| Chesapeake Bay Retrievers: the most honest dog breed review you'll ever find. Information about Chesapeake Bay Retriever personality and behavior. |
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My book, Your Purebred Puppy: A Buyer's Guide (published by Henry Holt & Co.), includes a full-page profile of the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, including these excerpts:
"The Chesapeake Bay is the most powerful of the retrievers, with the strongest personality, yet possessed of quiet good sense.
This rugged dog should be taken hiking, biking, jogging, and swimming as often as possible. A walk around the block is not enough to maintain his muscle tone or to satisfy his working instincts.
This breed needs a job (learning obedience exercises, fetching a stick or ball, field work), else he will find his own ways to keep himself busy, and you may not appreciate his choices.
The most protective of the retrievers, typically he is reserved with strangers and intensely loyal to his family.
Most are fine with the pets in their own family, but some are territorial with strange dogs and cats.
You must control his tendency to chew on objects and to mouth your hands -- provide a box filled with toys so he can carry something around in his mouth.
Confident leadership and obedience training are required to develop respect. This breed will test members of the family to find his place in the pecking order. If you don't take the top position, HE will."
History
One of the few breeds developed in the United States, along the icy Chesapeake Bay of Maryland, he is the supreme retriever of ducks and geese in rough, frigid waters.
Size
21-26 inches and 55-80 lbs |
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Chesapeake Bay Retrievers
What's good about 'em
What's bad about 'em
- Is the most rugged and powerful of the six retriever breeds
- Has a short harsh "kinky" coat that comes in natural earthtone shades
- Loves the great outdoors and thrives on vigorous athletic activities
- Is steady-tempered and dependable
- Is more serious and more discriminating with strangers than the happy-go-lucky Golden or Labrador Retriever
A Chesapeake Bay Retriever may be right for you.
| If you don't want to deal with... |
- Vigorous exercise requirements
- Rowdiness and exuberant jumping, especially when young
- Destructiveness when bored or not exercised enough
- Aggression or shyness toward people, when not socialized enough
- Strong-willed mind of his own, requiring a confident owner who can take charge
- Territorial aggression toward dogs and cats he doesn't know
- Mouthiness -- carrying and chewing objects, mouthing your hands
- Shedding
- Health problems
A Chesapeake Bay Retriever may not be right for you.
| If I were considering a Chesapeake Bay Retriever... |
My major concerns would be:
- Providing enough exercise and mental stimulation. Chesapeake Bay Retrievers MUST have regular opportunities to vent their energy and do interesting things. Otherwise they will become rambunctious and bored -- which they usually express by barking and destructive chewing. Bored Chesapeakes can make a shambles of your house and yard.
| If you simply want a pet for your family, and don't have the time or inclination to take your dog running or hiking or biking or swimming, or to get involved in hunting, or agility (obstacle course), or advanced obedience, or tracking, or a similar canine activity, I do not recommend this breed. Trying to suppress their "hardwired" drive to run and work, without providing alternate outlets for their energy, can be difficult. |
- Bounciness. Young Chesapeake Bay Retrievers (up to about three years old) romp and jump with great vigor, and things can go flying, including people.
| If you have small children, or if you or anyone who lives with you is elderly or infirm, I do not recommend Chesapeake Bay Retriever puppies. The temptation to play roughly is simply too great with many young Chessies. |
- Providing enough socialization. Though not guard dogs, many Chesapeake Bay Retrievers have protective instincts toward strangers. They need extensive exposure to friendly people so they learn to recognize the normal behaviors of "good guys." Then they can recognize the difference when someone acts abnormally. Without careful socialization, they may be suspicious of everyone, which could lead to aggression. Some Chesapeakes go in the opposite direction -- without enough socialization, they become fearful of strangers, which can lead to defensive biting.
- The strong temperament. It bears repeating that Chesapeake Bay Retrievers are not Golden Retrievers. The best Chesapeakes are versatile working dogs, capable of learning a great deal, but they have an independent mind of their own and are not pushovers to raise and train. Some Chesapeakes are willful, obstinate, and dominant (they want to be the boss) and will make you prove that you can make them do things. You must show them, through absolute consistency, that you mean what you say.
- Animal aggression. Because of their strong temperament, some Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, particularly males, may not be tolerant of other male dogs. Some Chesapeakes do not get along with cats.
- Shedding. Chesapeake Bay Retrievers shed quite a bit. Their hairs come off on your hands when you pet them, stick tenaciously to your clothing, upholstery, and carpeting, and hide under the furniture. Be prepared for vacuuming.
- Serious health problems. All retriever breeds are susceptible to joint and bone problems, and eye diseases.
| Not all Chesapeake Bay Retrievers are alike! |
- There are energetic Chesapeakes, and placid Chesapeakes.
- Hard-headed Chesapeakes, and sweet-natured Chesapeakes.
- Serious Chesapeakes, and good-natured goofballs.
- Introverted Chesapeakes, and Chesapeakes who love everyone.
| If you acquire a Chesapeake Bay Retriever puppy, you can't know for sure what he or she will grow up to be like. Because a good number of purebred puppies do NOT grow up to conform to the "norm." |
| If you're considering an adult Chesapeake Bay Retriever... |
There are plenty of adult Chesapeake Bay Retrievers who have already proven themselves NOT to have negative characteristics. If you find such an adult, don't let "typical breed negatives" worry you.
When you acquire a puppy, you're acquiring potential -- what he one day will be. So "typical breed characteristics" are very important. But when you acquire an adult, you're acquiring what he already IS.
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