Chesapeake Bay Retriever
GENERAL APPEARANCE L : Breed characteristics enable the Chesapeake to perform with ease, efficiency and endurance. The skull is broad and round with a medium stop. The jaws should be strong and long enough to carry large birds with a soft, delicate grip. The double coat is made up of short, rough and wavy hairs and dense, fine, woolly undercoats containing natural oils and is ideal for withstanding the cold and inhospitable climate in which it often works. The Chesapeake is an animal of strong constitution, well balanced and powerful, with limbs and body of medium size and length, deep and broad chest, shoulders built to work with full freedom of movement and without tendency to weakness in any of its characteristics, particularly in the later ones. This potency, however, should not be consumed by agility or endurance. Size and substance should not be excessive as this is a hardworking dog and has a very active nature. Particular characteristics include very light, yellowish or amber eyes, hindquarters of the same height or slightly higher than the withers and a double coat tending to wavy only on the shoulders, neck, back and loin.
IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS : The height at the withers to the ground should be slightly less than the length of the body from the point of the sternum to the buttocks. The depth of the chest should reach at least the elbows. The distance from the shoulder to the elbows and from the elbows to the ground must be equal.
BEHAVIOR AND TEMPERAMENT: Valued for a bright and cheerful disposition, intelligence, quiet good sense and affectionate protective nature. Courage, willingness to work, vivacity, nose, intelligence, love of water and the general quality, above all, disposition must be a priority condition in the selection and breeding of the Chesapeake Bay Retriever. Tendency to extreme shyness or aggression is undesirable for both hunting and companionship.
CRANIAL REGION
skull : Long and round.
Stop: Moderate.
FACIAL REGION
Truffle : Nose bridge moderately short.
Muzzle : Approximately the same length as the skull, tapering without being pointed.
lips : Fine, not pendant.
Jaws and Teeth : Scissor bite is preferred, but pincer is acceptable.
eyes : They are medium in size, very pale, yellowish to amber in color and well separated. Smart expression.
Ears : Small, set high, carried pendant and cartilage of medium thickness.
NECK : Of medium length with a strong, muscular appearance, tapering to the shoulders.
TRUNK
Top Line: Of medium length, neither stocky nor ruffled, but approaching the saddle as well as the belly well tucked up.
Back : Short, well inserted and powerful
chest : Strong, deep and wide. Barrel ribs, round and deep
TAIL: Of medium length; thick at the root. The tail is straight or slightly curved, without being curled over the back or deviated laterally.
MEMBERS
FOREQUARTERS : Should not be prone to weakness. Of medium length and straight, showing good bone and musculature. The forelimbs, viewed from the front or from behind, should appear straight
Shoulders : They must be inclined with full freedom of action, quite powerful and without any restriction of movement.
Pasterns : Slightly angled and of medium length. Ergos must be removed.
HINDQUARTERS : Good hindquarters are essential. They must be as strong as the previous ones. They must not be prone to weakness. The hindquarters must be especially powerful to provide momentum for swimming. The legs are of medium length and straight, showing good bone and musculature. They should appear straight when viewed from the front or from behind. Ergos, if any, must be removed.
Knees : Well angulated.
Hocks : The distance from the hocks to the ground should be of medium length.
DRIVE : Smooth, flowing and effortless, giving the impression of great strength and power. When viewed in profile, it should exhibit good reach with no restriction of movement in the forelimbs and plenty of propulsion in the hindquarters, with good flexion of the knees and hock joints. Coming towards us, it should show no signs that the elbows are turning out. From behind, it should not show signs of cow hocks. As the speed increases, the paws tend to converge towards the gravitational center line.
COAT
Fur: Thick and short, nowhere more than 4 cm long, with a dense, fine, woolly undercoat. Very short and straight on the cheeks and limbs with a tendency to curl only on the shoulders, neck, back and loin. Moderate fringes on the rear of the hindquarters and tail are permitted. The texture of the Chesapeake's coat is very important as it is used for hunting in the most adverse weather conditions, often working in snow and ice. The oiliness of the rough outer coat and the wooliness of the undercoat are extremely important to prevent cold water from reaching your skin and facilitate quick drying. The Chesapeake's coat should be water resistant in the same way that a duck's feathers are. When coming out of the water and shaking, the coat should not retain any water, being merely damp.
COLOR
Its color should be as similar as possible to the environment in which it works. Any shade of brown, straw or dead grass color is acceptable; uniform color is preferred. No color is preferred over the other. A white spot on the chest, belly, toes or behind the feet (just behind the pad) is permissible, but the smaller the spot, the better; uniform color is preferred. Both coat color and texture must be taken into account when judging both on the benches used in the exhibition (bench) and on the tracks. Honor scars should not be penalized.
SIZE : Males: 58 cm - 66 cm.
Females: 53 cm - 61 cm.
Weight : Males: from 29.5 kg - 36.5 kg.
Females: from 25 kg - 32 kg.
FAULTS
Any deviation from the terms of this standard should be considered a fault and penalized in exact proportion to its severity and its effects on the health and well being of the dog.
DISQUALIFYING FAULTS
• Aggressiveness or excessive shyness.
• Any dog that shows any sign of physical or behavioral anomaly must be disqualified.
• Missing specimens of breed characteristics.
• Overshot or undershot.
• Ergos in the hindquarters.
• Coat curly or with a tendency to curl all over the body.
• Fringing on tail or limbs longer than 4.5 cm.
• Black color.
• White spots on any part of the body that are on the chest, belly, fingers or behind the paws.
GRADES
• Males must have both testicles, of normal appearance, well let down and accommodated in the scrotum.
• Only clinically and functionally healthy dogs with typical breed conformation should be used for breeding.