Chesapeake Bay Retrievers

The Chesapeake Bay retriever is a powerful, muscular retriever. Their coat is short, dense and wavy, usually brown, red or tan. The head of the Chesapeake Bay retriever is broad and wide with a powerful and yet gentle looking slightly tapered muzzle.

Chesapeake Bay retrievers have a softer profile to the head than some breeds of retrievers. The hair on the head and face is much shorter than the hair on the rest of the body and the large round eyes are very visible. The eyes are yellow to amber in color and are particularly striking on darker dogs.

The breed makes friendly, intelligent and obedient dogs. They are known to be courageous, loving and trainable although sometimes a little slow to learn. Chesapeake Bay retrievers are affectionate and good with children.

It is believed that the Chesapeake Bay retriever breed originated when a shipwreck occurred off the coast of Maryland in 1807. Legend has it that there were two Newfoundland dogs on board that survived the shipwreck and these were given to a local family that was known as animal lovers.

The pair was crossed with local retrievers and possibly native dogs which eventually led to the development of a very hardy breed. The interbreeding led to dogs were well suited for hunting and swimming in the Chesapeake Bay.

The Chesapeake Bay Watershed includes more than 400,000 acres of land and thousands of miles of open bay, rivers and streams, making the Chesapeake Bay the largest estuary in North America. The name "Chesapeake" is a Susquehanock word meaning "great shellfish bay."

The Chesapeake Bay begins in Pennsylvania, as a small part of the Susquehanna River. It passes thru Maryland and Virginia, eventually emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Tidewater Virginia. The estuary is a sanctuary for thousands of ducks, geese, swans, shorebirds, fish, shellfish, reptiles, and mammals.

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