So, I owned five Chessys over a period of 35 years. Here is what I learned. 1. They are a water dog and should be around water so that they can swim regularly. They simply love the water and swimming regardless of conditions. (They are amazing retrievers.) 2 They are not a hyper dog but they are energetic and need exercise regularly if you want a happy dog. 3. They are an amazingly smart dog particularly in the area of problem solving. 4 They can be VERY protective, which can be a problem, but if you socialize them early you can mitigate the issue also they often, particularly females, do not mix well with other dogs, but again, socializing early can mitigate. 5. You should think hard about whether this breed will make a good indoor dog. They have the personality and bulk of a fullback not a ballerina. 6. They are an amazingly, wonderfully loyal dog, man's best friend at its finest. 7. Of my five Chessys, two died early, one at six months one at 7 years, the rest all lived 13-14 years. When they leave, the hole in your heart is profound. 8. If you have a sedentary lifestyle or are a sedentary person, this probably is not the breed for you. 9. Two of my dogs nipped strangers. Neither broke the skin and neither was the dog's fault. In one case I was at a campsite and the dog was tethered. A strange child ran onto my campsite and ran at my female dog, (who was not used to being around children), scaring the dog and as there was no escape for the dog, she nipped in defense. (Had she been socialized early around children I doubt this would have happened as she was an amazingly even tempered dog, but there were no children in my household.) The second was the same type of a situation where a 14 yr. old trouble maker in the neighborhood charged at the dog when it was on the leash and again there was no escape and the dog nipped in defense. Neither incident resulted in a complaint or legal action. They are an adventurous dog. I am seventy two now and just don't have what it takes any longer to be a good Chessie owner, but I loved my Chessys, miss them much and if you are the right person this is a WONDERFUL breed of dog. Also, if you are looking for an "out of the ordinary dog," (labs are all over) you don't see many Chesapeake Bays around these days.
I was privileged to have own a Chesapeake bay retriever. I hunted and had him swimming every day All his life - he lived to 15 years and 3 months - he passed away on Christmas Day with his head on my arm. He dived under the water. Brilliant dog.
Our family dog was a Chesapeake called jimmy, he has recently passed but I can say that he was the BEST dog in the ENTIRE world. I have never known a day without him and he was honestly the most loyal, kindest, and most caring dog who LOVED the water! Ironically, Jimmy hated guns and would hide behind the couch every time my brothers went hunting. My childhood would never have been complete without him and I'm going to miss him so much. That's probably the only downside of having a dog like this because when they do eventually go they really do leave a hole that no other dog will ever be able to fill. I 100 percent recommend you will NEVER regret it :P
Wow reading these comments has made me tear up with how much joy so many owners have had with this breed. I am picking mine up 01/16/2023 I absolutely can’t wait 🥺😇
@@stellablue9589 I did, his name is Coop! He is a purebred Chesapeake and Lab mix. Stubborn as heck! He’s 9 weeks old and weighs 20lbs. He’s been a little bit of a challenge, but with consistency I feel he will get the hang of our routine we have for him. This is my first large dog breed, and one thing I noticed off the bat is that toys do not last very long lol.
I have a Chesapeake lab mix that I picked up off the street a long time ago. He's been the best dog I've ever owned. The first week I had him we let him out of my friends hunting cabin in the middle of the night, we found him down in the pond in 22°F! Can't keep him out of the water.
my pup is the same mix, looks like a grizzly, great with people and dogs as long as they're well mannered.he's gone to work with me every day for nine years and I work by the ocean and live next to the Santa Ynez river to keep him happy
My cousin is a veterinarian and breeder of Chessies who we got all of the 3 of our babies.. Our first Chessie (Tony Soprano) lived for 13 years, he was a treasure. Our 2 Chessies we have now are bro and sis litter mates and are so different, one cuddly (the boy dawg) and the other (the girl dawg) the boss. We live in LA and with right understanding, these dogs can be house dogs. So if you live in a condo, small home, just engage with them, these amazingly adaptable dogs. Great guard dogs without the liability. Also, all dawgs are great.
I rescued a 9 month old recently from a couple that had split. they took turns abandoning him by driving him to each others house and tying him to the porch and leaving him, only to have to same thing done the same or next day. He was very emotional and scared. Definitely wasn't sure if I could keep him. He was nippy. He was frustrated and angry. They had him living in a cage. When I picked him up and finished asking everything I could and was about to leave the woman blurts out, as I'm rolling my window up, "He MAY have been beaten. :( Yeah so after a week of nothing but attention, he is smiling bigger than most dogs do. House trained in a day, asks to go out now lol. They can be scary so please if you do this be patient and speak in gentle tones until they trust you. Now I can yell a little when he gets into mischief and he smiles. He learned the rules of the house and a couple of commands. I am super impressed with the breeds ability to adapt and in his particularly, to overcome. He is mine. He is staying. He is my fur kid for sure. I love him.
I accidentally became the owner of a magnificent chessie. Super intelligent,loyal, protective,tough as nails, major endurance and energy, loving, playful and obedient. Couldn't have found a more perfect dog for country living if i tried.
Definitely! Our Chessie warns us anytime someone pulls into our driveway or he hears people outside & too close to the house. We were told they were preferred dogs in West Virginia mining towns because their owners could leave them on their porch & no one dared try to trespass!
I think so, i am currently training mine for protection. He came out very quickly .. he is a bit shy compare to bulls and german shepherds of the class (who are ahead of him in the program by the way) but he is building more confidence every class .. will post later as an update
My girl is a working hunter, a very alert supervisor of my culdesac and my Service Dog. I chose a Chessie because of their incredible work ethic. I have a condition that causes me to stop breathing several times a week, lose my balance when I bend over and my bp fluctuates. She saves my life multiple times a week, sometimes several times a day. She is incredible in every way and I will never have a different breed as my sd again.
It watches to the point of making one uncomfortable lol. You can really see the newfoundland in this one. Barks when people pull up to the driveway or make noise outside while she is inside, regardless of how much she is told to quiet (she is trained really well otherwise, and stubborn as can be expected. But you have to make these dogs obey, not by physically forcing them cause you don't want to break that spirit. Patience, persistence, and consistency is a must - like most dogs just a wee bit more so with the chessy.). Protective, loyal, and like a bull in a china closet running over bumping in to most things. I've never been around a breed like this one before.
I live in Maryland and I have my chessy and we literally have a pond in our backyard I think you might know how that ends in the summer time when it's really hot she just goes in the pond and stands there and we can't get her out lol 😂
Chessies have a layer of fur like goose down. Toss a good sized rock into an irrigation ditch or small type stream and they will go snorkeling till they find that rock and will return it to you. Keep away from fresh cow pies as mine was for sure going to run as hard as he could and nose dive and roll in them then race back and try to rub on my leg to share his perfume with me. He’d scan the skies and give me a heads up if he spotted ducks or geese. He was and excellent pheasant, quail, hun, Chuckar, dove dog in addition to ducks and geese. Watch out if you hunt with a buddy in a blind. Mine souls inch his body over to my friend and sneak enough to grab the duck or whatever bird and fetch it back to me and add it to my pile. He would keep doing that until my friend yelled at him to stop. Doing that. It was hilarious. But if my friend tried to reach over and retrieve his bird back Bro. Oh Boy. would growl and show his teeth. He never snapped or bit a person. I had to pick it up and toss it back to my friend. It was a few years before bro boy would let him have his own stack without stealing them. And chessies have heart. Mine would not quit till he finished his mission. He swam almost 2 miles in the snake River to retrieve my duck floating down the River back when steel shot was first introduced and it never seemed to kill as efficiently as lead
For anyone watching this debating on if a Chesapeake is a good dog for you. Just get one! Don’t listen to everything you read. All dogs are individuals. Ive had Chesapeakes that absolutely hated the water. Like any dog or any breed bad apples can happen. All dogs need good pack leaders. If they dont have one they will try to be one. Sweetest most gentle dog ive ever owned was a Chesapeake. Making wide sweeping generalizations about breeds and dogs is a dangerous and irresponsible idea. My caution would only be if you aren’t capable of establishing a leadership role with a dog then you shouldn’t own a dog. Of any breed.
So, I owned five Chessys over a period of 35 years. Here is what I learned. 1. They are a water dog and should be around water so that they can swim regularly. They simply love the water and swimming regardless of conditions. (They are amazing retrievers.) 2 They are not a hyper dog but they are energetic and need exercise regularly if you want a happy dog. 3. They are an amazingly smart dog particularly in the area of problem solving. 4 They can be VERY protective, which can be a problem, but if you socialize them early you can mitigate the issue also they often, particularly females, do not mix well with other dogs, but again, socializing early can mitigate. 5. You should think hard about whether this breed will make a good indoor dog. They have the personality and bulk of a fullback not a ballerina. 6. They are an amazingly, wonderfully loyal dog, man's best friend at its finest. 7. Of my five Chessys, two died early, one at six months one at 7 years, the rest all lived 13-14 years. When they leave, the hole in your heart is profound. 8. If you have a sedentary lifestyle or are a sedentary person, this probably is not the breed for you. 9. Two of my dogs nipped strangers. Neither broke the skin and neither was the dog's fault. In one case I was at a campsite and the dog was tethered. A strange child ran onto my campsite and ran at my female dog, (who was not used to being around children), scaring the dog and as there was no escape for the dog, she nipped in defense. (Had she been socialized early around children I doubt this would have happened as she was an amazingly even tempered dog, but there were no children in my household.) The second was the same type of a situation where a 14 yr. old trouble maker in the neighborhood charged at the dog when it was on the leash and again there was no escape and the dog nipped in defense. Neither incident resulted in a complaint or legal action. They are an adventurous dog. I am seventy two now and just don't have what it takes any longer to be a good Chessie owner, but I loved my Chessys, miss them much and if you are the right person this is a WONDERFUL breed of dog. Also, if you are looking for an "out of the ordinary dog," (labs are all over) you don't see many Chesapeake Bays around these days.
Do you think that if there were 4 children in the household they would be more friendly and less protective?
@@marykate4563 They are protective by nature.
Love these dogss
I grew up with a Chesapeake and he was the kindest and most kid-friendly dog in the world
@@edieb4246 Just a wonderful breed of dog. At 72 I am now dogless, miss my Chessies greatly.
I was privileged to have own a Chesapeake bay retriever. I hunted and had him swimming every day All his life - he lived to 15 years and 3 months - he passed away on Christmas Day with his head on my arm. He dived under the water. Brilliant dog.
Our family dog was a Chesapeake called jimmy, he has recently passed but I can say that he was the BEST dog in the ENTIRE world. I have never known a day without him and he was honestly the most loyal, kindest, and most caring dog who LOVED the water! Ironically, Jimmy hated guns and would hide behind the couch every time my brothers went hunting. My childhood would never have been complete without him and I'm going to miss him so much. That's probably the only downside of having a dog like this because when they do eventually go they really do leave a hole that no other dog will ever be able to fill. I 100 percent recommend you will NEVER regret it :P
Rest in peace Jimmy
Wow reading these comments has made me tear up with how much joy so many owners have had with this breed. I am picking mine up 01/16/2023 I absolutely can’t wait 🥺😇
Did you get your puppy? How is it going?
@@stellablue9589 I did, his name is Coop! He is a purebred Chesapeake and Lab mix. Stubborn as heck! He’s 9 weeks old and weighs 20lbs. He’s been a little bit of a challenge, but with consistency I feel he will get the hang of our routine we have for him. This is my first large dog breed, and one thing I noticed off the bat is that toys do not last very long lol.
That’s awesome! All the best to you and Coop, may you have a happy life together!😃
I was lucky enough to have grown up with a Chesapeake. We weren't sure if he was pure bred, as he was a rescue. I miss you, Johnny ♡
💜 my Chesapeake bay she’s the most perfect dog ever
I have a Chesapeake lab mix that I picked up off the street a long time ago. He's been the best dog I've ever owned. The first week I had him we let him out of my friends hunting cabin in the middle of the night, we found him down in the pond in 22°F! Can't keep him out of the water.
my pup is the same mix, looks like a grizzly, great with people and dogs as long as they're well mannered.he's gone to work with me every day for nine years and I work by the ocean and live next to the Santa Ynez river to keep him happy
Love the Chesapeake! Big Brown is a legend.
Beautiful dogs i had 2 and just loved them
My cousin is a veterinarian and breeder of Chessies who we got all of the 3 of our babies.. Our first Chessie (Tony Soprano) lived for 13 years, he was a treasure. Our 2 Chessies we have now are bro and sis litter mates and are so different, one cuddly (the boy dawg) and the other (the girl dawg) the boss. We live in LA and with right understanding, these dogs can be house dogs. So if you live in a condo, small home, just engage with them, these amazingly adaptable dogs. Great guard dogs without the liability. Also, all dawgs are great.
I rescued a 9 month old recently from a couple that had split. they took turns abandoning him by driving him to each others house and tying him to the porch and leaving him, only to have to same thing done the same or next day. He was very emotional and scared. Definitely wasn't sure if I could keep him. He was nippy. He was frustrated and angry. They had him living in a cage. When I picked him up and finished asking everything I could and was about to leave the woman blurts out, as I'm rolling my window up, "He MAY have been beaten. :( Yeah so after a week of nothing but attention, he is smiling bigger than most dogs do. House trained in a day, asks to go out now lol. They can be scary so please if you do this be patient and speak in gentle tones until they trust you. Now I can yell a little when he gets into mischief and he smiles. He learned the rules of the house and a couple of commands. I am super impressed with the breeds ability to adapt and in his particularly, to overcome. He is mine. He is staying. He is my fur kid for sure. I love him.
There is nothing more a Chessy loves than love and attention..
How’s he doing now? Poor fella had s rough start in life. I’m glad you were having success with him early on in the adoption. 🥰
@@mwebb3014 He's really great. Thanks so much. Super energetic! Big. Strong. Handsome.
@@gerrryjimerson So great to hear this! I love a happy rescue story! They are magnificent dogs. Thank you for letting me know. 😍
I accidentally became the owner of a magnificent chessie. Super intelligent,loyal, protective,tough as nails, major endurance and energy, loving, playful and obedient. Couldn't have found a more perfect dog for country living if i tried.
Great looking dog, 🏴
Does your Chessie make an excellent watchdog?
Let us know in the comments whether or not they have a strong work ethic and an alert nature.
Definitely! Our Chessie warns us anytime someone pulls into our driveway or he hears people outside & too close to the house. We were told they were preferred dogs in West Virginia mining towns because their owners could leave them on their porch & no one dared try to trespass!
I think so, i am currently training mine for protection. He came out very quickly .. he is a bit shy compare to bulls and german shepherds of the class (who are ahead of him in the program by the way) but he is building more confidence every class .. will post later as an update
My girl is a working hunter, a very alert supervisor of my culdesac and my Service Dog. I chose a Chessie because of their incredible work ethic. I have a condition that causes me to stop breathing several times a week, lose my balance when I bend over and my bp fluctuates. She saves my life multiple times a week, sometimes several times a day. She is incredible in every way and I will never have a different breed as my sd again.
It watches to the point of making one uncomfortable lol. You can really see the newfoundland in this one. Barks when people pull up to the driveway or make noise outside while she is inside, regardless of how much she is told to quiet (she is trained really well otherwise, and stubborn as can be expected. But you have to make these dogs obey, not by physically forcing them cause you don't want to break that spirit. Patience, persistence, and consistency is a must - like most dogs just a wee bit more so with the chessy.). Protective, loyal, and like a bull in a china closet running over bumping in to most things. I've never been around a breed like this one before.
We lost our girl last January. I don't feel anywhere near as safe at home now.
I live in Maryland and I have my chessy and we literally have a pond in our backyard I think you might know how that ends in the summer time when it's really hot she just goes in the pond and stands there and we can't get her out lol 😂
Im getting one half Chesapeake Bay and half lab , moms full Chesapeake ,Dad's Labrador ,, excited
Sweet video btw...thanks for the info!
Chessies have a layer of fur like goose down. Toss a good sized rock into an irrigation ditch or small type stream and they will go snorkeling till they find that rock and will return it to you. Keep away from fresh cow pies as mine was for sure going to run as hard as he could and nose dive and roll in them then race back and try to rub on my leg to share his perfume with me. He’d scan the skies and give me a heads up if he spotted ducks or geese. He was and excellent pheasant, quail, hun, Chuckar, dove dog in addition to ducks and geese. Watch out if you hunt with a buddy in a blind. Mine souls inch his body over to my friend and sneak enough to grab the duck or whatever bird and fetch it back to me and add it to my pile. He would keep doing that until my friend yelled at him to stop. Doing that. It was hilarious. But if my friend tried to reach over and retrieve his bird back Bro. Oh
Boy. would growl and show his teeth. He never snapped or bit a person. I had to pick it up and toss it back to my friend. It was a few years before bro boy would let him have his own stack without stealing them. And chessies have heart. Mine would not quit till he finished his mission. He swam almost 2 miles in the snake River to retrieve my duck floating down the River back when steel shot was first introduced and it never seemed to kill as efficiently as lead
i have a cheaspeake
and he is 4 and called mav
Shut up and take my money!
For anyone watching this debating on if a Chesapeake is a good dog for you. Just get one! Don’t listen to everything you read. All dogs are individuals. Ive had Chesapeakes that absolutely hated the water. Like any dog or any breed bad apples can happen. All dogs need good pack leaders. If they dont have one they will try to be one. Sweetest most gentle dog ive ever owned was a Chesapeake. Making wide sweeping generalizations about breeds and dogs is a dangerous and irresponsible idea. My caution would only be if you aren’t capable of establishing a leadership role with a dog then you shouldn’t own a dog. Of any breed.