Not the Same Dog - written by Butch Goodwin of Northern Flight

They are
Not the Same Dog
(it's okay to say it)

hen the editors at The Retriever Journal asked me to write about the differences between training a Labrador and training a Chesapeake, I thought, “Boy, am I in trouble now. This is going to open a whole can of worms. I can foresee striking nerves with all kinds of readers. This is a surefire way to get everyone upset at me!”

But, after I stopped hyperventilating, as more rational thinking took over, I began to reconsider. I decided that since volumes could be written about training the two breeds the best way to approach this is to talk about the dissimilarities between the breeds as I see them, and let that speak to the differences in training as I have found them as a trainer of hunting retrievers, not just as a breeder of Chesapeakes. Over the years, times and breeds have changed - in some ways for the better, in many for the worse. But, both have definitely changed. You can look at a dozen different retriever books and all of them will start, to some degree, with a discussion of “The Big Three” breeds of retrievers (Lab, Chesapeake, and golden). So, I am going to avoid the rehashing of someone else’s description of the breeds - regardless of what I could say about the retriever breeds, I feel that much of it would only be redundant.

The bottom line is, there are both great and miserable specimens in every breed. Although each breed was originally developed for somewhat different tasks and each has its strengths and weaknesses, each is capable of producing exceptional gun dogs. In my kennel, I have trained goldens that were every bit as tough a water dog as the Chesapeake is billed to be. I have trained Chesapeakes that developed into outstanding upland hunters. The surliest and most temperamental dog I have ever been around was a particular Labrador - he would bite whenever he perceived a threat. I have had goldens to train that would come at me or another dog like a piranha at the slightest hint of pressure. On the other hand, the best “babysitter” that I have ever had with young pups and kids was a male Chesapeake. But I have seen some darn miserable Chesapeakes, too.

once owned a female Labrador that ripped off half of another dog’s ear without provocation. Conversely, by far the best - but also certainly some of the worst - retrievers that I have ever worked with were Labradors. I guess what I am trying to point out is that there is royalty in each of the breeds, and I don’t believe in stereotypes. I stand firm in my conviction that a great retriever is a great retriever, regardless of the breed! So let me give you my personal impressions of the Labrador and the Chesapeake breeds.

First, I see today's Labrador retriever as a very trainable dog that is on the road to ruination

trainers with experience working with substantial numbers from both understand that labs and chesapeakes are not the same dog. (did I hear someone say, "Amen"

and in serious trouble - primarily because of its overwhelming popularity. Over the years, the Lab has been asked to “wear many hats” as bomb and drug detection dogs, seeing-eye dogs, search-and-rescue dogs, show dogs, hunting dogs, field trial dogs, athletic playmates, and rug decorations.

In recent years, some of the Labradors that I get into my kennel for training seem to be very hyperactive and wound up as tight as the mainspring in a clock. I have watched Labs that simply couldn’t stand still in their kennel and were continually pacing. One wore the pads off his feet from going up the block wall In the back of his kennel and then running down the concrete floor and up the wire in the front - day and night.

Conversely, occasionally I also get Labradors in the kennel that have no interest in retrieving. I have had several that had no interest in going into the water and some that have had no bird sense. I feel that, in general, the Lab can function with much less socialization than the Chesapeake. But, like I said previously, the nastiest dog that I have had in my kennel for training was a Labrador, and my judgment was that it was due to a total lack of socialization around humans and other dogs. To use an old axiom, “If you take with one hand, you have to give with the other.”

It seems that because of the overwhelming popularity of Labradors, many strains have been bred for generations primarily for trainability and an outgoing personality - and many seem to be lacking in the inherited natural hunting abilities that they were originally developed for. It is my impression that a Lab can be trained to perform almost any task asked of them, happily get along in a family setting or in a kennel, and be generally friendly with most strangers and other dogs. But, overall, the inherited hunting and bird-seeking abilities of the breed have been diluted as their popularity has increased.

My suggestion to anyone looking for a Labrador today as a hunting dog that would also be a pleasure to have around the house, sit calmly in a blind, but have the burning desire to find birds in the field or retrieve shot birds, would be to really do your homework. Be absolutely sure that the line you are looking to buy a pup from is one that has proven itself in both the duck blind and in the upland field, but not from a hyperactive line that has largely been controlled through high pressure training methods.

Let’s talk about Chesapeakes. Personally, I think today’s Chesapeake is the most misunderstood of the retriever breeds. In my opinion, dogs in the past introduced some serious temperament problems into the breed and helped to garner its unpleasant reputation. And unfortunately, much of the reputation, which was perhaps deserved at one time, is still being repeated today regardless of the fact that responsible breeders have been working quite hard at selectively breeding away from those antiquated traits. Most people still repeat what they hear or read without finding out for themselves, and the breed simply can’t get beyond the stereotyping.

he Chesapeake is certainly not a dog for everyone. Although, I get the comment regularly that Chesapeakes are “the best kept secret” in the retriever world, if not

With the Lab's popularity in areas from hunting to service to pets, be absolutely sure the Lab you are buying comes from proven hunting lines.

well-socialized, any dog can be very apprehensive or even surly and overly possessive around strangers or other dogs; and, generally, the Chesapeake tends to exhibit these traits more than the Lab.

But, as is true with the Lab, the line that the dog descends from and the individual dog itself means more than the stereotypical reputation of the breed. As I said with Labradors, I have had truly spectacular Chesapeakes in my kennel for training and some that were simply wretched.

Remember what I wrote earlier: “If you take with one hand, you have to give with the other.” Since the Chesapeake is a much smaller breed in terms ot numbers registered and has never really been utilized for a wide variety of duties other than primarily as gun dogs throughout their development, they don’t suffer from such a widespread diluting of the hunting drive. Because of being thought of as a single-purpose waterfowl retriever for so many years, the Chesapeake, overall, has never been bred for that higher level of trainability that the “all-around” Labrador has. So, the ‘‘take’’ part on the one hand is that they seem to have a higher level of inherited natural hunting ability than is generally seen in many of today’s Labradors (better overall “bird sense”). But the trade-off or the “give” is a lower level of trainability.

Over the years, Chesapeakes have been classified as being willful or hardheaded by professional trainers. Actually, it is my opinion and the opinion of many others who get Chesapeakes in for training on a regular basis that overall the breed tends to he very soft. The reason that they have the willful reputation is that the Chesapeake is largely still a “primitive” breed and doesn’t always fit into a pre-packaged training program designed primarily around the higher trainability level of today’s field trial-bred Labrador retriever.

And, considering the current form of the field trial and hunt test programs - which test primarily the training rather than the actual hunting abilities of the retrievers - and since many of the lines of Labradors have been bred primarily for trainability for generations, it is no wonder that the Lab fits into the professional’s training program and excels in field trials and hunt tests. To further understand that inherent primitive nature of today’s Chesapeake Bay retriever, you have to understand the history of the times when the breed came into being. And, it is necessary to realize that until nearly the turn of the 20th century, the Chesapeake wasn’t developed in a structured breeding program, as the Labrador had been for decades before it ever came to this country. The Chesapeake was originally developed largely in an unrecorded and unsophisticated fashion out of the necessity of the times and the need for a tough and unrelenting working dog.

Being thought of as a single-purpose waterfowl retriever for so many years, the Chesapeake, overall, has never been bred for that higher level of trainability that the "all-around" Labrador has.

The breed was also started by accident. From the beginning, the dog that we now know as the Chesapeake Bay retriever was subject to rigid selection based solely on his efficiency. The severe working conditions caused the unsound and weak to break down, and the inferior specimen was soon discarded.

So, considering the significant differences between the two breeds, trainers with experience working with substantial numbers from both understand that Labs and Chesapeakes are not the same dog. (Did I hear someone say, “Amen!”?) And, although the goal of basic or yard work training is to accomplish a common objective of sound fundamentals upon which the balance of the dog’s training will be built, it is more easily taught and reinforced - and perhaps with less repetition - with a Labrador than with a Chesapeake.

ost Chesapeakes, unless in agreement that it is his idea, will continually question the validity of what he is being asked to do. This is due to his primitive independent hunting instinct surfacing, in contrast to the Labrador’s inherent higher level of trainability. If a trainer will develop the traits that the Chesapeake is born with and learn to direct this independence through consistent repetition and teaching rather than trying to change his mind by cramming the training down the dog’s throat, he will generally he successful.

<p>Since space doesn’t permit my writing volumes, as I mentioned in the beginning, I will close with a simple analogy of the two breeds as conveyed to me by my friend Tom Yoshida from California. Tom owns, trains, and hunts with both a male Labrador and a female Chesapeake. lie describes hunting and training with his Lab as “a social event.” His description of his Chesapeake: “the Terminator!”