best wildfowling dog opinion

[Lloyd90]

27 minutes ago, Dave at kelton said:

Lloyd, you are quite right about the difficulties in getting the minority breeds from proven working stock. We are fortunate here in SWScotland to have a few who are doing just that and I can name three in particular but of them all Kirsty Cousins and her father stand out a mile….see Gorton’s Gundogs. Kirsty also qualifies for the Retriever Championship every year so you are talking one of the UKs top trainers in both goldies and labs.

My experience of Chessies is that they can be short tempered. I understand that originally they were not only water dogs on the fishing boats but also guarding dogs. This latter trait I have seen come out too many times on the shore for me to have or recommend one.

For an inexperienced handler you are right to, question why you would make life even more difficult.

 

Exactly what I meant mate 👍🏻 With the view of giving yourself the best possible chance of getting a dog that meets the spec, a lab stands out well above the rest. 
 

I will look up Kirsty / Gorton’s … I imagine they have a waiting list as long as my arm for pups 😞 

[Dave at kelton]

53 minutes ago, Lloyd90 said:

 

Exactly what I meant mate 👍🏻 With the view of giving yourself the best possible chance of getting a dog that meets the spec, a lab stands out well above the rest. 
 

I will look up Kirsty / Gorton’s … I imagine they have a waiting list as long as my arm for pups 😞 

Not necessarily a long waiting list. Contact her on Facebook and mention you were recommended by David, picks up Drumlanrig. Also uses Westerkames prefix.

Good luck

[Pushandpull]

I have a  male labrador which came from Kirsty (on the recommendation of Moongeese). He is an absolute gentleman of a dog.

[London Best]

I have a friend who has had four Chessies. Without exception every one has eaten game on a regular basis.

[Gerry78]

16 hours ago, shotgun tim said:

every one of mine has been great with people and other dogs but they have been well socialised as pups 

i got my first bitch chessie from belfast 

it’s down to understanding the breed and training and remember there not a lab lol 

I’ve been told that as well lol the one and only Chessie I’ve seen was a guy who shot large inland lough I used to shoot he told me the chessie pup was attacking he’s too adult male labs In the dog run he had to put the chessie on its own The only place I knew off in Ireland was a chessie breeder in co navan in Southern Ireland There pups go for a pretty penny to say the least 

[marsh man]

To be fair to Chessie's owners , there are good and bad in all breeds , as one of the Chessies owners remarked that they are not Labs and you must not treat them and train them as such , even Labs can sometimes take time to come up to standard , I bought my present dog to go with my old one at the time to take over when the old one called it a day , as it turned out it didn't work out as I would had liked , my old one was a cracking dog but the dreaded arthritis put paid to him when he was only coming up to 10 year old , I had to have him put down and my young one was just over a year old , at the time it was in March so I still had six months before I needed him to retrieve wildfowl , towards the end of the Summer he was coming on well but still had a fair bit of play in him and the retrieving was more like a game than anything else , come the season I would pick up what I could and the young dog would just get the odd retrieve mainly in water , or he had to cross water to do the retrieve , that was over five ago , he is now a first class retriever with a superb nose and as gentle as you could wish for .

[edenman]

Labrador for me all day long.

[shotgun tim]

my new chessie iv just picked up 

[Gerry78]

7 minutes ago, shotgun tim said:

my new chessie iv just picked up 

Lovely mate 👍👍

[Big Mat]

The chesapeake will die out as a fowling breed over here if people don't use them.

They are an acquired taste, but they're no where near as bad as some seem to describe them as, often their faults can be attributed to the person training them. 

It seems if someone meets 1 bad chessie, they write the breed off, but if a lab is bad, oh it just needs training properly. 

I'm not for a minute suggesting that everyone go out and get a chessie, but more people ought to take the time to visit breed events, meet some dogs and see that the breed has changed over the years, for the better.

[WalkedUp]

1 hour ago, Big Mat said:

The chesapeake will die out as a fowling breed over here if people don't use them.

They are an acquired taste, but they're no where near as bad as some seem to describe them as, often their faults can be attributed to the person training them. 

It seems if someone meets 1 bad chessie, they write the breed off, but if a lab is bad, oh it just needs training properly. 

I'm not for a minute suggesting that everyone go out and get a chessie, but more people ought to take the time to visit breed events, meet some dogs and see that the breed has changed over the years, for the better.

Very good post. When you have a rare working breed they are very noticeable and noticed. People either think it is the best ever or worst ever, based upon if it was marginally above or below the standard. 

Up on a loch today and a woman asked “Do Weimaraners (my bitch doing long wet retrieves with a back windy give distance) not like water? She seems very reluctant [to jump off the pontoon].” I replied that she works all water, however I have seen daft dogs [labs] wind and injure themselves leaping into unknown water with gay abandon, the reason she seems reluctant is probably as she’s sat stock still because I’m waiting for the dummy to get to the 60 yard mark to send her, returned to hand under a single command. The point being not that the woman had misread the situation but that she had also assumed any temperament shown by that one bitch was going to hold true for an entire breed, rather than just be a reflection of my training style!

 

 

[Gerry78]

1 hour ago, Big Mat said:

The chesapeake will die out as a fowling breed over here if people don't use them.

They are an acquired taste, but they're no where near as bad as some seem to describe them as, often their faults can be attributed to the person training them. 

It seems if someone meets 1 bad chessie, they write the breed off, but if a lab is bad, oh it just needs training properly. 

I'm not for a minute suggesting that everyone go out and get a chessie, but more people ought to take the time to visit breed events, meet some dogs and see that the breed has changed over the years, for the better.

Well said as I’ve said on previous posts I’ve only ever seen one here in Northern Ireland I’ve actually struggled to find breeders near we’re I live to speak to them about the breed but have had no luck unfortunately finding them 

[B B]

On 21/08/2022 at 15:09, shotgun tim said:

would be an interesting cross 

I think so Chespekes do tend to be a bit bigger and sturdier than the  typical modern labs, which IMO have in some breeding lines been diluted  as fowling dogs by certain preconcieved ideas born from some in the game shooting  world and a trend  mostly in the 90s thankfully for small labradors.  The Chespeke cross is a way of restoring a bit of size and power into a fowling dog, and gaining a bit more chest a nice foul weather coat  some muscle and  black color which i personally like in a fowling dog. 

[WalkedUp]

I find it easier to see black dogs in the dark. My greys are invisible but the black labs stand out against the marsh and mud etc. 

[shotgun tim]

1 hour ago, Gerry78 said:

Well said as I’ve said on previous posts I’ve only ever seen one here in Northern Ireland I’ve actually struggled to find breeders near we’re I live to speak to them about the breed but have had no luck unfortunately finding them 

if u need anything to know drop me a pm 

[Gerry78]

21 minutes ago, shotgun tim said:

if u need anything to know drop me a pm 

No worries mate 👍

[marsh man]

1 hour ago, WalkedUp said:

I find it easier to see black dogs in the dark. My greys are invisible but the black labs stand out against the marsh and mud etc. 

I have had Black dogs all my life and never really gave the colour a thought when fowling , as you well know you get different types of darkness , sometimes with a bit of cloud cover I can see my dog going for a retrieve half way across the marsh , then on another night when the stars are out I can't see my hand in front of my face and have known the time where I have nearly walked into the dyke , or is it another sign that old age have arrived .

[Lloyd90]

5 hours ago, shotgun tim said:

my new chessie iv just picked up 

Lovely pup Tim  

 

What did the fella cost if you don’t mind me asking? 

[shotgun tim]

8 minutes ago, Lloyd90 said:

Lovely pup Tim  

 

What did the fella cost if you don’t mind me asking? 

free a friend bred her he’s a keeper i help out on the shoot he’s still got 6 for sale 

[marsh man]

3 minutes ago, shotgun tim said:

free a friend bred her he’s a keeper i help out on the shoot he’s still got 6 for sale 

Cracking looking pup and you have got a very generous keeper , I have got the odd hour going spare if he need a hand. 

[Lloyd90]

32 minutes ago, shotgun tim said:

free a friend bred her he’s a keeper i help out on the shoot he’s still got 6 for sale 

Fair play, decent dog man. 
 

I’ remember the lurcher lads used to gift pups amongst proper dog men and wouldn’t be worried about the money… something I’ve not really seen in the gundogs. 
 

Seeing pups for sale the Chessie’s are usually priced around £2k+ and working Goldens £1.8-2k+. 

[WalkedUp]

34 minutes ago, Lloyd90 said:

something I’ve not really seen in the gundogs. 

I’ve been offered many free gun dog pups to work, normally dogs to keep a line breeding back but occasionally bitches too. 

[shotgun tim]

1 hour ago, Lloyd90 said:

Fair play, decent dog man. 
 

I’ remember the lurcher lads used to gift pups amongst proper dog men and wouldn’t be worried about the money… something I’ve not really seen in the gundogs. 
 

Seeing pups for sale the Chessie’s are usually priced around £2k+ and working Goldens £1.8-2k+. 

his asking price is 1350 a pup health tested parents kc reg but i’m sure they could be swayed to good homes as ready to leave 

[simcgunner]

😃I would recommend a lab their good water dogs and devoted to the family. Some chessies are one man dogs who start hand and arm collections. Not recommended for novice trainers. but they are big tough dogs that can handle harsh weather with their rough oily and often smelly coat. Personally I like the HPR Dogs.

[marsh man]

I think we can all agree that the strong type Labs with a thick coat are the most popular dogs that are used for both inland and coastal wild fowling , this is not to say that other breeds are not suitable because we know that wouldn't be the case .

Two of my mates had the big type Springer Spaniels and they were both very good fowling dogs , one slight problem which we rairly have to contend with this day and age is ice , I once saw one of my mates dog covered in ice from head to foot with it's long coat getting iced up and with wild fowling the dog can sit in freezing conditions for long periods without much activity , like I said about the Chessie that came across a fast flowing river to pick my duck up , without a doubt that dog would have found the duck if the owner on the other side of the river had shot it himself , he had marked it well and was hunting every clump of reed out , so he would have my 10 / 10 , water work , again couldn't fault it and would have got another full marks , ignoring the owners call to return could well be a fault of the owner and not the dog , still not my choice for a fowling dog but they can and do make excellent dogs for retrieving wildfowl in harsh conditions .