# Chesapeake Bay Retriever as SAR dog



## Catalina Valencia

A friend of my team is fostering a pair of CBR, the dogs belonged to a breeder and the female is actually pregnant. He is interested on keeping one of the future pups to do SAR, but has read contradictory things about them.

I know they are not very popular and there are few of them, but do anyone has experience with this breed? What could you tell me about them?


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## Jennifer Coulter

One of the avi dogs at my work is a chessie/lab cross. It is great.

I think a chessie would be fine as a sar dog. I would be willing to give most retrievers a try... providing of course it has the correct drives and temperment for the work. What are the parents like?

I have met one chessie I didn't like. I don't know if it was the dog's genetics or how it was raised, but it seemed reactive/nervy in an agressive kinda way.


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## chris haynie

most chessie's are less "retreiver like" than the name would you lead you to believe. i live real close to the chesapeake bay and the breed is fairly popular around here. i have met and hunted with alot of them. they have a far more serious temperament and disposition thant a golden. from what i have observed they aren't as friendly with strangers as goldens. the ones i know range from aloof at first but warm up to you after a few meetings, to aloof with strangers all the time, and some that just don't like people that aren't thiers. i have met quite a few that would make great watchdogs and did not like strange people at all. 

around here it is very rare to see a chesie as a pet. almost all are working gun dogs and they do it well. i know some that are far more versatile in the field than labs. my buddy has one that he trained to do water fowl work, upland bird retreival, pointing and it will even track. 

thier coats are reall cool. sort of wirey waterproof. i haven't seen another dog with it. almost totally impervious to water. 

i can't say anything relevant to them as search and rescue dog but i can tell you they are most certainly not brown golden retreivers.


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## Carol Boche

If I were to get a retriever, it would be a Chessie.....however, they are NOT Labs and can have nasty attitudes, but I think that they would be great for cadaver work and if socialized and raised correctly, they can do live find too....

Would love to do one for Sport, have seen a couple and they were COOL!!!


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## Jennifer Coulter

chris haynie said:


> most chessie's are less "retreiver like" than the name would you lead you to believe........
> 
> ......
> i can't say anything relevant to them as search and rescue dog but i can tell you they are most certainly not brown golden retreivers.


I will agree with you there...but they are retriever like in that they are bred to retrieve and hunt...that is the important part to me! The fact that there are lots of working lines out there and not so many pets is a plus in my books.

I am not one that thinks that a SAR dog searches for its quarry because of its LOVE of people. I could care less if a SAR dog is aloof with strangers. But, it must be stable around them, and it must be able to be motivated to hunt for them. That is why I put the caveat of "must have the right temperment and drives". Just like other breeds that are known for some aggression and aloofness...like some pointy eared breeds;-)


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## Carol Boche

Jennifer Coulter said:


> I will agree with you there...but they are retriever like in that they are bred to retrieve and hunt...that is the important part to me! The fact that there are lots of working lines out there and not so many pets is a plus in my books.
> 
> I am not one that thinks that a SAR dog searches for its quarry because of its LOVE of people. I could care less if a SAR dog is aloof with strangers. But, it must be stable around them, and it must be able to be motivated to hunt for them. That is why I put the caveat of "must have the right temperment and drives". Just like other breeds that are known for some aggression and aloofness...like some pointy eared breeds;-)


Amen!!!


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## Konnie Hein

I've known two Chessies in SAR. Both dogs were great workers. That being said, I didn't get the impression that they'd be good dogs for rank beginners.


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## Bob Scott

When I was a kid the Chessy was referred to as "The Doberman of the duck dog world". (Dobes were still VERY serious dogs then).
They can be very serious dogs with little tolerance for people outside their family. 
I suspect the goods ones are still this way but, as with most breeds, many have changed in temperment from "when I was a kid". 
There probably aren't so many that are as protective of the cave.....errrr....the house any more.


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## Catalina Valencia

All this sound very interesting. Gerardo, my friend, is our Training Director with more than 15 years of experience and one of the only 2 dogs internationally certified in the country, he is not a beginner and definitely not a pussy. He was given a Border Collie some time ago to train it in SAR, but returned her to the breeder because the dog, even being nice, was too soft for him. Knowing him to read this will make him hapy, LOL.

But we have also plans of me fostering a pup, doing the socialization, prey work development, obedience and agility needed for the test, and the first bark work to give that pup to a more novice handler to finish with the search training, but I think that that pup wont come from this litter.


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## Carol Boche

Catalina Valencia said:


> He was given a Border Collie some time ago to train it in SAR, but returned her to the breeder because the dog, even being nice, was too soft for him.


=D>
I have seen a lot of BC's in SAR and most of them are like this. 

Do you know what lines his Chessies are out of?


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## Catalina Valencia

No, I do not know. I asked him for the pedigrees of the dogs, or at least the full name, but the owner of the dogs is out of town until Friday. I'm researching this for him because he doesn't speak English and here was very little information available in Spanish.


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## Carol Boche

Catalina Valencia said:


> No, I do not know. I asked him for the pedigrees of the dogs, or at least the full name, but the owner of the dogs is out of town until Friday. I'm researching this for him because he doesn't speak English and here was very little information available in Spanish.


Cool!!! If you get them, let us know. :mrgreen:


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## John Haudenshield

I agree with what most have said. They are very cool dogs...large, tough, and serious. Definitely not your average 'retriever'. I agree with Konnie that they are not for beginners. I imagine, if chosen, raised & socialized correctly, one would make a great SAR dog.


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## Michele Fleury

They are way more serious and head strong than labs and goldens. Definitely not a good choice for a novice handler, but someone used to working with dominant dogs could really make it work. The ones that I have met were not great with strangers but if heavily socialized could deal with live find work. The other issue I have seen is dog aggressiveness, especially with the males.


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