11 Ways Chesapeake Bay Retrievers Show Affection

Chesapeake Bay Retrievers are amazing dogs, they are highly intelligent, and they are very brave. These dogs are mainly used for hunting, but they can be a good pet for an active and disciplined individual as well. They are extremely energetic and need a large amount of exercise, and these dogs can be quite independent, which may leave some of their owners wondering if their Chesapeake Bay Retriever actually loves them. We are here to lessen all of your dog worries with these 11 ways your Chesapeake Bay Retriever shows affection.

Here are some ways your Chesapeake Bay may show you affection

Make Eye Contact With You
Lick You
Physically Lean On You
Smile At You
Shares Toys With You
Wants To Sleep By You
Nudge You With Their Nose
Guard You While You Eat
Follow You Around
Check Up On You
Wag Their Tails

Chesapeake Bay Retrievers can be discrete when showing affection, but can these signs mean something else? Could they indicate another feeling that your Chesapeake Bay Retriever may be feeling? Are there any signs that you need to watch for that could tell you if your dog is uncomfortable? Let us go through all these signs of affection more in-depth and see if there are any signs you should be worried about.

Are Chesapeake Bay Retrievers Affectionate?

Chesapeake Bay Retrievers can be very affectionate dogs, and they do really enjoy the company of their owners. There are a few Chesapeake Bay Retrievers that may not be so affectionate and could possibly get aggressive with their owners; however, this is not their fault.

This type of behavior in a dog could be caused by some trauma that involved humans in some way or by unsafe breeding practices, or this aggression could be passed down from their parents.

In fact, most Chesapeake Bay Retrievers are known to become very attached to their owners and even become very protective of their humans. This shows that any aggression is generally a learned behavior rather than an inherent characteristic of the breed.

Most Chesapeake Bay Retrievers are not this aggressive, though, and are a great dog to keep as both your friend and your companion. They will look out for you and protect you as best as they can, and they will shower you with tons of affection. These dogs really and truly love their owners and find many ways to display their total devotion to their owners.

Ways Your Chesapeake Bay May Show Affection

There are many ways in which this lovable dog will show its affection towards its human. These dogs love and respect their people and will protect their families from harm. Sometimes their protectiveness can become overbearing; this is why they are often not recommended for first-time dog owners. Chesapeake Bay Retrievers are a breed that most definitely needs proper training and guidance.

That being said, they are still a fantastic breed of dog, and you need to be prepared to give them as much affection as they will unconditionally give you. Let us go through just a few ways in which your Chesapeake Bay Retriever may show this affection towards you.

1. They Will Make Eye Contact With You

Your Chesapeake Bay may make regular and noticeable eye contact with you to show affection. When they make this eye contact, they are showing you that they love and trust you. There have been countless studies about this that have shown that when your dog makes eye contact with a human that they trust, the level of oxytocin in their brain increases.

Oxytocin is considered a love hormone and is released from the brain; this hormone is also associated with affection and attachment that come with the feelings of love.

Just be careful with making eye contact with a dog that you are unfamiliar with, as they can see this action as a threat or as a challenge. Some dogs may turn away from eye contact to avoid confrontation, and some may not back down as easily.

So, for this sign, only accept eye contact from your dog, as this could help your dog build an attachment to you and develop your bond.

2. Your Chesapeake Bay Will Lick You

Licking is an instinctive behavior for dogs; they are licked by their moms when they were puppies so that the mom could ensure that they were secure and clean. This means that when your Chesapeake Bay Retriever licks you, its family member, your dog is showing you that it is there for you.

Licking you is also a sign of respect as your dog will like to acknowledge you as its pack leader and show you their acceptance of you as their leader by licking you. The licking behavior could also indicate that they are looking to get some attention or that they want something from you, or they are looking for comfort from their leader as they are feeling stressed and do not know what to do about it.

3. They Will Physically Lean On You

As much as it can be annoying to have your dog leaning on you while you try to go about your daily life and household chores, it is another way that your Chesapeake Bay will demonstrate their affection towards you. Sometimes, the bigger the dog is, the more of a problem this leaning can be. But to your Chesapeake Bay Retriever, this is simply another way of telling you that they love you.

This sign of affection is your dog’s way of trying to give you a hug; they are showing love and asking for some attention in return.

Part of being in a pack means community living and sharing each other’s space. Getting close to another pack member shows acceptance, respect and builds a level of comfort in the pack members, even if the pack is just you and your dog!

So, when your Chesapeake Bay Retriever is leaning on you, take some time out of your day and give your dog some attention to show them that you love them too.

4. Smile At You

Yes, your Chesapeake Bay Retriever may actually smile at you. So, if you have sometimes thought that you have seen your Chesapeake Bay Retriever smiling at you, you were probably right. Dogs can and will mimic human expressions and learn human facial expressions as indicators of affection.

As their human expressing affection towards them with a smile, they learn that this is affectionate behavior, and they will start to reciprocate by smiling back! This means that they understand what the human smile means, even though in normal dog behavior, the baring of teeth is normally a threatening posture or expression.

Some research has been executed on this topic, and it has been found that dogs do, in fact, use a plethora of facial expressions to express their feelings and emotions the same way that humans do.

They may make different facial expressions towards different people depending on how well they may know each person. They may also make different facial expressions towards different objects too, depending on if they find the object desirable or not.

5. Shares Its Toys With You

Chesapeake Bay Retrievers will bring you their toys for you to play with if they are trying to show you some love. This is their way of sharing with you, which to them shows a lot of affection.

Along with sharing their toys, they may also bring you some dead birds or rodents that they have found or killed; as to them, this is a way to provide for you and to please you, no matter how disgusting we may find it.

To them, they are not doing anything wrong when they are doing this as they are caring for you, so it is best not to punish them for it and rather paise them and give them attention. Then make sure that you get rid of the critter; if it is no longer alive, ensure you dispose of it in a way that your Chesapeake Bay can not get to it again.

If the creature is still alive and is well enough to be released, then release it somewhere that your dog can not get to. If it is not well enough to be released, then you should call an animal control service to come and remove the animal.

If your Chesapeake Bay Retriever does this quite often, you should ensure that their vaccinations are up to date as wild animals can carry many different diseases.

6. Want To Sleep By You – Especially At Night

Dogs were bred and evolved from wolves, and in the wild, wolves tend to sleep all curled up together in their packs. This was for both warmth and security but also part of the social behavior of the pack mentality.

Because dogs have wolf ancestry, they tend to sleep in the same way. And to your dog, you are their family and best friend, so they would want to sleep all curled up next to you if you let them; if not, then they will settle with being close to you while they sleep.

The fact that your Chesapeake Bay Retriever wants to sleep near you shows a considerable amount of trust and bond of love between you and your dog.

7. Nudge You With Their Nose

If your Chesapeake Bay Retriever nudges you with its nose, this is a way that your dog shows that it likes you and is a common sign of affection.

Nose nudging can also be a sign that your dog is looking for some affection and a looking for a sense of security, or it can be to let you know that you are in your dog’s way. If the nose nudge is accompanied by a soul-full stare or leads to more body contact, then you can take this as a good sign that your Chesapeake Bay Retriever wants your attention.

8. Guard You While You Eat

Chesapeake Bay Retrievers are a very protective breed of dogs, and even if there is no threat, your Chesapeake Bay Retriever will watch over you and ensure that you are safe while you are eating. This is a certain sign of affection from your Chesapeake Bay Retriever as they want to make sure that nothing bad happens to you.

Guarding you is also an indication that your dog feels like they are a part of your pack. Even though this behavior may be a sign of affection, most vets will discourage this behavior as it could lead to some behavioral issues or even your dog getting overly territorial.

This behavior may become a problem should a new member join the family, such as a family having a baby, and the baby is not introduced to the dog correctly.

9. Follow You Around The House

Dogs and young puppies do need to feel secure and safe in their daily lives; when your Chesapeake Bay Retriever follows you around your house and garden, then you know that your dog feels safe with you. For your dog, you represent safety and security, which allows your dog to feel at peace and calm when they are around you.

And as your Chesapeake Bay Retriever begins to get older, these feelings start to turn into a sense of love and devotion towards you, and your do will not want to be apart from you, so they will follow you around as you go about your day. To your dog, you are their place of well-being.

10. They Will Check Up On You Throughout The Day

Sometimes your Chesapeake Bay Retriever may be a bit more independent and will not follow you around the house; this does not mean that they do not love you; they will just express their love in a different way.

These independent dogs will check in on you if you are in another room to them. They will literally just pop their heads in just to see what you are up to and if you are safe, and then they will move on. They will check in on you a few times a day.

Your Chesapeake Bay Retriever may also check in on you during walk times and if your dog is in an environment that they are not used to, just to make sure that you are nearby as they still see you as their comfort and safety.

11. Wag Their Tails When You Interact With Them

Dog’s tails can show a range of emotions from fear, happiness, and aggression. It is important to study your dog’s expressions that they present with their tail as this will help you to better know what is going through your dog’s head.

When your Chesapeake Bay Retriever is wagging its tail, this means that it is very happy and excited to see you and interact with you; they may even throw in a full-body wag if they have not seen you in a while. This shows that your dog loves you and feels safe around you.

If your dog’s tail is straight and stiff over their back when they are around certain people or other animals, this could be an indication of aggression or your dog being uncomfortable with that person’s or animals’ presence, and your dog is trying to warn them of such.

Conclusion

Chesapeake Bay Retrievers can show affection in many different ways, and they enjoy doing so. These dogs are affectionate with their people and can be very wary of strangers and other strange animals. Chesapeake Bay Retrievers can be very protective of their family, but they can also be very mischievous, especially if they are not trained correctly.

This is why many vets and animal experts recommend that this dog breed should not be owned by first-time dog owners or somebody that can not put in the required training time each day for this dog breed.

That being said, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers are lovely dogs and make for a great companion and friend; they will watch your back if you watch theirs. They will show you endless love and affection as they truly love their owners.