Our backyard at Hope Springs Farm 

Located in Fauquier County, Virginia, our farm is nestled in the rolling foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Our 30 acres of pasture, woods and 3 ponds is the perfect setting to raise and train Chesapeake Bay retriever puppies. Started retrievers occasionally available. Owner Julie Reardon has had Chesapeakes since 1981 and currently serves as an American Chesapeake Club Regional Director and is an active member of 4 local retriever clubs: Blue Ridge, Mid Atlantic HRC, RRRC and Tidewater RC.

News Flash: Hope Springs Farm was selected as the Best Breeder in Virginia! Read about it HERE

*~*~*Contact us for our upcoming breeding plans; due to high demand our last 2 litters were not advertised. We have puppies now (March 2019) and may have a female available.*~*~*

The only retriever made in the USA

(Above) Jezebel of the Hollow at the Chesapeake Bay with a blue crab, circa 1993. Below, our latest additions.

The Chesapeake is one of few breeds and the only retriever developed entirely in the U.S., by and for Americans, to retrieve our birds in our country. Chesapeakes originated on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay to bring in the day's haul and guard the watermen's crab shacks. It was the first breed recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1887. All Chesapeakes are descended from two dogs shipwrecked off the coast of Maryland in 1802.

LIKE US? Become a fan of Hope Springs Farm and follow us on Facebook:  share pictures of your Chesapeakes or other retrievers and your hunting adventures! We also put up to date information on planned breedings, training days, and our dogs on our page there. 

Puppies are sold with 30 month soundness/genetic guarantee. Parents have hips/elbows xrayed/evaluated by OFA, annual eye tests and all available genetic testing for preventable hereditary diseases including DM (Degenerative Myelopathy--a devastating disease similar to human MS) and PRA (progressive retinal atrophy; causes dog to go blind). We believe cruciate ligament injuries requiring expensive surgery and lengthy rehab are genetic, so we don't use dogs that have had them in our breeding program. We don't want our own, nor dogs we sell to need expensive surgery/lengthy rehab that such injuries require. We do not believe in the practice of overbreeding popular sires and feel that dogs siring hundreds of puppies is the path to mediocrity and detrimental to our breed (and besides--who wants a puppy with 1,000 siblings?) Our breedings are unique and focus on outstanding dispositions, trainability and good looks/longevity. Ten generations of our dogs belong to satisfied customers and include those with hunt test and field trial accomplishments, show champions and obedience titles as well as family and hunting companions. We also host regular training sessions for our puppy buyers as well as an annual American Chesapeake Club field day and picnic (for all Chesapeake owners) at our farm. Watch this space for information on the 2017 spring event--you don't have to be an ACC member to attend, and beginners/puppies are welcome.

Introducing Hope Springs Silas MH, our young male available at stud to select females. Very handsome light deadgrass male, show pointed, age 3, OFA Excellent hips/normal eyes and elbows, clear for DM, PRA & EIC.

Follow us on Facebook or check our classifieds here for up to date info. on breeding plans, training days and started dogs. Occasionally we hold back one or two pups from each litter that we like enough to keep for ourselves, but sometimes we can be talked into selling those to the right homes. These are pups that show exceptional promise: extra special, fanatic about birds at a young age, and fancy enough to show.

If we do not have puppies or don't have what you want, we're happy to refer you to litters we like. Occasionally we help broker dogs of other retrieving breeds, and because we enjoy a solid reputation in the retriever community, we are happy to recommend other breeders that we know from competing our dogs in AKC hunt tests and field trials.  We do not badmouth other breeders because we don't need to. Our reputation and our dogs speak for themselves.

Interested in one of our dogs? Please feel free to call anytime; if you get the voicemail leave a message with your name and number,  as we are tethered to our landline--we have no cell service here. Most of our litters are reserved before birth.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR DOGS & BREEDING PROGRAM:

Our target market is the serious waterfowler, but Hope Springs dogs that have competed have earned placings in field trials and at the highest hunt test levels of AKC and HRC,  the breed ring, obedience trials and other venues; and we believe a suitable dog for any athletic pursuit begins with sound, athletic and trainable parents. Some of our dogs currently running include youngsters Hope Springs Silas MH and Hope Springs Little Ponzi MH WDQ; her daughter Hope Springs Ivory Madonna**; agility star Hope Springs Miss Kayla and more. Standouts of the past include Hope Springs Double Puff**MH, her litter brother King Simba of Hope Springs SH*** (qualified all age field trial dog in Del.), HR Hope Springs Storm Surge MH, and their sire HR Hope Springs Hush Hush MH  and his full sister HRCH Hope Springs Dowry MH***, Sterling. Usher and Sterling were both whelped and started/trained here and are out of our retired matron/outstanding producer CH Puffin II JH CD WDX.  We lost Puffin last fall at age 15, but her legacy lives on through her granddaughters and great granddaughters.  Even Lab owners who rarely look twice at Chesapeakes comment on our dogs' excellent work ethics, style and great dispositions. Usher is a proven sire; he has titled offspring from every litter he's sired including: Hope Springs King Simba SH*** (one of a very small number of owner trained & handled qualified all age CBRs on the east coast) and,  his litter sister Hope Springs Double Puff**MH WCX; Hope Springs Storm Surge MH, and (we didn't breed him but Usher is also the sire) of Cavalier Mosby of Parker Creek MH**; and more in training that should title soon. Homebreds we bought back from bad situations include Ceilie Mae aka Hope Springs Silver Lining WD and, Hope Springs Tanganyika JH. Tanzy was doing solid senior work before a devastating spinal injury and subsequent expensive surgery forced her retirement. Tanzy and Ceilie Mae are excellent producers and our official puppy nannies. Tanzy is sired by the late Tugboat Woods Colt MH WDQ (bred here in 2000 and owned/campaigned by Tugboat Kennels and Bill LaMar of Red Clay Kennels) out of the late Hope Springs Rufsail**JH WDX.

We have a long history of satisified buyers and are happy to provide references. If you want a Hope Springs puppy we strongly urge you to reserve it now, as most are sold before birth. Call Julie at 540/364-9480; we love to talk dogs.

Nearly all Chesapeakes love birds, and are proficient retrievers on land and water. These heritable characteristics are, sadly, often overlooked by mass-scale and show-only breeders. Hyper, aggressive and neurotic dogs can win in the show ring, but they're incapable of being trained so we stress disposition above all else. We've successfully developed a good looking line of Chesapeakes known for being tractable, intelligent and sound with high prey drive and plenty of "go" which we encourage:

While we love a good looking dog, ours are capable of much more than mincing around a show ring or earning titles given out for anything on a leash with a pulse. Unlike some who claim their dogs hunt because they chase squirrels, yard dogs, meter men and toddlers, we do hunt our dogs; and they all compete in hunt tests and occasional field trials. BELOW, Panda at 17 months on her first hunt with her first goose, 13 lbs.  The good looking dogs in the bottom photo are three generations of homebreds.            

Breeding quality gun dogs for over 35 years.