What You'll Find on This Web Page...

• Sex
• Socialization
• Early Litter Testing
• Early Training
• Care and Feeding
• More information is available!
• Current Breeding Information
• View our Planned Breedings. 

Selection of a Puppy

We assume that you are interested in Chesapeakes or you wouldn't be reading this. But, perhaps a few notes are in order before we continue with this section.

 Chesapeakes have a false reputation of being surly or mean. However, they could have an inherent possessiveness which can be mistaken for meanness. They could become possessive over their home, kennel, family members or retrieved birds. This trait can get out of hand if allowed to continue. We recommend that, from the outset, signs of possessiveness be discouraged and future problems of this nature should not occur. The modern, knowledgeable Chesapeake breeders have made elimination of any negative attitudes from their lines a top priority.

 The Chesapeake is at his best when he can be a part of your family. They seem to enjoy the privilege and will strive to prove themselves worthy. An understanding, fair and loving master will receive unsurpassed loyalty and devotion from a Chesapeake. These dogs need not be taught to protect either property or a family member, it is instinctive. This trait should be neither encouraged nor discouraged, but controlled and channeled.

Sex

 Most experienced hunters already have a preference as to a male or a female. To aid those who are undecided, we would like to offer the following: There are definite temperament differences between male and female dogs. Males are generally more aggressive than females in almost all aspects. Males generally hunt harder and display more boldness and tenacity. Females, on the other hand, are generally more responsive to training and show more affection and a more of a gentle temperament. . This can also be misinterpreted as having too mild a temperament to have the necessary drive in the field. Females tend to have a greater grasp of training at an earlier age but tend to be a bit moody when seriously corrected. They also tend to be better house or family dogs. Unless spayed, females come in season about every six months and are in season for almost a month. And, one more point to ponder, without fail, a female will come in season during the best part of duck season or the opening day of pheasant season or the day you leave for a long awaited hunting trip, its Murphy's Law! But, another point to remember, males are in "heat" every day of their lives and often "go nuts" when there is a female in heat in the area!

Socialization

 Without a doubt the three most important non-genetic factors in a pups development are socialization, Bonding and early training. Starting at about 4 weeks of age and continuing throughout the early months of their lives, young pups, both individually and in groups, need to be exposed to as many environments as possible. The only way to make these pups feel secure in any situation is to give them this kind of varied exposure at an early age. Loud noises, gunshots (starting at a distance and associated with something positive such as food), being handled by different people, exposure to water, mud, birds (we use pigeons - both dead and alive), other dogs, decoys, heavy cover and riding in the car are just a few of the things that pups should be exposed to.

 According to Guide Dogs for the Blind research, environment has little effect on a pup until it is twenty-one days old. Suddenly at twenty-one days, the environment plays a major part in his development. For the following four weeks the pups brain and nervous system are developing and at seven weeks they have the capacity (but not the experience) of an adult. They have also found that at this same time, if there are males in a litter, the biggest male becomes the dominant pup. If a litter is entirely female its not necessarily the largest female who is dominant but the one who "talks" the most. (Any surprise here?)

 At Guide Dogs for the Blind, individual socialization starts during the sixth week. Up to this time it has been all group socialization and taking the pup from the litter box and giving it personal affection and attention (human bonding).

 The third critical period is from forty-nine to eighty four days. According to Guide Dogs for the Blind, this is the best time to form a man-dog relationship. This time period will permanently affect the attitude of the dog toward human beings and his acceptance of learning for the rest of his life. Never again will the human be able to bond the pup to him or shape his character traits as well as he can during the second (three to seven weeks) and third (seven to twelve weeks) critical periods!

 Socializing and bonding may well be the most important things that you ever do with your dog. Not only does it expose your dog to all of these different situations but it is an important time for you to bond with your new pup. It can make a lifetime of difference, as some pups not properly socialized and bonded can show signs of timidness or aloofness for the rest of their lives.

Chesbrook's Magic Duckbuster WDQ (Shown here at 14 months, "Maggie" was already and outstanding pheasant hunter)

Early Litter Testing

 It is important to get a retriever retrieving at an early age. As soon as they can see well enough to follow the roll of a ball they should be started. Some of the traits to look for are: desire to chase, desire to carry, attention span and persistence in trying to locate a retrieving toy. It is possible to recognize the "alpha" pups in a litter at this age by their higher level of aggression in playing retrieving games. Be sure to keep in mind that all of these pups will go through many changes during their growing so any indication of behavior at an early age should be treated as only an estimation of their later behavior.

 At the age of six weeks or so, we begin introducing a pup to live clipped wing pigeons (we are looking for the "chase" not the "retrieve"). It is also at about this same time (depending on the time of the year) that we like to introduce the pups to water. One note of caution, don't use other older dogs to start pups in water as they play rough and could well create a future problem.

 We keep constant documentation on the strengths and weaknesses of each pup in a litter. They are continually field tested as they mature and these notes are added to the records. Special attention is placed on natural, inherited hunting abilities as well as functional conformation.

 Many dog breeders believe that picking a pup is a "crap shoot" but we don't agree. If enough litter testing and evaluating is done and the litter is sufficiently documented, certain individuals begin to stand out that leave documented impressions. Based on these notes, and a good roll from lady luck, we like to feel that at least an "educated guess" can be made. And, of course, always keep your fingers crossed!

Early Training

 Early training, Bonding and socialization will make more difference in a dogs later life than any other non-genetic factors. Early training and socialization are critical! And, irregardless of how well-bred the pup is, inadequate early training can override all of his outstanding genetic traits. Unfortunately, we see this lack of early training almost every day in our training business. If only the owners had taken the time to expose their pups to a greater variety of environmental situations and done some early training, we wouldn't have to take the time that we could be spending training their dog, trying to coax them thru a "puppy problem."

 There are no better books on the market which deal with early training for the retriever pup than, HEY PUP, FETCH IT UP by Bill Tarrant (this is the bible for the early training and socialization of retrievers) and TRAINING THE HUNTING RETRIEVER, THE NEW PROGRAM by Bill Tarrant (not as much depth on early training but a wealth of information about how to develop a well-trained retriever). We have two copies of HEY PUP, one is clean and has a cover and dust jacket; the other is dog-eared, underlined, dirty and the corners of the cover have long-ago been chewed by some unattended Chesapeake pup!

 Pre-obedience learning of retrieving games is of utmost importance. Retrieving with a ball is a good way to start, we like to use a racket ball rather than a tennis ball as it is smaller and more difficult to destroy. Later we switch to a fuzzy paint roller as it closely simulates a dog bumper. It is a good idea to start this in a narrow hallway with all the doors to the rooms closed so that the pup is forced to return to you as there is no other way to escape. Use only a carpeted hall if possible as you don't want the pup slipping and sliding and injuring still forming joints. This and all training at this age (starting at 6 to 10 weeks) has to be fun and extremely short in duration. A pups attention span is extremely short and two or three retrieves may be his limit. When the pup returns down the hall to escape with his "prize" don't grab at the retrieving toy. Scoop the pup up and praise him lavishly for being so wonderful. Eventually he will release the toy and you can get his attention and throw it again.

 Something deserves mentioning here, do not leave any retrieving toys (balls, bumpers, bird wings etc.) lying around for the pup to chew on and play with. He should be taught to understand that these are my toys and we get to play with them on occasion. Dogs should be given chew toys which are not retrieving toys to satisfy their necessity to chew (we like Nylabones and Kong toys).

A Northern Flight Pup Chasing Pigeons at 12 weeks

 As the pup gets older, we like to switch the retrieving games to bird wings (pigeon, duck or pheasant) and then introduce dead birds and live clipped wing pigeons. We use pigeons with puppies because they are readily available, cheap and relatively benign. We don't mind using ducks or hen pheasants for older pups, more experienced pups to retrieve but beware of rooster pheasants with inexperienced dogs. Rooster Pheasants will peck and spur and can injure a pup and cause problems which could last throughout his lifetime.

 As mentioned earlier, learning to swim and not fear water is essential for a retriever pup. You laugh at this statement but fully one third of the dogs that we get in for training either don't know how to swim or are apprehensive about water. Again, this is something that needs to be done in play training as described in the section titled Early Litter Testing.

 At the six to seven week period it is possible to begin teaching basic commands such as "sit" and "here" or "come." This is also the time when pup should be taught his name and begin housebreaking.

 Housebreaking is the first form of real obedience that a pup will receive. We like to use a crate to teach housebreaking. The crate becomes their home and safe place and as they grow they feel comfortable riding and sleeping in their crate. But one note here, don't buy a puppy crate, get one big enough for an adult dog (a #300 or #400 Vari-Kennel is about right) as they outgrow the puppy size before you pay the charge card bill! There are many books out there on how to housebreak, so we won't cover it here.

 Serious obedience training can start as soon as three months of age but we prefer to allow our Chesapeake puppies to be puppies and try to hold off on any training that isn't play or bird related until they are older. There is plenty of time in their life to get serious, let them enjoy their childhood and discover what's out in the big world first. We honestly believe that Chesapeakes mature more slowly (especially males) than the Labs and have to be brought along at a slower rate.

 We like to take our pups along hunting as soon as possible, if the weather and their experience with guns and noise will allow. Yes, they can be a pain in the neck sometimes but you will thank yourself for years to come for taking them. They seem to be able to learn a lot from older trained and experienced dogs. Just know the older dogs that are going and leave the aggressive or possessive ones at home, you don't want to see your pup get hurt.

 Based on our training experiences, we honestly feel a retriever pup whose early serious training is first started by being encouraged to hunt and flush birds in the field (we use a local hunting club) will turn into a better overall or "multi-purpose" hunting dog. The basic philosophy of this type of training program, although often over looked, is quite simple: a dog allowed to hunt and flush birds at an early age will develop the self-confidence to hunt even when he is out of sight of the hunter. The obedience, casting, lining and other compliance and control-type training drills can be taught to the dog at an older age. This contrasts with the dog who is started on a total compliance program first, such as is shown in most training books and videos (mostly products of trainers who would rather put ribbons on the wall than birds in the bag), will ALWAYS be dependant primarily upon the handler for his directions. He will never be able to feel comfortable hunting out of sight of the handler and this will severely effect his future ability to find birds.

Northern Flight's "Molly" playing with her puppies

Care and Feeding

 All small puppies should be fed three times each day until three months of age. After that, twice each day is sufficient. We even feed the adult dogs twice each day during the winter and those that have trouble maintaining weight get fed twice each day year 'round. Pups should be fed twice a day at least until about nine months of age. Maintaining a dog's weight should be little problem. They should be kept slightly on the lean side and not allowed to show ribs nor be "roly-poly." A large number of dogs that we get for training are severely overweight. Often we have to put them on a diet so that they can even do the work. Staying slightly on the lean side also helps their developing joint structure. Hunting dogs are athletes - develop them that way!

 All dogs need to be given a series of shots with proper documentation to immunize them against the various lethal/contagious diseases that dogs transmit. Your veterinarian should advise you as to the times and series needed. Since our kennel gets a lot of traffic from outside dogs, our whelping facilities are far removed from the kennel and a more vigorous approach is taken to vaccinate pups.

 A puppy should be housed in a draft-free confined area, just for him. This area should include his bed, food, water and chew toys. The pup should not have the run of your house or yard. Remember, restriction provides security, especially when it prevents him from learning bad habits, protects him from more powerful adult dogs and avoids you having to have a reason to scold him. From the standpoint of a professional trainer, confinement is the first step to good training. A dog that is allowed to run loose in the yard playing with the kids all day, will likely not appreciate your snatching him from his play to go and run drills or be jerked around on the end of a lead. Conversely, the dog that is confined in a dog run will do just about anything to get out and work and he will view training as his playtime!

 The memory-keen Chesapeake pups are eager to explore. Anything that he is allowed to "get away" with now, he will try throughout his life. The basic rules of acceptance must start as soon as he arrives at his new home. It is much easier to prevent bad habits than to try to break them later. Bend down to a pup's level to pet him, so that he doesn't jump on you later. Make him wait until his food bowl is on the floor by making him sit; you say "OK" before allowing him to eat. Imprint in his memory all of the rules that will make life pleasant and comfortable with a strong and quick-witted Chesapeake --- for both of you!

There Are Other Web Pages Describing Northern Flights' Chesapeakes!
Select one from the list below...

Kennel Introduction

Northern Flight's Breeding Program

• Breeding Standard
• Developed Natural Ability vs. Trained Abilities
• Selecting Breeding Stock
• Developing A Desired Strain of Chesapeakes
• Line Breeding for Genetic Traits

Terms and Conditions

• Air Shipment
• Guarantees

Northern Flight Retrievers also offers full-time retriever training for your retriever. Please visit our Retriever Training Web Page for information on those services.

How to Contact Northern Flight:
Northern Flight is owned and operated by Butch Goodwin.

You may also write us at:
Northern Flight Retrievers
4965 Freemont Road
New Plymouth, Idaho 83655

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