re: Any Chessie owners?

I have a two year old chessie after having owned, trained and hunted with three labs before her. Labs are like programming machines compared to training ( negotiating with ) a chessie, but the upside is that chessies are tough as alaskan wolves.

I got tired of watching wet labs shiver next to me in a late winter duck blinds. Cold water doesn't phase my chessie one bit. She has retrieved rings around older and more experienced labs and won't stop a retrieve until she tracks down that cripple buried deep in the marsh that the other dogs have long since given up on.

For the first 8 months I thought I had made a terrible mistake due to the fact that training was suddenly so hard. Everything was suddenly a negotiation. She always had a better idea and wasn't shy about making her case.

Now, I'm pretty sure that Chesapeake bay retrievers are the best damned duck dogs on the planet.

I guess chessies just grow on you.

As far as temperament is concerned, we have her and two cats, and while she is not a huge fan of a cat batting her tail she puts up with all of their aggravation w/o so much as a growl.

They are very aggressive in their natural temperament but can be socialized. my hound takes daily walks on and off leash and is not the least bit aggressive away from home. At home is another story, but we are working on it.

My recommendation is to stay away from chessies unless you have plenty of negotiating time to spend with them. If you do, don't hesitate to get one, because they are the best natural duck dogs I have ever encountered.