# chessie or lab



## hdroc (Apr 8, 2008)

im getting a new dog in the next year and cant decide between a chessie or a lab with is a better duck hunter over all and what will do better living outside also what is easier to take care of?


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## AWO (Mar 9, 2008)

Depends on your lifestyle, I'm sure a lab would be great for you, as almost all labs are great for anyone in general. I'd like to hear some more on this from some chessy and lab owners. :beer:


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## stonebroke (Dec 16, 2004)

hdroc said:


> im getting a new dog in the next year and cant decide between a chessie or a lab with is a better duck hunter over all and what will do better living outside also what is easier to take care of?


It's a personal perference. Either breed from good lines will to the job and both breeds will do well living outside and are easy to take care of. The Chessie does have a coat that is more dense, but if you have a good insulated dog house either breed will do fine outside. I've read that Lab's develop faster than a Chessie... That Chessie's are more slow to mature. I think this varies from dog to dog, but is probably generally true.

The key is to get a pup from good hunting lines and one whose parents have their hip and eye clearances, etc. , as I'm sure you probably know. It's probably easier to find a well bred lab than a Chessie.....there's just a lot more of them around.


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## NDhunter14 (Oct 17, 2007)

Get a lab. A chessie will ruin your life forever and eat your neighbors pitbull and possibly ure children,


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## honkerslayr (Dec 14, 2006)

If you have kids or a family-lab they are great with everyone. I know of this, i have a 4yr old black lab and I've never had a problem with him at all in the family and yes he was a wuick learner. Also he can withstand brutally cold temps and has the most motivation in any certain predicament of hunting. Awesome waterfowler and great upland dog.

Chessi's I don't really know anything about except that they might have a bit senser coat, but I'm not for certain. I don't think it's too much of a difference to me anyways. But anyways labs are great around everyone and great for a variety of hunting.


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## stonebroke (Dec 16, 2004)

We usually get into trouble when we start generalizing.... "Labs are this, and Chessies are that" type of thing. We have a Lab in town that is vicious...he's bitten 3 people and the police will not do anything about it. Are all Labs like that? Of course not.....but if I didn't know dogs and this was one of the few Labs I'd seen I'd not be wanting one!!!

I was at farmhouse last week and they had a Rottweiller sitting on the front steps...... They don't have great reputations for being overly friendly, but this one was about the nicest, friendliest dog you'd ever want to see. I have friends in Vermont who have had Dobermans for over 40 years....each and every one have been sweethearts. Go figure.....


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## hdroc (Apr 8, 2008)

can i hear from people who have had experience with both labs and chesapeake bay retrievers


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

You haven't given enough info about yourself what and where you live/ hunt ect to give even a slightly intelligent opinion.

As for which one is easier to care for no difference, they like all dogs need care training and most importantly human companionship.

And all dogs do better, train easier and tend to be healthier if they live in your house FWIW. Mine are kenneled during the day, and on my couch when I'm home

SO I would recommend you get what appeals to YOU because what we think doesn't really matter.

Both are great breeds of dogs and given the right care and training both are great hunting dogs.

Its not like you are trying to decide between a pointer and a flusher, your two choices are so close there no real difference other than what appeals to you.

I do think its very important that a dog appeals to its owner.

Good luck


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## hdroc (Apr 8, 2008)

thanks bobm that has helped me so much i think im going to go with a chessie also do you know of any good chessie breeders?


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

I wish I could help, but I dont other than Stonebroke on here.

I dont really know him but from what hes posted I think hes got some nice dogs and serious knowledge about chessies.

What state do you live in can you afford to travel to look at dogs ect.

He would probably be able to recommend someone, Gonehunting is also a great source of info he might be ale to recommend someone.

I always wanted a chessie. When I was younger the ones I hunted over that my friends owned were very good dogs, and they were natural dogs with little formal training. Thats a big plus for amateur trainers IMO.

Like pitbulls chessies have a reputation that stems from days gone by and from what I know of the breed much of the negative stuff useful for the old market hunters has been bred out of them.

Just do your homework with the breeder and get some references and call them.


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## brianb (Dec 27, 2005)

http://www.northernflight.com/

http://www.northernflight.com/not%20thesamedog.htm

Here's a good article by a well known chessie breeder. It compares labs to CBR's.

Generally, if you don't have really strong attraction to a Chessie, I would say go with the lab. It is easier to find a well bred pup because there are more of them. Labs also tend to fit a pre-packaged training program better. Chessies tend to make you think by coming up with new and frustrating ways to get around doing things your way.

Regardless of that, I agree with the author of the article in that a good dog of either breed will have a lot more in common than with a poor specimen of its own.

That being said I am a Chessie guy and will probably always be.


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## walt501 (Apr 9, 2008)

NDhunter14 said:


> Get a lab. A chessie will ruin your life forever and eat your neighbors pitbull and possibly your children,


I got a laugh out of that comment, as I had a chessie pup 10 years ago that was very close to that description!

For what it's worth, here is my experience. As a kid I had a lab. One of the things I didn't like about the lab was what I would describe as "everybody's friend" syndrome. I'd be out hunting and if we came upon someone else the dog would run off to make friends. It made me feel like the dog wasn't mine. Over the years I have observed similar behavior in other labs, so I know it wasn't an isolated case. Also, I have read (but not personally experienced) that if you go with a lab, make sure the breeder is not breeding for "color". I had a friend who just had to have a chocolate lab and found a breeder that had a litter of all chocolate pups. She got exactly what she wanted - and nothing more. At one year of age her dog was completely out of control no matter how hard she tried. The way I look at it, if you want a lab, you want (hope) you dog will deliver the breed characteristics of a lab - color is secondary.

Fast forward to middle age. I don't want another "any body's" dog so after some research I find that a chessie sounds like the dog for me. It's billed as the one man's dog, loyal and protective of it's family and owner. So I find a highly recommended breeder and bring home the pup. At first, it likes to nip everybody. I figure it's a pup. At 3 months, my two boys (8&9) become fair game, with the pup hipping at their heals every chance it gets. I'm reading on the internet about dog aggression and how to handle it - and I tried everything! Off to the vet for a check-up and pup curls his lip in a certain way and the vet is telling me "this dog has an aggression problem - watch out! At 6 months, the dog bites my father-in-law hard enough to draw blood. The dog goes back to the breeder. Funny thing is, that dog would sleep at my feet; and off the leash for a walk in the country the pup was all business, stayed close, and didn't bother anyone. But living in a suburb, I just couldn't risk a dog that bites.

In researching the chessie, I learned that it was a dog that was heavily used by market hunters on the east coast back in the 1800's, but when market hunters went to town they also expected the chessie to be a watch dog and guard their property from intruders. I've read that over the years breeders have worked to breed the aggression out of the chessie and that is probably true - in most cases.

Now that I'm retired and have a few million acres of grouse habitat around the old cabin in Ontario, I'll probably get another dog. And I still think the right lab or chessie could be a good dog, but I'm leaning towards a close working pointer at this stage of life. For me, just being out on a sunny day, looking at the world around me while walking down an old logging road is reward enough - having a four footed friend along to share it with - well I guess that's called perfection!


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

hdroc I asked someone whos opinion I value and heres a good reference from a guy that really knows dogs



> But I'm leary of suggesting kennels or "lines," and have long been more inclined to look at specific breedings. Lot more sorry Chesapeakes than good ones out there, so please don't buy into the fairytale that not being popular means they'll all hunt, much less be easy to work with and have around. Or that there's no split between show and field. That field bred dogs will almost always also show well (not much competition, among other things) does not mean that show dogs will necessarily work well.
> 
> One upcoming breeding I'd feel pretty safe with would be between Ken Parrot's "Splash" and John Ackerman's "Courier" http://www.coldcreekchessies.com/page5.html. In fact, I had one from a previous mating that didn't take reserved prior to lucking into the pup I now have. (Fellow called me looking for suitable buyers for what I thought a super nice breeding shortly before we learned Splash was having a false pregnancy.)
> 
> ...


 http://www.coldcreekchessies.com/page5.html

IF I were going to buy a chessie I would go with Ricks pick without hesitation. Ricks like Gonehunting hes forgot more about dogs than most guys ever know, and he owns a chessie

hope that helps

heres a link to his web site where you can see many pictures of his beautiful dog.

http://www.thepitblind.com/waterfowl-hu ... .php?f=126

Read about dodging gators when hunting ducks and you will appreciate hunting in good old North dakota :beer:


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## dwshunt (Apr 26, 2003)

My first dog was a chessy. He was 105 lbs, very friendly and good around people and other dogs. He was my dog out hunting and would only bring the bird back to me, which I liked. If he got someone else's bird, I had already told them before we went hunting, that he would bring the bird to me and I would then give it to them. That didn't work out so well as everyone just let me carry all the birds! He was easy to train and had a great hunting desire and excelled on waterfowl and good at upland. When a chessy comes out of the water, they are virtually dry due to their oily coat. The only negative thing was the smell of his oily coat. If he didn't get a bath every other day, he could clear out a room. It didn't matter too much as he was an outside dog, I personnally have not met a chessy without that smell to some degree. I also enjoyed the fact you don't see too many chessies around compared to everyone has a lab.

That includes me know. I've got a black lab female now and she is everyones friend and I mean everyone! She is a great retriever and loves upland and waterfowl. She doesn't pee on everything a hundred times either. She will retrieve for anyone and give them the bird. She is inside alot due to her coat doesn't smell.

I think they are both great dogs. If I was a hard core waterfowler and hunted in brutal conditions alot, I would get a chessy and that's just my opinon. Otherwise either will do just fine.

Bottom line, I miss having a chessy, but a lab fits my stlye more closely these days.


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## CDK (Aug 1, 2005)

I had a pup out of the first Curry X Splash breeding, they are very nice dogs, good markers and trainable. Splash is out of Butch Goodwins kennel and Curry is an AFC owned by John Ackerman. One of the pups from that litter has Qual. placements and the one I had and started has SH passes, I sold her to Nordom Chesapeakes as a started dog but have a daughter out of her that is coming along nicely.


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