Chesapeake Bay Retriever

Standard Chesapeake Bay Retriever Characteristics

About the Chesapeake Bay Retriever

The Chesapeake Bay Retriever was created in the United States in the 1900’s as a water retrieving dog.

Today this breed is used as a companion dog and a gun dog.

These water retrieving dogs are very intelligent, obedient, and independent thinkers. They are very trainable but learn slowly. They are great with families and excellent with children. They have a ton of energy and love to be in the water. Obedience classes with this breed will be very helpful since they may test your patience as often as possible. They can also become aggressive with strangers and other dogs and have dominance issues if not trained properly.

Chesapeake Bay Retrievers have yellowish eyes that are set far apart on the skull. Their ears are set high on the head and hang loose. Their muzzle is long and pointy and reaches the short nose and thin lips. The tail is medium length and slightly curved. Their legs are of medium length and are straight with powerful muscles. Their paws are webbed with well rounded toes so that swimming can be easier. Their outer coat is thick and short while the undercoat is fine and wooly. The outer coat is water resistant and the undercoat protects them from the cold weather. Their coat can be of various shades of brown, sedge, or deadgrass.

This breed is prone to dysplasia and eye problems.

A Chesapeake Bay Retriever is not recommended for apartment life because they are quite active indoors. They prefer to sleep outdoors in the cool climates unless there is water nearby. Without a lot of exercise, these dogs can become bored and will behave very badly.