Chesapeake Retriever

This is an essentially American dog and has come to a high state of perfection along the eastern seaboard, and, as an introduced type, is much esteemed in the ducking marshes of the Northwest. His parentage is supposed to be chiefly otterhound and Labrador, but it is altogether probable that other blood runs in his veins, as he is one of the dogs that has been developed for a particular use through particular qualities his ancestors were found in actual practice to possess. The result is a very curious, very excellent, but not very stable nor beautiful dog.

But no known dog is such an unanswerable retriever or can stand a fraction of the exposure to icy wind and icy water, which this hardy fowling dog seems to revel in. To meet this rigorous demand, he has a curious, deep woolly undercoat that seems never to wet through, such as we find on water-dwelling mammals like the otter; this is protected and covered by a harsh, strong coat of regular hair, taught or slightly curly, from which one good shake drives practically all the water. They will chase a wounded duck over or under the ice and will follow the liveliest “cripple” till it wearies. In open deep-water duck hunting such a dog is invaluable.

They vary from 60 t 80 pounds in weight and from 22 to 25 inches in height. The ear is quite short and set rather high, giving a squarer look to the head than in the setter, which it remotely resembles. They are tawny brown or “sedge color” generally, though other less desirable colors are wet with occasionally.

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