re: PAL 2nd split trip *UPDATED*

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I'm from Washington Parish.

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God help us.... may need to send you to the camp grounds for the hunt instead of my camp!!

I got my Chessie from Terry B. I am very satisfied with her but I will say I had some issues with training her. She started "water freaking" when she was a puppy despite the fact that I introduced her to water the same way I have always introduced labs (Wolters Water Dog method). I had never heard of water freaking before my dog started doing it but I did some research and found a great chessie forum that was called brown dog chat but may have changed it's name to team chesapeake. They had a lot of great info on brown dogs in general, and that is where I learned about water freaking.

I had 2 well known local trainers ( mainly lab guys but the 2nd trainer had close ties and experience with chessie's) that tried to train her. When I got her back the 1st time she was totally broken and wouldn't retrieve on land or water, the 2nd trainer had her for 6 or 7 weeks and went through collar conditioning which allowed me to get her out of the water without having to go in after her but still wouldn't retrieve in the water. I will say he did do a fair job at redeveloping her drive to retrieve on land but a duck dog in LA that won't retrieve in water is not a duck dog.

I was ready to admit total defeat and admit to my old man that he was right all along and I should have stuck with a lab when a fellow in my camp told me about the Westbrooks, who were kind enough to allow me to bring my dog up to there house and watch her work. I only met them that one time but they were great people and gave me some great advice that renewed my faith in the Chesapeake breed. They watched her retrieve on land, then took her down to the pond, after 1 water mark my dog immediately started freaking . We went back to the house, they took a look at her papers and said she came from a great line (Buddy x Annie Oakley). They recommended I contact a lady in Florida who only deals with Chessie's, I was hesitant about committing to a 3rd trainer but they were obviously knowledgable about the breed and were very confidant she could fix the freaking issue.

I ended up sending her to Florida and 8 weeks later I got back a true duck dog. She isn't flashy and she definitely has that chessie charm but I wouldn't trade her for another. She has picked up a lot of ducks in the 5 seasons I have hunted her.







Just to some up, I am very happy with the dog I got from Terry, he even tried to help out with the water freaking issues. I haven't met anyone else who has a dog of his and from everything I read I don't think water freaking is necessarily genetic but just be forewarned every stereotype you read on the breed is pretty much true!

Thought this might be interesting to you lsuson- sorry for the longwinded hijack proceed with the planning!

By the way, I heard most outgrow that phase if they freak out

How much does she charge?

For pups or training?

Their pups range anywhere from $1200-$2500 depending on full/limited registration and lines. Mine was at the lower end of that. I'm not really sure how much she charges for training. I know she's great at it though.

My pup Koa was diagnosed with elbow dysplasia at 8mos and I was devastated over it. I had spent over a year looking for the right golden breeder and we'd worked every day since I had gotten her. It was a month before what would've been her first duck season. Jackie was great to deal with throughout the entire process of Koa's surgery and getting her back in shape. She checked up on her often, lived up to her warranty without question, and really stood behind the pup. Koa's whole line was clear of elbow problems, so it could've been due to a contact injury when she was young. It was just awesome having a breeder that really stood behind her dogs like that.

I'm gonna be getting another one here in the next year, and it's without question going to come from Jackie.

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Excuse my ignorance but where is PAL?

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Pass a Loutre.

Ill pass due that I already hunt the marsh and cant stand it. If yal get this together to hunt some timber though I would diff be in.

It would be even easier if you had my dog out there. wink wink

I sent her to work with Kathy and Alan Luthy. They really did a great job with her. She said she force fetched her on land then progressed to getting in the water with the dog and FF in waist deep water. I was very impressed with the results. When I called to check on the progress she actually asked if she could keep her an extra 2 weeks because they were making so much progress. Every other trainer called me early to come get my damn dog.

She is a great natural hunter and will do just about anything I ask of her. I was not looking for a field trial champion or master hunter I just wanted a solid working dog and Kathy and Allen over delivered on that front. I do wish I sent her back for a 1 month refresher after her 1st full season but I actually quit my job right before her 2nd season and we hunted 53 out of 60 days in Venice, Delacroix, and Canarvon. She picked up over 500 ducks that season and that helped iron out the kinks.

Kathy and Allen came highly recommended by the Westbrooks because Rippling Water's Annie Oakley my dog's Dame actually came from Kathy's kennel. They were also the first people I had met that acknowledged water freaking existed and were confident it could be fixed.

Some of the best advice I got was, "you can train a lab but you have to trick a chessie."

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I'll be down there before Xmas

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IF so let me know we'll have a beer and a Little Debbie

As far as Chessies go I have some other VERY good freinds that run hunt tests that also run Chessies. They aren't trainers but they would give the shirt off their backs to help someone. When ya'll start getting to the training stages I can hook you all up.

Lastly water freaking does exist and it's a major PIA. I've seen it in Labs before also not just Chessies but Chessies seem to be more prone to having a water issue for some reason, same with goldens. They can all have water issues but seems a little more common there for some reason. Before someone starts yelling They are all good dogs not trying to bash either!

just getting your attention my friend...I haven't seen you in a while...