Chesapeake Bay Retriever

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN United States

MOST SUITED AS Field sports dog and family pet.

SIZE
The shoulder-height is 78 - 66cm (22 1/2 - 26in) for dogs and 73 - 6lcm (20 1/2 - 24in) for bitches. Greater consideration is given in the show ring to correct proportion than to height.

COAT
The Chesapeake's coat is its trade mark; thick and short with a dense woolly undercoat. The coat may be wavy in some places but never curly, and it feels greasy to the touch. The colour is between yellow-brown, and dark brown. The darker colouring is more usual.

CARE REQUIRED
Grooming of this breed is fairly simple. During moulting it is necessary to brush the dog to remove dead and loose hairs, but take care not to harm the texture of the coat. For this same reason it is not advisable to wash this breed.

CHARACTER
These are friendly, intelligent, and obedient dogs with a mind of their own, that are mad about water, tough on themselves, boisterous, full of energy, and vigilant. The dogs in particular can be rather dominant.

TRAINING
This breed is not recommended for the inexperienced new dog owner. The handler needs to be confident and to exude authority because these dogs like to have their own way.
They are less gentle-natured than, for example the Golden Retriever. A consistent but kind approach is the most successful way and it is recommended to attend an obedience class with this dog. They are usually slow to mature to adulthood.

SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
This dog will get along perfectly well with a cat that is already present in the house, yet it will chase other cats. The dogs in particular can behave dominantly towards other males, al­though this much depends upon their social training. Make sure therefore to take the young dog with you as often as possible and introduce it to other dogs so that it has the chance to grow up equably. Chesapeake Bay Retrievers get on extremely well with children but are somewhat reserved towards strangers.

EXERCISE
This breed needs lots of exercise. If they do not get it, they tend to become badly behaved through boredom. Swimming and retrieving are two activities which they revel in - together with field sports. They are most certainly not quick learners!