Very few sporting breeds of dogs have had as interesting a history as the Chesapeake Bay Retriever -- which in 1964 became the official dog of the State of Maryland.

It is well documented that in the year of 1807, an English ship, trading between Newfoundland and England, was wrecked off of the coast of Maryland. The cargo and crew were rescued by an American ship on its way to Baltimore. Among the cargo taken aboard the American ship CANTON, were two Newfoundland puppies.

The male dog was subsequently named "Sailor," and the bitch was named "Canton," after the rescuing vessel.

The dog, which was red in color became the property of John Mercer of West River, Maryland. The bitch which was black and was given to Dr. James Stuart of Sparrows Point, Maryland, in gratitude for the hospitality shown the sailors of the wrecked brig. Both Mercer and Dr. Stuart were ardent hunters of waterfowl and soon discovered that the two dogs were exceptional retrievers.

Their retrieving abilities made their offspring much sought after by local duck hunters. By the mid-1800s the breed was clearly distinguishable. These dogs soon became legendary for their skill and stamina working in the ice-choked waters. Ducks and geese were abundant, but the icy water and rough seas of the Bay area made gunning a tough game.

During the mid to late 1800s the Carroll Island Gun Club, along the Gunpowder River northeast of Baltimore, was host to dignitaries from all over the world. Presidents and statesmen along with wealthy sportsmen who came to shoot over the famous dogs and watch them work. The club members bred "Chesapeakes" exclusively and the Carroll Island Gun Club held the pedigree of the "Chesapeake Bay Dog" for many years. Unfortunately, near the turn of the twentieth century a fire at the club destroyed  all of the breeding records.

Many great lines of Chesapeake Bay dogs were taking shape as early as 1880. The breed went by many early names. The Chesapeake Bay Duck Dog, the Brown Winchester, the Otter Dog, the Newfoundland Duck Dog and the Red Chester Ducking Dog were but a few, but by 1887 a definite strain had evolved which were almost always dark brown, shading into a reddish brown. In 1890 the name was finally given as the Chesapeake Bay Retriever. This is when breeding records were started and Baltimore's Chesapeake Bay Dog Club was formed.

The Chesapeake Bay Retriever was started by chance and developed out of the necessity for a special American purpose. The breed wasn't developed in a structured breeding program by the wealthy as the Labrador was. Early on it was developed, largely, in an unrecorded, unsophisticated fashion out of the necessity of the times. From the beginning the Chesapeake was subject to rigid selection based solely on his efficiency. The poor specimen was soon discarded and the unsound and weak broke down under the relentless work in all kinds of weather conditions. Only the sound and strong survived to continue this unique American breed.

As the breed gained in popularity for their tremendous water retrieving ability, they moved to all corners of the nation and the American Chesapeake Club was formed in 1918. The era from 1930 to 1950 saw many kennels advertising Chesapeakes from coast to coast. Unfortunately, at this time the great bird populations of the past were on the decline and retriever fanciers were looking for a way to simulate hunting in an artificial testing format. This, seemingly, caused many people to forget that this great breed was originally developed as a hunting dog. Due to the great declines in waterfowl numbers, this period saw the beginnings of a split in the Breed's direction with some kennels headed for the conformation show ring and some getting involved with the recently established retriever field trial games.

At one time, conformation show Chesapeakes were considered pretty -- but did not work in the field. Conversely, field trial dogs were often miserable looking specimens because the owners didn't care what they looked like as long as they could perform in the field or could win ribbons. And, often the two Chesapeake factions would have very little to do with the other.

Due largely to the efforts of theAmerican Chesapeake Club (ACC) the feared split in the breed is, seemingly, closing and the breed is more uniform today in looks and working ability than it was in the past. The American Chesapeake Club holds Working Dog Tests; if a dog passes, he gets a Working Dog Certificate (WD). The Working Dog test consists of simple single retrieves on land and water with appropriate birds. The dogs only have to bring the bird to within two feet of the handler to pass. The more advanced test is called Working Dog Excellent (WDX). In order for a dog to earn this title he must be steady to shot and do double land and double water retrieves and deliver to hand. In the mid-1980s, The ACC introduced a new working certificate title, the Working Dog Qualified (WDQ). This most advanced test requires a dog to be steady, do multiple retrieves over land and water and run blind retrieves and stop on a whistle and take hand signals to a downed bird. These titles are recorded with the American Chesapeake Club but do not show on an AKC pedigree.

Of the many outstanding strains of Chesapeakes that have emerged over the years, a very high percentage of the breed's great ancestors have come from Idaho. One of the great strains of the breed to emerge was that of Dr. John Lundy's Aleutian line of dogs. Dr. Lundy produced many great dogs, including his outstanding FC-AFC Atom Bob and Atom bob's son, The Big Fellow  (sire of FC-AFC Aleutian Surf Breaker) from his Boise, Idaho kennels.

Since the early 1950s, Idaho dogs have had a major influence on the breeding of Chesapeakes nationwide. Looking down the list of great Chesapeakes to have come from Idaho, reads much like a "who's who" of the breed: FC-AFC Atom Bob, owned by Dr. John Lundy; AFC Chesnoma's Louis, owned by Winston Moore; AFC-CFC-CAFC Nanuk of Cheslang, owned by Hans Kuch (bred by Dr. Lundy); CH-AFC Bomarc of South Bay CD, owned by August Belmont (bred by Dr. Lundy); FC Fireweed's Aleutian Widgeon, owned by Linda Harger; CH Jake's Elijah WDQ*** owned by Steve and Sharon Parker; FC-AFC Elijah's Sunshine Sally, owned by Steve and Sharon Parker; FC-AFC S&S Sunshine Meg, owned by Steve and Sharon Parker; AFC Arctic Sunshine Sally, owned by Steve and Sharon Parker; Dual Ch & AFC Coot's Gypsy Clipper MH owned by Dr. Tom Ivey;CH Northern Flight's Boogey Man, MH WDQ bred and owned by Butch Goodwin.

While working for North Star Kennels, we had the opportunity to hunt and train with one of the Chesapeake breed's star performers, Dual Champion & AFC Coot's Gypsy Clipper, MH. Throughout the early 1990's "Clipper" was the only living male Dual Champion in the Chesapeake breed. He was one of only 12 Chesapeakes in the history of the breed, at that time to have held the Dual Champion title! He was the first dog of any of the retriever breeds to have ever held the titles of Dual Champion and Master Hunter. Clipper was a natural retriever, extremely intelligent and coupled with an outstanding personality, he was a real credit to the Chesapeake breed.

brook@vistachesapeakes.com