As a breed they have a few features that some people find charming, but that some people find mildly unpleasant and some people find downright intolerable.
DON'T GET A CHESAPEAKE BAY RETRIEVER IF YOU...
1. Are attracted to the breed chiefly by its appearance.
From a distance, the appearance of the CBRs you have seen may indicate that they are a chocolate, wavy-haired version of a Labrador Retriever. They are the largest of the retriever breeds and are not from the same lineage as a Labrador - the breedings are entirely different.Chesapeake Bay retrievers are not related to Goldens or Labradors - and because of this very basic genetic difference, you cannot compare Chessies to these breeds.
Chesapeake Bay Retrievers are the result of crosses with Newfoundlands, hounds, setters, water spaniels and other dogs and were first recognized as a distinct breed in America in the middle of the 19th century. They were ducking dogs used by market hunters for retrieving waterfowl and protecting the day’s catch. These early objectives in breeding and selecting for outstanding ducking dogs has endured in today’s Chessies - they are still remarkably tough working dogs and loyal, protective companions. Most Chessies are not "happy-go lucky" retrievers - they will not "love" everyone they meet. They are indifferent to other people and dogs - very different from Goldens and Labradors. Chesapeakes are unique, intensely loyal, protective, sensitive, and serious dogs - traits that require thoughtful consideration before adopting a dog.
2. Don't intend to educate (train) your dog.
Basic obedience and household rules training is not optional for the Chesapeake Bay Retriever.
As an absolute minimum, you must teach him to reliably respond to commands to come, to lie down, to stay, and to walk at your side, on or off leash and regardless of temptations. You must also teach him to respect your household rules: e.g., is he allowed to get on the furniture? Is he allowed to beg at the table? What you allow or forbid is unimportant; but it is critical that you, not the dog, make these choices and that you enforce your rules consistently.
You must commit yourself to attending, at least, an 8 to 10 week series of weekly lessons at a local obedience club or professional trainer and to doing one or two short (5 to 20 minutes) homework sessions per day.
As commands are learned, they must be integrated into your daily life by being used whenever appropriate and enforced consistently.
Young CBR puppies are relatively easy to train: they are eager to please, intelligent, and calm-natured, with a relatively good attention span. Once a CBR has learned something, he tends to retain it well. Your cute, sweet little Chessie puppy will grow up to be a large, powerful dog with a highly self-assertive personality and the determination to finish whatever he starts. If he has grown up respecting you and your rules, then all his physical and mental strength will work for you. But if he has grown up without rules and guidance from you, surely he will make his own rules, and his physical and mental powers will often act in opposition to your needs and desires. For example: he may tow you down the street as if competing in a sled-dog race; he may grab food off the table; he may forbid your guests entry to his home.
While you definitely may want the help of an experienced trainer to teach you how to train your dog, you yourself must actually train your Chessie. As each lesson is well learned, then the rest of the household (except young children) must also work with the dog, insisting he obey them as well. Many of the Chesapeakes that are rescued from pounds and shelters show clearly that they have received little or no basic training, neither in obedience nor in household deportment; yet these same dogs respond well to such training by the rescuer or the adopter.
It seems likely that a failure to train the dog is a significant cause of CBR abandonment. If you don't intend to educate your dog, preferably during puppyhood, you would be better off with a breed that is both smaller and socially submissive, such a dog will still require training, but a little bit goes further than with a Chessie.
Chessies can, with adequate training, excel at such working competitions as field trials and hunt tests, obedience, agility, and tracking.
3. Lack a leadership (self-assertive) type personality.
Dogs do not believe in social equality. They live in a social hierarchy led by a pack-leader (Alpha). The alpha dog is generally benevolent, affectionate, and non-bullying towards his subordinates; but there is never any doubt in his mind or in theirs that the alpha is the boss and makes the rules. Whatever the breed, if you do not assume the leadership role, the dog will do so sooner or later, and with more or less unpleasant consequences for the abdicating owner.
Like the untrained dog, the pack leader dog makes his own rules and enforces them against other members of the household by means of a dominant physical posture and a hard-eyed stare, followed by a snarl, then a knockdown blow or a bite. Breeds differ in tendencies towards social dominance; and individuals within a breed differ considerably.
Chesapeakes as a breed tend to be of a socially dominant personality. You really cannot afford to let a Chesapeake become your boss. You do not have to have the personality or mannerisms of a Marine boot camp Sergeant, but you do have to have the calm, quiet self-assurance and self assertion of the successful parent ("Because I'm your mother/father, that's why").
If you think you might have difficulty asserting yourself calmly and confidently to exercise leadership, then choose a breed known for its socially subordinate disposition, and be sure to ask the breeder to select one of the more submissive pups in the litter for you.
If the whole idea of "being the boss" frightens or repels you, don't get a dog at all. Cats don't expect leadership. A caged bird or hamster, or fish doesn't need leadership or household rules. Leadership and training are inextricably intertwined: leadership personality enables you to train your dog, and being trained by you reinforces your dog's perception of you as the alpha.
4. Want a totally unaggressive and unprotective dog.
Most Chessies have an assertive and confident personality. When confronted with a threat, a proper Chesapeake Bay Retriever will be somewhat more ready to fight than to flee. Thus he may respond aggressively in situations where many other breeds back down. Most CBRs have some inclination to act aggressively to repel intruders on their territory (i.e.,your home) and to counteract assaults upon their packmates (you and your family).
Without training and leadership from you to guide him, the dog cannot judge correctly whom to repel and whom to tolerate. Without training and leadership, sooner or later he may injure an innocent person who will successfully sue you for more than you own. With good training and leadership from you, he can be profoundly valuable as a defender of your home and family.
If you feel no need of an assertive dog, if you are embarrassed by a barking dog at your door, or if you have the slightest doubts of your ability and willingness to supply the essential socialization, training and leadership, then please choose one of the many breeds noted for thoroughly unaggressive temperament.
5. Are unwilling to share your house and your life with your dog.
Chessies were bred to share in the work of the family and to spend most of their waking hours working with the family. They thrive on companionship and they want to be wherever you are. They are happiest living with you in your house and going with you when you go out. While they usually tolerate being left at home by themselves, they should not be relegated soley to the backyard or kennel. A puppy exiled from the house is likely to grow up to be unsociable (fearful and/or unprovokedly aggressive), unruly, and unhappy. He may well develop pastimes, such as digging or barking, that will displease you and/or your neighbors. An adult so exiled will be miserable too.
If you don't strongly prefer to have your dog's companionship as much as possible, enjoying having him sleep in your bedroom at night and sharing many of your activities by day, you should choose a breed less oriented to human companionship. Likewise, if your job or other obligations prevent you from spending much time with your dog.
6. Don't value laid-back companionship and calm affection.
A Chessie becomes deeply attached and devoted to his own family, but he doesn't "wear his heart on his sleeve." Some are noticeably reserved, others are more outgoing, but few adults are usually exuberantly demonstrative of their affection.
They make remarkable eye contact with their favorite people. They like to be near you, usually in the same room, preferably on a comfortable pad or cushion in a corner or under a table, just "keeping you company." They enjoy conversation, petting and cuddling when you offer it, but they are moderate and not overbearing in coming to you to demand much attention. They are emotionally sensitive to their favorite people: when you are joyful, proud, angry, or grief-stricken, your CBR will immediately perceive it and will believe himself to be the cause.
The relationship can be one of great mellowness, depth and subtlety; it is a relation on an adult-to-adult level, although certainly not one devoid of playfulness - Chessies are famous for their vocalization with their people (the "roo-roo-roos" and the snorts) and many will "smile" when greeting friends and family.
7. Are fastidious about the neatness of your home.
All dogs, like all children, create a greater or lesser degree of household mess.
The CBR’s unique, water-repellent coat and his love of playing in water combine to make him a highly efficient transporter of dirt into your home, depositing a portion of this on your floors, rugs and possibly also on your walls, furniture and clothes.
And although CBRs do not require professional grooming, they do "blow coat" at least twice a year and your house will be full of brown "dust bunnies" tumbleweeding their way about the rooms.
This does not imply that you must be a slob to live happily with a Chessie, just be prepared to either maintain the attitude that your dog's company means more to you than does an immaculate house or have the vacuum/broom/mop nearby!
8. Dislike daily physical exercise.
Chessies need daily exercise to maintain their health, weight and muscle tone. Ideally, an adult CBR should have a morning outing of a mile or more, as you walk briskly, jog, or bicycle beside him, and a similar evening outing. For puppies, shorter and slower walks, several times a day are preferred for exercise and housebreaking.
But, more than just walks, you need to "work" your Chessie. Chesapeakes were bred to work hard and the modern dogs still thrive on work. Anyone who owns one should be able to devote at least 20 minutes a day either working, training, retrieving or playing with them. Because of their love of water, 20 minutes of water retrieves is usually much more intense work than an hour walking around the neighborhood nicely on the leash. Chesapeakes that are not worked - both physically and mentally - are prone to mischief and will not "think." These active, intelligent dogs need jobs and responsibilities - it is best if you designate what these jobs are (obedience, hunting, agility, etc.), as you might not agree with what your Chessie decides is a job (digging, barking, chewing, etc.).
All dogs need some daily exercise of greater or lesser length and vigor. If providing this above described exercise and work is beyond you, physically or temperamentally, then choose one of the many small and energetic breeds that can exercise itself within your fenced yard.
9. Believe that dogs should run "free."
Whether you live in town or country, no dog can safely be left to run "free" outside your fenced property and without your direct supervision and control. The price of such "freedom" is inevitably injury or death: from dogfights, from automobiles, from the Pound or from justifiably irate neighbors. Even though Chessies are home-loving and less inclined to roam than most breeds, an unfenced CBR is destined for disaster. The unfenced city CBR is likely to exercise his inherited retrieving instinct on joggers, bicyclists, and automobiles.
If you don't want the responsibility of confining and supervising your pet, then no breed of dog is suitable for you.
10. Can't afford to buy, feed, and provide health care for one.
Well bred Chesapeakes are not a cheap breed to buy, as a careful breeding program with due regard for health/physical soundness, temperament and trainability cannot be done cheaply. The time the breeder invests into each puppy's "pre-school" and socialization along with proper nutrition and initial vaccinations is also costly.
While the "bargain" puppy from a "back-yard breeder" who unselectively mates any two CBRs who happen to be of opposite sex may seem like a "deal", it could ultimately prove to be extremely costly in terms of bad temperament, bad health, and lack of essential socialization.
In contrast, the occasional adult or older pup is available at a modest price from a breeder, shelter, or rescuer to whom the dog was abandoned; most of these "used" Chessies are capable of becoming a marvelous dog for you if you can provide training, leadership, and understanding.
Whatever the initial cost of your Chessie, the upkeep will not be cheap. Being large dogs, CBRs eat relatively large meals. Large dogs tend to have larger veterinary bills, as the amount of anesthesia and of most medications is proportional to body weight. Spaying or neutering, which costs more for larger dogs, is an essential expense for virtually all pet CBRs, as it prevents serious health problems in later life, and makes the dog a more pleasant companion.
Chessies are subject to hip dysplasia, degenerative myelopathy and progressive retinal atrophy which can be costly to treat, not to mention heart-breaking if your best friend is affected. (Your best insurance against these conditions is to buy only from a litter bred from health-certified parents and (if possible), grandparents. Yes, this generally means paying more.
Finally, the modest fee for participation in a series of basic obedience training classes is an essential investment in harmonious living with your dog; and don't foreget about annual "well-being" health exams, required vaccinations and local licensing.
11. Want the "latest, greatest ferocious killer attack dog".
Although the Chesapeake has been bred to be protective of his owner’s home, and he may be described as the "Rottweiler of the retrievers," the CBR is less capable in these respects than half a dozen other protection breeds.
CBRs must have great respect for the leadership of his handler and must be solidly trained in basic obedience to that handler. Equally essential, he must have a rock-solidly stable temperament and he must also have been "socialized" out in the world enough to know that most people are friendly and harmless, so that he can later learn to distinguish the bad guys from the good guys. Please don't buy any dog for protection training unless you are absolutely committed to the extreme amount of work that will be required of you personally.
Also talk to your lawyer and your insurance agent first. In contrast to the protection-trained dog, trained to bite on direct command or in reaction to direct physical assault on his master, the "deterrent dog" dissuades the vast majority of aspiring burglars, rapists, and assailants by his presence, his appearance, and his demeanor. Seeing such a dog, the potential wrong-doer simply decides to look for a safer victim elsewhere. For this job, all that is needed is a dog that is large and that appears to be well-trained and unafraid. CBR’s are suited to this type of protection, since they usually bark at people who approach the property or the home.
12. Are not willing to commit yourself for the dog's entire lifetime.
No dog deserves to be cast out because his owners want to move to a no-pet apartment or because he is no longer a cute puppy or because his owners through lack of leadership and training have allowed him to become an unruly juvenile delinquent with a repertoire of undesirable behaviors.
The prospects of a responsible and affectionate second home for a "used" dog are never very bright, but they are especially dim for a large, poorly mannered dog. A Chesapeake dumped into a Pound or Shelter has almost no chance of survival unless he has the great good fortune to be spotted by someone dedicated to Chesapeake Bay Retriever Rescue.
The prospects for adoption for a youngish, well-trained, CBR whose owner seeks the assistance of the nearest CBR Club or Rescue group are fairly good; but an older Chessie has diminishing prospects.
Be sure to contact your local American Chesapeake breeder or Rescue group if you are diagnosed as terminally ill or have other equally valid reason for seeking an adoptive home.
Be sure to contact your local Chessie breeder or rescuer if you are beginning to have difficulties in training your Chessie, so these can be resolved.
Be sure to make arrangements in your will or with your family to ensure continued care or adoptive home for your Chessie if you should pre-decease him.
The life span of a Chesapeake Bay Retriever is from 10 to 15 years. If that seems too long a time for you to give an unequivocal loyalty to your Chessie, then please do not get one! Indeed, as most dogs have a life expectancy that is as long or longer, please do not get any dog!
IN CONCLUSION If all the preceding "bad news" about Chessies hasn't turned you away from the breed, then by all means
11. Want the "latest, greatest ferocious killer attack dog".
Although the Chesapeake has been bred to be protective of his owner’s home, and he may be described as the "Rottweiler of the retrievers," the CBR is less capable in these respects than half a dozen other protection breeds.
CBRs must have great respect for the leadership of his handler and must be solidly trained in basic obedience to that handler. Equally essential, he must have a rock-solidly stable temperament and he must also have been "socialized" out in the world enough to know that most people are friendly and harmless, so that he can later learn to distinguish the bad guys from the good guys. Please don't buy any dog for protection training unless you are absolutely committed to the extreme amount of work that will be required of you personally.
Also talk to your lawyer and your insurance agent first. In contrast to the protection-trained dog, trained to bite on direct command or in reaction to direct physical assault on his master, the "deterrent dog" dissuades the vast majority of aspiring burglars, rapists, and assailants by his presence, his appearance, and his demeanor. Seeing such a dog, the potential wrong-doer simply decides to look for a safer victim elsewhere. For this job, all that is needed is a dog that is large and that appears to be well-trained and unafraid. CBR’s are suited to this type of protection, since they usually bark at people who approach the property or the home.
12. Are not willing to commit yourself for the dog's entire lifetime.
No dog deserves to be cast out because his owners want to move to a no-pet apartment or because he is no longer a cute puppy or because his owners through lack of leadership and training have allowed him to become an unruly juvenile delinquent with a repertoire of undesirable behaviors.
The prospects of a responsible and affectionate second home for a "used" dog are never very bright, but they are especially dim for a large, poorly mannered dog. A Chesapeake dumped into a Pound or Shelter has almost no chance of survival unless he has the great good fortune to be spotted by someone dedicated to Chesapeake Bay Retriever Rescue.
The prospects for adoption for a youngish, well-trained, CBR whose owner seeks the assistance of the nearest CBR Club or Rescue group are fairly good; but an older Chessie has diminishing prospects.
Be sure to contact your local American Chesapeake breeder or Rescue group if you are diagnosed as terminally ill or have other equally valid reason for seeking an adoptive home.
Be sure to contact your local Chessie breeder or rescuer if you are beginning to have difficulties in training your Chessie, so these can be resolved.
Be sure to make arrangements in your will or with your family to ensure continued care or adoptive home for your Chessie if you should pre-decease him.
The life span of a Chesapeake Bay Retriever is from 10 to 15 years. If that seems too long a time for you to give an unequivocal loyalty to your Chessie, then please do not get one! Indeed, as most dogs have a life expectancy that is as long or longer, please do not get any dog!
IN CONCLUSION If all the preceding "bad news" about Chessies hasn't turned you away from the breed, then by all means
DO GET A CHESAPEAKE BAY RETRIEVER!
They are every bit as wonderful as you have heard!
If buying a puppy, be sure to shop carefully for a responsible and knowledgeable breeder who places high priority on breeding for sound temperament and trainability and good health in all matings. Such a breeder will interrogate and educate potential buyers carefully. Such a breeder will continue to be available for advice and consultation for the rest of the puppy's life and will insist on receiving the dog back if ever you are unable to keep it.
However as an alternative to buying a Chessie puppy, you may want to give some serious consideration to adopting a rescued CBR. Despite the irresponsibility of their previous owner, rescued CBRs have proven to be rehabilitated so as to become superb family companions for responsible and affectionate adopters. Many rescuers are skilled trainers who evaluate temperament and provide remedial training before offering dogs for placement, and who offer continued advisory support afterwards.
Check out the following Rescue groups:
New York Chesapeake Bay Retriever RescueHowever as an alternative to buying a Chessie puppy, you may want to give some serious consideration to adopting a rescued CBR. Despite the irresponsibility of their previous owner, rescued CBRs have proven to be rehabilitated so as to become superb family companions for responsible and affectionate adopters. Many rescuers are skilled trainers who evaluate temperament and provide remedial training before offering dogs for placement, and who offer continued advisory support afterwards.
Check out the following Rescue groups:
Chesapeake Safe Harbor
Chesapeake Bay Retriever Relief and Rescue
