# Chesapeake Bay Retriever



## Catu (Sep 6, 2007)

A friend of my team is fostering a pair of CBR, the dogs belonged to a breeder and the female is actually pregnant. He is interested on keeping one of the future pups to do SAR, but has read contradictory things about them.

I know they are not very popular and there are few of them, but do anyone has experience with this breed? What could you tell me about them?


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## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

The one female I knew was pushy, dominant, VERY confident, hardheaded, intense, and fun. Marked with her urine though not by lifting her leg- she squatted and walked herself around to spread the joy.







I have heard that they are independent and this one was very much her own dog.


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## Amaruq (Aug 29, 2001)

I have only ever had experience with one and she left an indelible mark on me. If I were to ever own a sporting/hunting breed it would be a Chessie! They have the look of Labs but seem to have a more Shepherd like temperament. Intelligent, aloof and not for the inexperienced or unfair handler.


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## Toffifay (Feb 10, 2007)

I have never owned one, but I know some of them. They are NOT Labradors in a wavy, hard coat! lol...they can be tough as nails, good guard dogs and intense. Highly intelligent, not overly demonstrative and excellent retrievers (obviously!). I have seen Chessies dive to the bottom of a pool for objects to retrieve!

I do not know anything about them being good candidates for SAR, however.
I know I like the breed..


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## Amaruq (Aug 29, 2001)

The one I had the pleasure of working with was an Explosives Detection Dog.


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## sitstay (Jan 20, 2003)

I have fostered a few of them over the years and can say that this is a very interesting breed of dog.

This is a very intelligent breed. They think through EVERYTHING. They can, in general, be very, very stubborn. They are driven to work for their person, but a local hunting dog trainer who does board and train swears that Chessies are impossible to put into a board and train situation because they have no desire to work with someone other than their own person.

They bond very closely with the people in their home. Are tolerant of children, but do need to be heavily socialized with lots and lots of different people. They can be territorial and sometimes have a reputation for being unsafe around other animals.

This is an incredibly active breed that is totally tireless. They do best when they have some form of physical and emotional release for their energy, work ethic and intelligence. They LOVE water and swimming.

In general, I wouldn't recommend them for a home with an inexperienced owner. They need someone who understands the whole "firm, but always fair" approach to living with the dog. Fairness is a big thing with a Chessie. 

I have loved working with the ones I have fostered. They are relatively popular here, I think because they are known for going into the coldest, roughest water all day long out in the field. They are just fascinating dogs. I wonder how one would do in SAR? I can see where that drive would come in handy, and they totally have the nose and ability. They can be fairly independent, and will ignore a command if they think they know how to do something better.
Sheilah


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## DFrost (Oct 29, 2006)

I have one as a drug dog. I've trained two. Both had an "attitude" and could be aggressive. having only worked two, I can't say it's the breed. I have had more experienced Chessie trainers tell me they do tend to be on the hard headed side. They do tend to have attitudes. The drug dog we currently have working is a great dog and I'd certainly take another one if it were to become available. 

dFrost


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## Smoky (Jul 17, 2011)

I'm a little late on this thread, but ... FWIW I've owned two. They were both intense. They are very stubborn and are a one owner dog. IF you get them around water it's highly unlikely you'll keep them out of it. They just go to water like a duck. They are not good dogs in confined spaces. They need LOTS of exercise. They are very confident and have excellent nerve strength. I'm looking at doing SAR with a CBR or a Mali, they both have intense drive, and stick-to-itiveness. I think the Mali is a little less predictable than a CBR but the Mali is better on rubble and more agile. Still though, the Chessie is not as high maintenance as a Mali, but both can be very dominant. I like the speed of the Mali, but the CBR makes up for it in intelligence. Overall these are excellent dogs. They are the one breed of retriever that has been called both a Guard dog and a watch dog. Because they are slightly aloof with strangers they will intimidate the soft targets. Hope this helps. Make sure to investigate the breed thoroughly before getting a CBR. Some have had DM but it can be checked.


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## Catu (Sep 6, 2007)

From the litter the female was pregnant my friend kept a pup that didn't work out, neither said female, but later the male was returned to him and as far as I know, it's being doing really good at SAR. I've not seen it working in person, though.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

I have only met ONE Chessie. Not enough to generalize. It was not a dog I would have wanted to meet in a dark alley.


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## huntergreen (Jun 28, 2012)

like gsd, there are different flavors.


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## VTGirlT (May 23, 2013)

I've met two at the shelter i work at. They both came in together. Both very sweet, very intelligent, makes lots of eye contact, people oriented.
One was especially dominant, and he came back two times and is still with us. The other one is in a home and was the very sweet one. 
However, i did notice with one of them, as i was taking for a walk, i stumbled and my shoes made a sound on the pavement, and he growled and looked back at me looks very aggressive and than suddenly he changed.. and was like "oh its just you who did that" 
But at my other work place, an animal hospital, when a Chesapeake comes in, the techs always bring out the "party hat!" (muzzle) If that says anything? probably not.
I also heard that they are a bit bipolar in their ways, but amazing athletic dogs! Not sure if its true. 

The two i met, one i trusted mostly, 95%, the other one i trust 45%.


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