Overview:
The Chesapeake Bay Retriever is originally from the United States, and often referred to as the "Cheese". These dogs are enthusiastic hunters of fowls on both land and water. The Chesapeake Bay Retriever was the first retriever to be documented by the American Kennel Club. Even though they are not as well known today as the Golden or Labrador Retrievers, the Chesapeake Bay Retrievers are wonderful family and field companion dogs.
Description:
The Chesapeake Bay Retriever is a muscular dog with a lot of power. The head is broad. We see the muzzle is the same length as the skull. This breed has small ears that are high set and hang loosely. They have wide set eyes which are amber and yellowish colour. Their teeth meet in a scissor or level bite. Their height is between 21 and 26 inches, dependant on sex of your dog. Their weight is in the range to 65 to 80 pounds, for the male dog, with bitches, 55 to 70 pounds. The body is muscular and is in keeping with a working dog. The tail is medium in length and is rather thick at the base.
This breed has webbed toes, which helps them when swimming. Their coat is short, with a slight wave to the fur, the coat is oily, which enables the dog to dry off quicker and swim in colder waters than other breeds. Coat colours include light tan, red, brown and sedge, occasionally, we see small white spots upon the breast, toes and back of the feet and also on their tummy. They live for about 12 years. This breed does have an odour.
History:
of the Chesapeake Bay Retriever: An English ship was wrecked on the coast of Maryland, in the winter of 1807. Everybody was successfully rescued including two dogs that were given to a family of dog lovers; these were Newfoundland dogs, and the start of this breeds of dog. The Newfoundland dogs were mated with the flat coated retrievers, curly coated retrievers and the English otter hounds.
We see in this breed, the outstanding abilities of the retriever, the enthusiasm from the Newfoundland, combined with all these breeds love of water and the webbed feet from the Newfoundland. The Chesapeake Bay Retriever has received some wonderful skills from their ancestors. Some of the talents we see are retrieving, hunting, guarding and more recently, competitive obedience, field sports and schutzhund.
Temperament:
The Chesapeake Bay Retriever breed is highly trainable, willing and able to please. Training can be slow sometimes on learning new training commands. Here we have a dog that is great with children, and is a very friendly dog. This breed has a lifelong passion for water.
Care:
These dogs should be brushed about once during the week to remove the dead hair. It is vital for these dogs not to be groomed too much as this will harm the coat. The Chesapeake Bay Retriever should only be bathed when it is really necessary in order to protect the integrity the coat. The Chesapeake Bay Retriever is an average shedding dog.
Training:
The Chesapeake Bay Retriever is very clever dog an intelligent dog that is very precise and devoted to their family when socialized and trained correctly. The Chesapeake Bay Retriever is not quite as fast to learn as some of the other breeds, and will require a tolerant trainer that will offer plenty of repetition. This breed should only be taught by one person until they have learned the command, otherwise they might become confused.
Overall, the Chesapeake Bay Retriever is a rather healthy breed. They are however prone to bloat, and it is therefore advised that they rather have a number of small meals rather than one large meal. These dogs should also not exercise directly after eating. Hip dysplasia is a minor concern with these dogs, and progressive retinal atrophy and entropion are eye conditions that are also seen with the Chesapeake Bay Retriever.
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