CHESAPEAKE BAY RETRIEVERS

Chesapeakes love to hunt. That is what they were bred to do. However, they also enjoy training of any kind. Hunting training, hunt tests, working certificate tests and field trials are very high on their enjoyment list.

Some Chesapeake owners are not hunters but they like to see their dogs working at their specialty, retrieving birds. Serious waterfowl hunters view hunt and working certificate tests as a way to keep their dogs in condition over the summer months.

Cedar is a busy hunting dog in the fall. In the summer she took time out from training to run a Working Certificate test. She is pictured here with her owner and hunting partner, Gareth.

Some Chesapeakes come in contact with birds and field training later in life. Despite the late start, they can be just as keen as those dogs started as pups. If the instincts are there in the breeding, they will usually surface.

Cappy has started a new career in hunt tests at 8 years old. Her life was always a busy one with obedience and agility. She has been very successful in those fields. Now she is starting on hunting training and just loves birds. Her partner, Valerie, tell me that her wonderfully obedient dog doesn't listen nearly as well when birds are falling.