I usually have a pretty good (and attractive) head on my shoulders. I listen, I aim to please and I love like the dickens. But there is one little flaw in all this doggie goodness… I lose my mind when it comes to swimming. It’s almost like a blackout of pure bliss for me. As soon as I know that I’m going swimming, something clicks and I get Water Brain.
Not to be confused with Hydrocephalus, my kind of Water Brain is a temporary condition brought on by instinct, old breed habits and the pureness of my need.
Part of this craziness is a special trait we Chessies are known for called Freaking, which I’ve written about here. Freaking happens when we aren’t given a task to accomplish in the water. We will yip and splash and completely ignore everything but the yipping and splashing. Sorry, but you don’t exist at that time.
A-Dog doesn’t like when I’m Freaking because she’s usually trying to get a workout in at the same time I swim. Why she just doesn’t come freak with me in the water I’ll never know. So, she has manipulated my Water Brain to fetch sticks in the river. As long as I can focus on one thing and one thing only, we’re okay. But to switch it up and start giving me commands that I’ve known practically all my life, I’m not getting ya. Words have no meaning. Throw that stick though and I’ll show you some action!
It takes a good amount of time and many firm “No!”s to bust the Water Brain. But the wonder of it is, my humans still take me swimming. Frequently. Must be that loving like the dickens thing I do so well.
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For the wrap-up of Chessie Week, I thought I’d give you a history of the breed.
An English brig shipwrecked off the coast of Maryland in 1907. The crew was rescued, as well as two Newfoundland puppies named Sailor and Canton. They were bred to local retrievers, including the English Otter Hound, Flat-Coat and Curly-Coated Retriever. The Chesapeake Bay Retriever was created, one of the few American-bred dogs.
Chessies were well-known for hunting waterfowl in rough and icy waters. We could be asked to retrieve hundreds of ducks in a day. We could be in the icy waters of the Chesapeake Bay for many hours retrieving and tossing them over the side of the boat with very little rest. Gives you a little snapshot into how much exercise we need, doesn’t it? As a result of being in the water for so long, we started to think instead of just obey. Perhaps the reason why we have the reputation of being stubborn…
That’s just a little of Chessie history. We have our unique traits, just like most breeds. if you’re interested in a hands-on experience with all different kinds of breeds, you can visit Meet the Breeds. This is an AKC event at the Javits Center in NYC on October 17 and 18. There will be 166 breeds of dog (lots of cat breeds too, if you like that sort of thing), including the Chesapeake. Go, pet our wavy fur and perhaps, fall in love.
Thanks for hanging out for the week and celebrating my heritage! Woof!
**This post was originlly published January 29, 2009 and has been updated for this Chessie Week**
I haven’t really written about my particular breed yet, so I’ll share a little skinny on Chesapeake Bay Retrievers.
We love to swim and are known for something called “water freaking.” Any water that’s deep enough will do for swimming in circles, while splashing with our paws, snapping at the splash, and yipping with rowdy abandon! And if you call us while we’re freaking, it’s like we’re plugging our ears and saying “Lalalalalala-I can’t hear you-lalalalalala.”
Chessies can adopt this behavior as a bad habit, if humans don’t nip it in the bud. Sometimes there’s a gap between us learning to swim and finishing our basic training. That could be big trouble time. The solution is to tap into our retrieving work ethic. If we’ve got something to accomplish in the water, chances are we won’t freak. If you wait too long to give us a task like retrieving, we’ll use our independent Chessie minds and think up our freaky-deaky.
Bottom line, we need exercise, as all dogs do, for both of our mental well-being. Chessies have been bred to need activity more than some other breeds, so you have to get up and get out with us. Swimming is a great way to exhaust us into the sweet doggie oblivion of laying on your bed and woofing in our sleep. Don’t be afraid of the freaking. If it happens, there is no magic spell to snap us back to reality. Patience, my human, is all you need. And love.
I am eight years old today and as a way of celebrating, I’m featuring my breed all week on this here blog. Chesapeake Bay Retrievers are not as well known as say, Labradors, so I’m here to educate y’all on some of our great, and not so great, qualities.
Let’s kick off the week with how I look. I am 56, you know, and I think I look darn fine. But I want to talk about a Chessie’s characteristics.
See those green eyes above? As a puppy, chessies have either green or blue eyes which will eventually turn to a golden hazel. These eyes make it difficult to take indoor photos, as illustrated below in the before pic. But once those humans of yours figure out how to REALLY use the camera they have, you can get a nice representation of what a chessie’s eyes look like.
BEFORE mastering the camera
AFTER getting jiggy with it
Frequently on walks, other humans will say “What a beautiful chocolate lab!” I’ve seen A-Dog and Shoes-on-the-Floor react differently each time to this misinformation. They used to get a little huffy and try explaining what breed I was and see how my hair is wavy in places. Then it moved to a quip, “She’s something like that.” Now they just smile. Do I get offended by some human’s ignorance of my breed? Not in the least. If I’m out for a walk and seeing other people and dogs, Dude! I’M OUT FOR A WALK! Who cares what people call me?
If you look closely, my coat is distinctive. We Chessies come in a variety of warm, earthy browns. But we all have this wavy look because we have a double coat. The top coat helps us repel water with its slightly oily texture and the undercoat stays kind of dry to help us swim in any temperature water. You can find me at any time of year swimming. It’s what I’m built for with my webbed feet and crazy desire for waterways. And yes, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers are named for that waterway in Maryland.
Curly Girl!
So, come on back all week for more fascinating tidbits about Chessies.
And Happy Birthday to me!
