Chesapeake Bay Retriever

[Catu]

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?

[DianaM]

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.

[Amaruq]

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.

[Toffifay]

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..

[Amaruq]

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

[sit,stay]

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

[DFrost]

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