question on chesapeake bay retrievers

[G-UNIT]

Devote your time to one dog you will be this dogs favorite companion anyway and he will aim to please you as soon as you establish that you are boss he will do anything to please you > I agree it does not take a heavy hand to train a chessie its all about establishing who is the leader of the pack.

[pinchshotpro35]

two more good points. i'm glad i posted. the more i think about it and take in others points and views the more one is clearly the better option. Thanks again.


Chris

[KerrieT]

Hi Chris -

I see you found my website - www.chesapeakebayretriever.info. I'm glad you find some of the information informative. I'm more than happy to talk with you about the breed - the good and the bad. Feel free to contact me.

Like Paul said if you are new to retrievers, and haven't ever had a Chessie before, then I would recommend getting one Chessie for now. If, after you have the foundation laid for that one pup and a year (or two) later all is going well then I'd consider adding a second to your household. This is something I recommend to all my beginner Chessie owners.

Getting two dogs at the same time opens the doors to many issues - here are just a few:
*The potential for the pups to bond stronger to one another than the owner
*The training quality usually isn't as good with two as it is with one (usually due to limited time)
*For some dogs, socialization is optional, for a Chessie it's pretty much a necessity. It's MUCH easier to socialize one pup on a regular basis in many different situations than two.
*Often times they die around the same time and you end up with two elderly dogs at the same time

Chessies are WONDERFUL dogs. However, they aren't for everyone - that's for sure. As I stated, I highly recommend one pup first - get it trained the way you want and then consider adding a second. The older pup can actually help show the young pup the ropes.


~Kerrie T.
CoolWater Chesapeakes
www.chesapeakebayretriever.info

[j towne]

I personally like haveing my dogs spaced out in age so I dont have a bunch of old retired dogs laying around. Also it sucks when you put down 3 dogs within a year. I like have a retired one, a trained one, and a puppy and rotate them through.

Also get one so the puppys dont bond to each other and not you.

[KerrieT]

Originally Posted by j towne

I personally like haveing my dogs spaced out in age so I dont have a bunch of old retired dogs laying around. Also it sucks when you put down 3 dogs within a year. I like have a retired one, a trained one, and a puppy and rotate them through.

Also get one so the puppys dont bond to each other and not you.

Nick - I totally agree with you there.

[Jeremy DeVries]

I wouldn't consider 2 pups for your first dog/s. NO matter how much you learn, how hard you work, how much time you put in, you will screw up your first dog. Maybe that is being dramatic, but with your first dog you will get to the end of training and think, "Man, I could have done that better". So don't screw up 2! Get 1, learn by training that one, pour your guts into him/her only!! The next one you'll do better with. Spaced several years apart.

Also, if you decide to get two,....don't get them from the same litter.

I have done this 5-6 times over the years (out of necessity) and have NEVER gotten two equal quality animals. Each time one of the dogs became dominant over the other and the less dominant dog struggled to find it's own identity and excel. In fact, each time I sold one of the littermates BOTH dogs went on to be more successful away from the other. I don't know why for sure, but this is just my experience. I won't buy littermates again unless they are going to be raised separate from one another.

Maybe buy a birddog and a little jack russell terrier as a companion instead. Or buy your wife a lapdog that could be a buddy to your chessie.

I'd also usually recommend a black lab male as a first dog to improve your chances of having a good result. I love chessie's, but there are NOT a beginners dog most of the time. There are some great chessie guys on this forum though, and they may have a different reccomendation....