What is the history of the Chesapeake Bay retriever breed?
The brown Chesapeake Bay retrievers with amber eyes that we see today have been meticulously bred to exhibit superb hunting and retrieving skills that suit the Bay’s geography and climate. • “Chessies,” as they are called, are strong, tireless swimmers: their heavy, oily coats and fine wooly undercoats help them retain body heat in icy Bay waters; they also have webbed feet and powerful hindquarters to aid in swimming. • Their brown coats camouflage the dogs among dead grasses and sedges of Bay wetlands during waterfowl hunting season. Chessies’ ancestors are said to have been a pair of Newfoundland puppies that survived the shipwreck of an English vessel in 1807. • Some retriever pedigrees may be traced to the early part of the 19th century. • According to one source, the Carroll Island Gun Club actively bred Chessies in the late 18th century, keeping careful records for decades. • James Michener’s Chesapeake describes a time in the 19th century when there were so many migratory birds
