Lottie's Diary - training diary of a Chesapeake Bay Retriever

We arrived home this morning with a new member of the family - one very subdued and car sick little Chesapeake Bay Retriever pup

She seemed quite stressed by the journey and so I spent much of the morning cuddling her on my lap, whilst putting her down for brief periods to explore the kitchen and small terrace just outside. I had left a crate in the kitchen with some vet bedding on the floor, and the door wide open. After an hour or so, she went into the crate of her own free will, and settled herself down for a sleep.

Above is our first photo of Lottie at just seven and a half weeks old. She is bringing me a leaf.

We live fairly close to the centre of a large village. Standing on the lawn, Lottie looked distinctly worried and lost. She stood very still, taking in the sounds around her with her ears back. It was clearly all rather overwhelming.

a shipwreck and

two puppies

Lottie was born in Sussex, Southern England, just over an hour’s drive away from her present home in Hampshire. But her roots and ancestors are many hundreds of miles away in North America.

The history of the Chesapeake Bay Retriever is quite well documented and begins in 'classic style' with a shipwreck and two rescued puppies. In the early 1800s an English trading ship was wrecked off the coast of Maryland. The two Newfoundland pups on board, were saved and reputedly became superb retrievers. It is from these two dogs that the Chesapeake Bay Retriever is descended. You can read much more detailed information on the Chesapeake Bay Retriever’s history on Butch Goodwin’s Northern Flight website.

it was all rather overwhelming

The house where Lottie was born was quiet and secluded, but here, she could hear a car door slamming, vehicles crunching along the gravel lane, strange people's voices, and a distant dog barking. She looked unhappy . I lay down on the grass next to her and she climbed about on me for a bit until she felt a little braver and began to relax.

I had placed a second smaller crate in my office at home. This will also suffice as a car crate for Lottie until she is big enough to ride with the other dogs. Here Lottie slept for two hours after lunch whilst I worked at the computer.

AFC CH Caroway's Wild Goose Chase - Lottie's

G G Grandfather*

I like to fetch the dog out of the crate frequently

I woke the pup after an while. Although it is tempting to leave them whilst they are quiet, I like to start from the very beginning, and fetch the dog out of the crate for a cuddle frequently whilst it is lying peacefully, rather than waiting until the pup wakes up and begins to cry. I took this opportunity to give Lottie a small meal. She was very pleased to see her lunch and wolfed it down with gusto.

Chesapeake Bay Retrievers are popular hunting and Field Trialing dogs throughout the United States, and substantial numbers of these hunting dogs are also successful on the show bench. Many gundog breeds throughout the world have become split into two distinctive strains, with show and working lines becoming increasingly separated both in looks and ability. This divergence has occurred to a lesser extent in the Chesapeake than in any other Retriever breed.

feeling a bit better

When she awoke, she was clearly feeling happier, and beginning to regain her puppy ‘bounce’. By four o’clock she had lost her fear of the garden and was starting to explore. She later spent a happy hour getting to know my two sons on their return from school and college. Still a rather solemn little dog, but now beginning to look a little more relaxed and a lot less worried.

Lottie will live in the kennel with the other dogs when she is a little older, but right now, it is easier for me to socialise her properly and to get to know her if she lives in the house. We moved our dogs from house to kennel last summer and this will be the first pup we have had, for a long time, which has spent her first night in her new home without other dogs to keep her company. I am hoping for a few hours sleep but not expecting too much.

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a dual purpose retriever

There are at least four dual champions (field and show) Chesapeake Bay Retrievers alive in the States at the time of writing. Many successful show dogs such as Lottie's father Arnac Bay Spokane who won best of breed at Crufts in 2005, have several American Field Champions in their pedigree and are as 'at home' on a shoot, as they are on the show bench. Lottie's G G Grandfather American Amateur Field Champion Caroway's Wild Goose Chase is pictured above right. He was also a Show Champion

Unless otherwise stated*, all text and images on this webpage belong to Pippa Mattinson and may not be reproduced without written permission

*Photo of Caroway's Wild Goose Chase by kind permission of Carol Anderson