Hey fellas, I was wondering if anyone local to the Maryville/Knoxville area had a Chesapeake Bay Retriever or a Rhodesian Ridgeback that I could talk to. We are looking to get a good family dog that I can also do some hunting/scouting with. I don't do a bunch of retrieving/upland hunting but I'd like one that I could train to do a decent job with it when my kids get a little older. Thanks.
Both are poor choices for the duel purpose that you stated. IMO
The ridgeback can be a good family dog and a decent guard dog around the home. They do well in the extreme heat of the summers that we have been getting lately. But, it is highly unlikely a ridgeback would retrieve anything and unlikely it would hunt - except maybe lions. That's what they were bred for. Any lions to hunt in your area?
The Chesapeake is a stubborn dog and therefor generally more difficult to train. It has been recommended that anyone contemplating getting a Chesapeake should be an experienced dog trainer. Also, since the chessy was bred to handle the most frigid winter weather and the half frozen, choppy waters of the Chesapeake Bay and other northern coastal waters, all while retrieving duck after duck after duck, they do not do well in our hot summers. The Chesapeake is a waterfowl retriever extreme and a dog for a dedicated waterfowl hunter, not a casual hunter and not a family dog. IMO
On the other hand, a Labrador could make a good family dog as well as a flusher of small game and a retriever. Most of them are very amiable, but there are a few that are also a half decent guard dog. They do have a tendency to wander the neighborhood if they get the opportunity.
Personally, I like English springer spaniels. I raised, trained, hunted, and did some field trials in the upper mid-west with springers for over 20 years. They are great family dogs, terrific at flushing small game, and they retrieve from both land and water. They can't handle icy water like the lab or the chessy, but they do quite well in the early duck season.
Beware, though, that there are two distinct typed of English springer spaniel. There is the bench bred/show dog type, and there is the field bred/hunter type. Both will hunt, but the one is better at it than the other.
Plus the springers are considerably smaller dogs than the others mentioned here. They fit in my canoe with less chance of tipping it over then do the larger dogs.
Just my opinion. Take it for whatever you think it is worth.
