Would you consider a Chesepeake Bay Retriever to be a fairly good all around dog.. Say both waterfowl and upland bird? Also, does anyone know if they are tough to take care of?

I have Chessies they are a great dog. Waterfowl is their world. There are exceptions to a particular dog but they are three times tougher than a Lab. I have hunted over Chessies for many years and they break ice retrieving and are ready to do it again as soon as they give you the bird. Proper training you will LOVE them for waterfowl. Upland game they do good but you have to get them on birds when they are young. There have been upland champions but not as many as waterfowl.

They are hard headed, extremely loyal to family and owner. They WIll protect you and your family and possesions with their life. They will tolerate strangers if you welcome them but not overly freindly. Fantastic dog and to me it's a no brainer if you waterfowl hunt.

AS for care like any other hunting dog. They require alot of exercise and if you give them a dog house you wake up with 4 inches of fresh snow and when you go outside they stand up and shake the 4 inches of snow off thier back. Never even used the doghouse I gave him. lol

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.