The Family
Indie Jumping
Colfax
Indie on a Kayak
For more pics of life with a Chessie
And check out my Flickr site
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chessieman/
A little about myself and how I got into Chessie's.
I have two Chessie's at this time, a litter hit the ground December 3, 2004 and I kept one male from this litter. I bought her in September of 2002 from a local breeder and training her has become a truly rewarding experience. I read all I can, as training my Chessie has become my absolute favorite past time (other than Duck Hunting). It has consumed me and I plan to get her JH this spring and hopefully this new puppy will go farther as I have learned much since my first dog. The first book I read was Wolters "Water Dog" then the movie that came afterward. I still believe Richard Wolters wrote the "bible" of training and although it has been improved much over the years many of todays training is based on his methods. Second I read "The 10-Minute Retriever" and I think John and Amy Dahl did a wonderful job and gave many more specifics. With these two books I have absolutely the best dog I have ever owned and By Far the best hunting dog I have ever hunted with (although she has only been duck hunting a couple of times as she seems to always be whelping during hunting season), she has manners, she delivers to hand and I have never seen her given up on a bird or bumper! When comparing Chesapeakes to Labs the most noticeable difference about Chesapeake's is their Loyalty! I have been around dogs all my life and have seen few dogs that won't leave their master's side in search of attention in a casual environment. However Chesapeake's tend to be one owner dogs and mine will hardly leave my side even for a treat. Jon and Amy Dahl have an excellent web site and an article about the differences in the retriever breeds.
Oak Hill Kennels John and Amy Dahl Web Page
Retriever Breeds in Training article about the big three breeds
More of Indie's Pedigree here is her Grandmother and 6 Generations
Database of Chessie's Pedigree