Chesapeake Bay Retriever Dog Breed
Posted by Jeanne on November 21, 2008
Chesapeake Bay Retriever dogs are widely known for their ability in retrieving ducks. Water is their particular element, but they are painstaking and diligent workers when retrieving any kind of game, on land or water. They are essentially an American dog.
- Head – Skull broad and round with medium stop, nose medium short-muzzle pointed but not sharp. Lips thin, not pendulous. Ears small, set well up on head, hanging loosely and of medium leather.
- Eyes medium large, very clear of yellowish color and wide apart.
- Neck – Of medium length with a strong muscular appearance, tapering to shoulders.
- Shoulders, Chest, and Body – Shoulders, sloping and should have full liberty of action with plenty of power without any restrictions of movement. Chest strong, deep, and wide. Barrel round and deep. Body of medium length, neither cobby nor reached, but rather approaching hollowness, flanks well tucked up.
- Back Quarters and Stifles – Back quarters should be trifle higher than shoulders, they should show fully as much power as the forequarters. There should be no tendency to weakness in either fore or hindquarters.
- Legs, Elbows, Hocks and Feet – Legs should be medium length and straight, showing good bone and muscle, with well-webbed hare feet of good size. The toes well rounded and close pasterns slightly bent and both pasterns and hocks medium length—the straighter the legs the better.
- Stern – Tail should be medium length—varying from: Males 12 inches to 15 inches, and females from n inches to 14 inches; medium heavy at base, moderate, feathering on stern and tail permissible.
- Coat and Texture – Coat should be thick and short, nowhere over one and one-half inches long, with a dense fine woolly under coat. Hair on face and legs should be very short and straight with tendency to wave on the shoulders, neck, back, and loins only. The curly coat or coat with a tendency to curl, not permissible.
- Color – Should be as near dead grass as possible, varying from a tan to a faded brown. The liver color is not permissible, the dead grass or faded brown color being correct. A white spot on breast and toes permissible.
- Weight – Males, 65 to 75 pounds; females, 55 to 65 pounds.
- Height – Males, 23 inches to 26 inches; females, 21 inches to 24 inches.
- Symmetry and Quality – The Chesapeake dog should show a bright, happy disposition, and an intelligent expression, with general outlines good and denoting a worker.
- Color of coat is extremely important as the dog is used for duck hunting. The color must be as nearly that of his surroundings as possible and with the fact that dogs are exposed to all kinds of adverse weather conditions, often working in ice and snow, the color of coat and its texture must be given every consideration when judging on the bench or in the ring.
