Gun Dog Breeder Reviews for Rouse Farms --Chesapeake Bay Retrievers
Testimonials (29) | Back to Rouse Farms --Chesapeake Bay Retrievers
Submitted by: Jamin on Jan 02, 2020
I am well satisfied w my 8 month old chessie or”echo”.She is doing well in her training and has great drive,especially on birds!:)She had a soft mouth but almost all chessies these days to and it was corrected w force fetch.Over all am impressed
Submitted by: David Tanous on Oct 16, 2018
Stonewall, our 1 1/2 year old male (85lbs) is the best dog that my wife and I have ever owned. He’s incredibly well behaved around other dogs, our guests, and small children. He loves to play fetch in the Creek by our house. He loves going camping and hiking with us. He can run all day long.

He’s very protective of anyone he spends a lot of time around (My wife and I, our families, the friends we see a lot). He does a really good job of being protective without being overly aggressive. He can read our mood and if he senses that we are tense then he’ll, all by himself, get between us and whomever is causing us to feel that way. He’s got a very intimidating growl and bark but he’s incredibly obedient and responds to our commands immediately.

He’s an exemplar of health and he’s absolutely gorgeous.

If I ever buy another dog from anywhere other than Rouse Farms it’ll be because my daughter wants a little ball of fuzz.

David Rouse was very kind, responsive, and informative. He answered all of our questions thoroughly and quickly. I hope to be seeing him again soon.
Submitted by: Stevan on Mar 23, 2018
I love my one year old 92 pound male. Drake is an amazing dog. We have no desire to have him for anything more than companionship and he’s done great in that department. Strong as a mule and will fetch balls like crazy in the huge field next to our house. Great around other dogs.
Submitted by: Eric Taylor on Sep 10, 2017
If you are interested in buying a great dog,
Mr. Rouse is the breeder you are looking for. He is very knowledgeable about the breed and extremely helpful through the process. My Cousin bought a dog from David 4 years ago and she impressed me so much it made me want a chessie that could be half that dog. I was directed to David for having a great breed of dogs and after I bought my dog from him I contest to that statement! My female is a great looking, very health puppy.
Submitted by: Rick and Kaitlynne on Jan 15, 2017
We got our precious Duke from David at the end of October 2016 and he has been nothing but an absolute joy! He's extremely intelligent, gorgeous, and has the sweetest temperament. If you're looking for a well-rounded Chessie, David is the man to go to!
Submitted by: Christy Munks on Jan 04, 2017
My husband and I got our pup (Rusty) from David four years ago last month. Dennis and I researched for weeks looking for the best family dog fit for our lake family and then several more weeks researching breeders when finally choosing David. We hit the jackpot with our boy and choice of breeder. Rusty is the most intelligent dog I have ever come into contact with and being a country girl there's been countless. Fast forward to now. Rusty gets everyone's attention he comes into contact with. He is the most beautiful fella alive!!! He is trained on verbal and hand signals and is the fastest learner. He is a monster as far as size. At 137 pounds he is still a lap dog, and Momma's boy. I can't imagine going wrong with Rouse Farms for quality and I couldn't imagine our lives without Rusty.
Submitted by: Jeff Rowe on Dec 01, 2016
Just wanted to post a Deacon up date. He will be 2 on 12 /31 He is a great duck and upland dog for his age. He is smart and gentle and along with being a great young hunter he is the most devoted family dog we have ever had. I raise show poultry as well and he catches any size bird I point him at and has never hurt the first one. Mr Rouse's breeding program is spot on . You will not find a better all around Chessy
Submitted by: Tony Zito on Aug 20, 2016
I've waited a year to write this review. Right up front I want to say what a positive experience owning this dog has been. I was apprehensive at first having never owned a dog let alone a chessie. The books had me sweating right up until duck season (4mo old). He's a joy to train and might be the sweetest dog I've ever come across. That's saying something having grown up around golden retrievers. He's an awesome family pet, great hunting buddy, and just an all around well mannered dog. David Rouse was a professional and made my first dog owning experience a breeze.
Submitted by: chris kaaland on Jul 23, 2016
We received Dixie Lee from David in April. She flew in and was happy healthy and clean. David was great at sending me pictures of her and walking me through the process of having her flown here to me. We have received a beautiful, happy, willing to please, smart puppy. She was retrieving within one day. learned her named in one day and has been swimming for two months now. She is very interested in birds. Keeps her eyes on the sky. She has a great temperament and settled right in. We found David to be someone you can trust, which really means a lot to me. I recommend his Chessies to any one who loves the breed.
Submitted by: Rob Mabry on Jun 04, 2016
David is honest about what he does and has great lines. Rooster is a beast with a great personality.
Submitted by: shane eckhoff on Nov 03, 2015
If your looking for a chessie David is the breeder to go to. He is a very honest person and a pleasure to deal with. I picked up my dog "bella" in February she is 10 months old and 75 lbs. We just got back from a week long hunt in North Dakota and couldn't have asked for a puppy to do any better hunting, 20-30 retrieves a day for 6 days straight and already passing up dead birds in the water to chase the cripples first. Just want to thank David for such a great dog!
Submitted by: Jennifer Thurmond on Oct 17, 2015
Got our pup "Mud" 2/14/15.What a great dog! He's already retrieving ducks-one was a cripple that had been shot previously by another hunter that Mud found on the way back to the truck. David Rouse was great to work with. We'd never had a Chesssie before and he answered all questions accurately. He proved himself honest when I couldn't remember the exact price we agreed on and was going to pay him more than the agreed price. I would highly recommend him and his dogs!P
Submitted by: Brooke on Oct 12, 2015
Just got a Chessie from David and he is an amazing dog. The entire process was flawless and he showed up very healthy and impeccably bred. When I lost my last Chessie after 12 years, I would Google "Chesapeake bay retriever puppy" and look at all the pictures. If I would've seen a picture of this puppy I would've chosen him out of all the pups past or present in the entire world. He's absolutely perfect and David made the process (including shipping him from Kentucky to Maine) entirely stress free and he obviously knew what he was doing. Couldn't be happier.
Brooke
Portland, Maine
Submitted by: Lauren Mullaney Fennell on Apr 10, 2015
Rouse Farm Kennels was excellent and produced the most loving, smart, well rounded companion I could of asked for. Oak is now two years old, loyal and devoted I could not imagine any other breed or animal in my life. Amazing ground manners, hunting skill, and she is quick as a whip. I gladly drove from McClellanville,SC to this kennel to pick her up.
Love my chessie couldn't have asked for better!
Lauren Fennell
Village Bed & Breakfast
McClellanville, SC
Submitted by: Jeff Rowe on Mar 12, 2015
I was able to get to David's place in between snow storms and pick up Deacon What a dog , he retrieved the first night . I was a lab man for 35 years Deke is a little more hard headed but wants to please as much as any lab I ever had. David was easy to deal with. The best recommendation I can give is next year I will be buying another pup for my son Thanks again David
Submitted by: Chelsea Felts on Aug 26, 2014
Where do I begin?? Let me start with the seller… If I could rate David a 10, I would! We drove 8 hours to pick up our pup from the January 2014 litter after hearing nothing but wonderful things. He was very helpful in helping us decide which pup was for us!

Next, our pup! We decided on a dark brown male who we named Whiskey. He is 9 months old and 75 lbs. now and by far THE SMARTEST chessie I have seen. We introduced him to water at only 3 months old and haven't been able to keep him out! He is a fish. His temperament is outstanding, not to mention his loving personality. He would retrieve all day if we would let him.



I definitely recommend David. He has all the qualities one should look for in a seller, and in the pups!

Submitted by: Kevin Brown on Jul 07, 2014
I purchased a female Chessie from Mr.Rouse's January 23, 2014 litter. I can't say enough about how great she is. Just a pure natural! Good looking, healthy, swims better than most fish, has a great temperament and a great family pet and gentle with my 2 and 4 year old and also capable of going straight into rugged work mode and is making huge strides at a young age in the field. Mr. Rouse is a true pro and is really doing a great job with the breed. GO CHESSIES!
Submitted by: Mike Jackson on May 13, 2014
I bought a dog from Dave in jan 2014 he is a awesome dog I highly recommend Dave's bloodline my dogs loves the water and at 4 months old is already doing multiple retreives I'm so I'm impressed I'm going to buy a female as soon as one become available
Submitted by: Julia Curry on Sep 25, 2013
We recently purchased a chessie puppy from David. We found him to be very easy to work with, HONEST, and knowledgeable about this breed of dog. Callie will soon be 4 months old, and is a top-notch dog. Very quick in learning to sit, stay, come, retrieve on command, and she loves the water. She is a great dog and companion. If you're looking to buy a Cheseapeake Bay Retriever, you won't go wrong here. David is by far the BEST dog breeder in Kentucky.
Submitted by: Andy Sachleben on Sep 01, 2013
I talked with David twice in February. He is very knowledgable of the breed. I really enjoyed talking with him, as he answered all our questions. I called him in April, and decided on a male out of one of his litters that were born in March.
"Brady" is almost 6 months old now. Is a natural water dog, and a natural born retriever. He has been a great companion on our farm, and in our home already. I would highly recommend David, and his blood line to anyone who wants a chessie.
Submitted by: Charlie Bauer on Dec 11, 2012
I bought Pennington back in 2007. From day one he was diving off docks, chasing birds, and being the best dog I could ask for. Not the usual stand offish Chessie, loves kids, loves people- But knows when he has a job to do and protect the house. Love him, and great breeder.
Submitted by: Michael Miller on May 30, 2012
I bought my Chessie from David about 3 and a half years ago. His name was Brady. From 6 weeks old he was retrieving sticks 5 times the size of him. I got this dog to trail blood on our deer lease and he did just that. Ive never seen a more driven animal in my life. This dog saved my life one night when a wounded buck turned to charge me. I could tell 1,000 stories about this dog that amaze the most avid hunter. Brady was hit by a car and killed last year(Worst day of my live) and im going back to David to get another one this summer. I would recommend this breeder to anyone. Whether you want a hunting companion or a family friend. His chesapeakes are the way to go.
Submitted by: Andrew Westbrook on May 18, 2012
Never owned a dog, my dad is highly allergic to dogs and cats, once I got a place to myself where I could have a dog I purchased a Chessie from RFK, Astro turned 4 in April, over the years I've had multiple people tell me that he's one of the most well behaved dogs they have ever seen, of course I'm biased but I'd have to agree, he's extremely smart, good with children, calm inside the house, in phenominal shape, and well tempered. Though the only dog I've ever owned, by far the best dog I've ever come across.
Submitted by: Gabrielle P on Dec 11, 2011
I recently purchased a chessie puppy from RFK chessies back in September (2011) and she is great. When I orginally contacted David it was months before I purchased her. We talked for several months and I got several pictures of the parents to my puppy and puppies of other litters. He also sent me pictures when she was born and through out her growing process. He also worked with me on the deposit, I had no way of sending the money, and work was hectic having no time off and being nearly 4 hours away didn't help. When the time came to go get her he really worked with me and my schedule, he took time off and met me at his place, which I say he has a extremely nice. place for his puppies!! He also worked with me on directions to his place, even though he was working! When we arrived he was right behind us, very much on time and professional!! When we saw the puppies there was one who was just itching to greet us, my little dead grass baby girl!! He let them all out and called to them, and everyone of the listened.. exguarantee except her. She sat user my feet the entire time.. I was in awe and that's when I knew it was meant to be :)! She so sweet and so so extremely smart its unreal!! He gave me his health guarantee, which you don't get one this great unless you have a breeder who genuinely cares about their blood lines and their puppies. Its. extremely hard to find a breeder as great as David, I talked to so many AKC breeders from the AKC website and none were near as nice and professional as David!! Takota is now 4 months old and smart as everything!! With in her first week home she was already fully potty trained and crate trained she also already knew fetch and sit. She was so well socialized that she fears nothing, I brought her home to horses and an australian shepherd and she just pranced right up to them like she'd been there her whole life! I didn't have any problem crate training her either.. no whining what so ever!! She's also so soft on the lead, you'd swear she already did this a million times. Shes just so perfect, I couldn't of asked for a better puppy or a better breeder!! Ill only get chessies from David!
Submitted by: raymond j wesley on May 10, 2011
Our dog, Sophie, came to live with us 4 years ago. She was the "runt" of the litter. When we first saw her she immediately started dancing and whimpering like we were destined to have her. She was already sold, but, the man never showed up to pick her up. Mr Rouse called and told us we could have her. He would not be there but he trusted us to leave to money. On arriving at the kennels she immediately started dancing and whimpering looking at my wife like "Where have you been...I have been waiting on you for the past 12 days". She was trying to slip thru the fence to my wife. She loved and kissed my wife all the way home to Tennessee. When we got home (we live on a large lake) she immediately ran down to the water and got in, then back to run and explore the property and quickly found a stick bigger then her prancing around. The 4 years she has been our constant companion, comforter, adviser, and joyfully provided affection to many persons who came into contact with her. She was a guardian but not an aggressor
A true retriever who would go for various named objects. Our delight was to travel by kayak with her on board ready to spring and retrieve at the appropriate time. Last night she died of an acute liver infection coming out of nowhere otherwise a continuously healthy dog. We dearly miss her and grieve.
Submitted by: Dutch on Feb 25, 2011
Hi David,
I just wanted to thank you for the great pup. I am very satisfied with my first chessie! I carried him to the vet on Friday for his initial puppy check up and everything checked out fine. The vet said he looked like he was going to make a great dog. Everybody in the vets office expressed how good looking he was. I had to agree, he is the handsome one! He looks like a small grizzly bear running around... and of course I had to name him Bear. He is a stocky little fella! He is a smart little guy too and seems to thoroughly enjoy his new family and surroundings. I was a little apprehensive before I got him… I had read so many stories about chessies being very standoffish, but it seems this guy has never met a stranger! I've had him everywhere with me. And scared? Not him! So far he has rode in our car, in my loud diesel truck… even on my backhoe! He has played around my feet and close by as I used a big framing nail gun… pounded away with hammer and nails… used a skill saw. Didn’t bother him a bit. In fact a couple of times he stretched out and went to sleep! I have an extremely loud air compressor I use… so loud it makes me jump sometimes when it comes on. Bear was about 10’ away today when it came on and he didn’t even flinch! In fact he turned to it, cocked his head to one side and strolled right up to it to see what all the commotion was about! Amazing. I can only imagine how easy introducing him to gunfire is going to be! And he is also retrieving several times a day already and he has just turned 6 weeks old! I got a paint roller a few days after I brought him home and handed it to him… he strutted around for 5 minutes with it in his mouth then did 3 perfect retrieves in a row! I put it away and tried again several hours later with the same results. I try to work with him a couple times a day with the paint roller. And water? I can’t wait for him to get a little bigger! We went down to the edge of the pond this weekend… we’ve had a few days of warmer weather and the water is warming nicely. He started out timidly stepping into the water but then got in about belly deep. It didn’t take him long at all before he was sticking half his head under the water and pulling leaves off the bottom. He’s had a full week so far… and I’m looking forward to the days and years ahead with him. Thanks again for the great pup… I can tell he is going to be the buddy I’ve been looking for. I would and will recommend your dogs to anyone.
Submitted by: penny arthur on Feb 05, 2011
Benelli is a wonderful addition to our family. She is 6 months old and is doing well with her training to be a duck dog. She is light dead-grass and has beautiful markings. I started looking for a Chessie and went on gundogs because I wanted a good bloodline. After I started reading about Rouse Farms and his dedication to the breed, I knew I had found what I was looking for. I recommend Rouse Farms to anyone looking for a Chesapeak Bay Retriever.
Submitted by: Holly Bloomfield on Sep 18, 2010
We purchased a female puppy 2 weeks ago from Mr. Rouse and we couldn't be happier with her. She's highly intelligent, eager to please, already understands basic hand signals, and is doing very well with retrieving. We can't keep her away from the hose and sprinkler. She was very well socialized when we received her. Our vet was also very pleased with her. We feel very fortunate to have gotten one of Mr. Rouse's puppies. She's a wonderful addition to our family.
Submitted by: Brenda Beach on Aug 16, 2010
Purchased a pup at 6 weeks old and he just turned 1 year old August 14. Great dog and working with David was great. I drove 7 1/2 hours one way to purchase pup due to breeder being so helpful. Will only buy future Chessies from David. I would recommend to anyone wanting a pup to contact Rouse Farms Kennels.

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