nose. They are hardy and need little grooming, but can also stink from the oil they produce. No matter what breed you get you need to socialze to people especailly children, you never know when they will encounter a child. You will need to make sure you are the pack leader, but you also need to know how to do this. Your best bet is to mentor under someone who knows about training for hunting as well as obedience.
deb

Id go with a lab from pesonal exp. Id pick the family dog first!

Mattones
In many years with retrievers I've seen very few good chessies.I don't mean to say they won't retrieve but they're not capable of some of the extremes that labradors are capable of. I love the chessie's coat, I hate his temperment.

Where the chessie may have the edge in a coat, he certainly in many cases does not have the heart and drive of most of today's field bred labs. he often is not the team player that you may be looking for. Having said that if I lived down a secluded road I'd have one in a heart beat. I like their loyalty but I also know first hand several who were destroyed due to their agressiveness.

By the way I've personally seen and judged some of the great chessie's you will find in pedigress. FCH/AFC Chippewa Chief and Stoney's Cub come to mind. They and their handlers are now long gone. Chessies like these are too few and far between compared to our modern labrador.

I know you were looking for a pet/hunting dog but the lab just beats out the chessie in just about all departments in today's world and takes to amateur training so much better. They dominate the competitive world at about 99.9 to one. Current breeding in field trial dogs supports and promotes the type of dog you want.

Hope you find what you want.

whatSharon said i agree 100%. had one 35yrs ago now it's labs. they can be moody but they are great

i also aree with boiler guy2412 they are givers when it comes to getting the birds.

If you have your heart set on a Chessie to hunt with, do your research and find a breeder who has proven that their dog has "hunt" in the pedigree. Your choice of breeders to choose from is much smaller than looking for a lab and you want to ensure you are working with a breeder who is breeding working chessies versus breeding for the show ring.

Dakota Creek so true

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Originally Posted by krakadawn

Mattones
In many years with retrievers I've seen very few good chessies.I don't mean to say they won't retrieve but they're not capable of some of the extremes that labradors are capable of. I love the chessie's coat, I hate his temperment.

Where the chessie may have the edge in a coat, he certainly in many cases does not have the heart and drive of most of today's field bred labs. he often is not the team player that you may be looking for. Having said that if I lived down a secluded road I'd have one in a heart beat. I like their loyalty but I also know first hand several who were destroyed due to their agressiveness.

By the way I've personally seen and judged some of the great chessie's you will find in pedigress. FCH/AFC Chippewa Chief and Stoney's Cub come to mind. They and their handlers are now long gone. Chessies like these are too few and far between compared to our modern labrador.

I know you were looking for a pet/hunting dog but the lab just beats out the chessie in just about all departments in today's world and takes to amateur training so much better. They dominate the competitive world at about 99.9 to one. Current breeding in field trial dogs supports and promotes the type of dog you want.

Hope you find what you want.

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Ditto...What krakadawn said...

If this will be your first retriever get yourself a Lab. Down the road if you are still thinking about a Chessie go for it, but I'd personally wait until you gain the experience and knowledge of training a retriever first. An old wives tail, you train and discipline a Golden using a wet noodle, a rolled up newspaper for a Lab, and a 2 X 4 for a Chessie...

Good luck in your quest.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by krakadawn

Mattones
In many years with retrievers I've seen very few good chessies.I don't mean to say they won't retrieve but they're not capable of some of the extremes that labradors are capable of. I love the chessie's coat, I hate his temperment.

Where the chessie may have the edge in a coat, he certainly in many cases does not have the heart and drive of most of today's field bred labs. he often is not the team player that you may be looking for. Having said that if I lived down a secluded road I'd have one in a heart beat. I like their loyalty but I also know first hand several who were destroyed due to their agressiveness.

By the way I've personally seen and judged some of the great chessie's you will find in pedigress. FCH/AFC Chippewa Chief and Stoney's Cub come to mind. They and their handlers are now long gone. Chessies like these are too few and far between compared to our modern labrador.

I know you were looking for a pet/hunting dog but the lab just beats out the chessie in just about all departments in today's world and takes to amateur training so much better. They dominate the competitive world at about 99.9 to one. Current breeding in field trial dogs supports and promotes the type of dog you want.

Hope you find what you want.

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I don't intend this post to be an insult or question your knowledge but i have seen many many good chessie's. I would say a Chessie's Heart to retrieve a bird is as much if not more then a Lab. If your post is refering to field trial stufff then i will take your word for it as i haven't seen many good one's run field trails, but when it comes to strickly hunting it is hard to beat what a Chessie can offer. But like pretty much everyone has said, you do not learn to train a dog using one. Your first trained hunting dog needs to be a Lab IMO

A close friend of mine has owned chessies for years. HAs 2 right now. Not sure about the comment about them not having heart and drive. He lives in Quebec and hunts the St-Lawrence river. One time his young male went in after a snow goose that was way too far out and ended up swimming downstream and out of sight. My buddy thought he had seen the last of his dog and was devestated. His dog was picked up an hour later by a group in a boat still swimming with the damned snow goose still in his mouth. He also doesn't bother locking the doors in his truck when those dogs are in it. He will also be the first to recommend a labrador to a rookie buyer.