I had my first Chessie 50 years ago. He was a good retriever but very hard headed. Then got another male Chessie and he developed into a very good retriever and at 4 yrs of age I lost him in a tragic accident. Wasn't going to get another dog till my wife convinced me to "just go look" at some advertised in the paper. I took a female home with me. She has turned into the best of all . She is a great waterfowl retriever and does just as well on pheasants. i have seen her track crippled pheasants in heavy cover at a dead run and alwaysseems to find anything I send her after. I praise Chesapeake retrievers and I raised and trained labs for over 30 years.