Chesapeake Bay Retrievers

[boobug]

I love Chesapeake Bay Retrievers.
I have never had one, and only remember seeing 1 in real life, but i read about them and look at pictures of them.
I wondered if anyone had any advice about them, because I am interested in eventually getting one.
Would they get along with chickens and ducks?
I have also heard that it is bad to wash your dog a lot and that Chesapeake Bay Retrievers like to swim even if you don't want them too. We have a small pond, but if a dog swam in it, the dog would probably have to get a bath.
Is it bad to wash a dog too much or would I have to make sure that a Chesapeake Bay Retriever didn't get in the pond too much.
Thanks.


Jesus Loves You
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

 

[Folly's place]

I have had three Chessies; they are my favorite breed! I washed mine when they got dirty, as they were all house dogs. They are a big, strong, sometimes opinionated dog, that is very trainable, super retriever, and a guard dog. Owners must be able to train and be willing to insist on good behavior, or the dog will rule and things could get ugly. I did obedience, field, and protection training with mine. If you are a pushover, don't get one! Good breeding pays off; try to avoid the common large breed health issues. The American Chesapeake Club has an excellent website. Mary

 

[boobug]

Thanks

 

[wyoDreamer]

A co-worker has a Chessie - it freaks out during thunderstorms and they have to sedate it for a couple of weeks around the 4th of July because of the fireworks going off everywhere. Not very representative of the breed.
Growing up, one of my teachers raised Chessies for show and field trials. At least one of his was National Champion. One of the tricks his kids would do with the dog was give them an egg and tell them to hold it, the dog would hold that egg in its mouth for however long the kids let him have it, while doing sit, stay, come, and down. I never saw the dog break the egg. Very beautiful dogs, but very smart, athletic, energetic and loving. They need a firm hand and a job to do. A bored Chessie, is a ... well there is never a bored Chessie because they will find something to do to fill their time. Training, training, training.
They do love water, so good luck trying to limit their time in the pond! They have a naturally oily coat, so too much washing with shampoo will strip out the oils and be bad for their skin and coat. The oil is there to make their coat water resistant to keep them warm while retrieving in freezing temps, so it may not need a "bath" every time it hit the pond, maybe just a rinse with clean water and let it dry before going into the house. Regular brushing also.
And the ones I knew loved to retrieve, so don't be surprised if they don't swim out and bring you back a duck or 10. They should have a soft mouth, so they shouldn't be harming the ducks, my friends Chessie never harmed a feather on his ducks, it just "retrieved" them all the time. The ducks learned to just lay there calmly in the dogs mouth and wait to be let go - usually with a bit of treat from my friend. A bird dog that bites hard onto a shot bird is not good in the field, crushing the bird damages the meat and puncturing the skin with its canines introduced bacteria, so it defeats the purpose of hunting if the dog is damaging the bird on retrieval and it is not edible. But that all takes training and work.