CHESAPEAKE BAY RETRIEVER

The story of the Chesapeake Bay Retriever began in 1807 when an English merchant ship capsized during a storm en route from Newfoundland to England. An American ship rescued the crew and with them two Newfoundland puppies, a liver-colored male and a black female. These two dogs came south of Baltimore (USA) to the Chesapeake Bay Bay, where they were used for duck hunting. The climate there was extremely harsh, with very cold winters and hot summers. The two were then allegedly not crossed with each other, but with other native retrievers and retrievers imported from England in order to improve their excellent hunting properties. These dogs are said to have had a very thick, water-repellent top coat and a thick insulating undercoat and were tireless retrievers.

After a few years of pure breeding, the Chesapeake Bay Retriever was officially recognized under his name by the American Kennel Club in 1878.

The original duties of the Chessies were shaped by the difficult weather conditions and the landscape of the Chesapeake Bay, where they had to swim long distances through icy and rough water and withstand the weather conditions. As efficient working dogs, they should work very independently and require little support from their handlers. Further tasks were the protection of the families and the guarding of the houses and all belongings.

All of this makes up the character of the Chesapeake Bay Retriever today. He is an extremely intelligent, active and courageous dog with an independent, independent nature, as well as a natural protective instinct and great willingness to work. To be happy, the Chesapeake Bay Retriever absolutely needs a task, daily workload and the ability to swim. As a pure family dog, it would be under-challenged, which could be reflected in excessive vigilance or other undesirable behavior. From the age of a puppy, like any other dog, he should be well trained and encouraged according to his abilities. The Chessie is endowed with a lot of stamina, robustness and a very good nose. This makes him an excellent retriever who loves dummy work or working as a hunting dog on land and in the water. Another possible field of activity is rescue dog work. Despite his friendly character, his natural protective instinct should not necessarily be encouraged, because otherwise he could react to strangers with a distance. Dominant behavior towards other dogs should therefore be prevented from adolescence.

With the Chesapeake Bay Retriever there is no division into show and work lines.

-> Here you can find the FCI breed description of the Chesapeake Bay Retriever as pdf.