So how did the breed originate? What did the dogs look like? It is logical to accept that they were bred to local dogs being used for gunning. The Brooke strain of English Foxhound (imported 1650) was known on both shores of the Chesapeake. They were not only used for fox but also for general gunning. Described as “red in color, high in courage, independent and persistent with fine noses and great endurance” it is not hard to see that they may have been part of the ancestry. Sport Is Where You Find It- “Hounds & Retrievers in MD” 1953 General Latrobe associated with the Carroll Island kennels speculated they were mated with the yellow and tan coonhounds of the time. A 1926 ACC brochure claims the Otter hound and Newfoundland crosses were responsible for the breed! Whitney in his book How To Breed Dogs experimented with the crossing of a Newfoundland to a Bloodhound. The offspring pictured at right looks remarkably like a Chesapeake!
				Cross of a Bloodhound with a Newfoundland. All the progeny were short-haired.