Hope Springs Farm

08/21/2026

Release the Kraken! Meet Squid, he could be yours. Lightly started 3 mos. puppy from a very unique breeding, "last straw" of a 1990 model CH MH Manhatn's Shiver Me Timbers, light deadgrass out of our sedge girl Bougie aka Hope Springs Bourgeois Wannabe MH QAA. Squid looks like he'll be bright sedge like his mama. Crate trained, stakes quietly, started on house breaking and walks quietly on lead. Retrieves eagerly land and water. Ready to win the puppy stakes at the ACC FTS. Light brown female Tosh available too. Like her granddam Pottsy she'll likely end up deadgrass. Call Julie for info (land line, so no texts) 540 364 9480

08/04/2026

Ongoing puppy training by top field trainers: 3 mos pups, 1M 1F. Crate trained, walk nicely on lead, good start on house breaking, both love to retrieve land and water. Male pup is lighter colored.

07/24/2026

Timber x Bougie puppies: Our over achiever MH QAA girl gave us 9 puppies from 35 yr old frozen semen. There are two available, one M and F. Male is the bright sedge. Female looks light brown but will likely end up deadgrass.
This is an incredible "last straw" pairing and opportunity for the right person. They're 2.5 months now and learning basics, price will go up as training increases. Don't let this one slip away!

06/24/2026

Probably the coolest litter of the year! Frozen semen breeding of a very special 1990 light deadgrass CH MH, resulted in 9 puppies. Availability of 1F and 1M. Beautiful sedge dam in less than a dozen outings earned 7MH passes & QAA with an all bred Q 2nd. Best results from phone call, so I can explain/provide clearance info. Many tests not available on sire due to his age but dam is clear DM EIC PRA. However she had a name change and the genetic co. that tested her got bought out. Her OFA info (hips excellent, normal elbows/eyes) is on their site but under her old name.

06/24/2026

Should I get my next Chesapeake Bay retriever from a rescue or a breeder?

By Julie Reardon This month, I’m going to stray from my typical column highlighting happenings in the Blue Ridge a take this opportunity to skewer a sacred cow. Groups calling themselves resc…

06/24/2026

Lots of nice Chesapeake litters available or planned. Timing not right? It's never perfect...

By Julie Reardon LIFE’S SHORT. GET THE PUPPY. The timing could not have been worse, but I knew I had to have her. This new puppy I got this summer would represent the third, and probably fina…

06/05/2026

Lets see your CBR's whiskers! Had these dogs for ages and always wondered why Chesapeakes have few to no whiskers. Sometimes a few little nubs. Here's my Polt who has no whiskers. Just the dots where they'd be. Meet Poltkadot!

05/23/2026

Showing off these 9 beautiful burrheads. Eyes/ears starting to open. Puppy slug to moving puppy slug phase. With many thanks to Dave and Laura Wilson for such excellent care 💘

05/15/2026

Just wanted to share this video clip of our beautiful bright sedge girl and her baby burrheads. Of course she's a fantastic mom and not only has plenty of milk for all 9, she's so good with them. Boug really is the perfect dog, doing everything perfectly, and she's beautiful too. Owners of these are lucky to have her babies 💘

05/13/2026

They're here!! with special thanks to Dr Dove's Companion Animal Clinic for doing the breeding of my girl Boug to Timber using 35+ yr old frozen semen. Not often do you find a litter as unique as this one: in less than a dozen outings the dam Hope Springs Bourgeois Wannabe MH QAA got her MH and ribbons in her first all breed quals, earning a JAM and 2nd. Sire CH Manhatn's Shiver Me Timbers MH was owner trained and handled to his titles in the early 1990s. We are over the moon excited to have a healthy litter of 9 and our red girl is an excellent mama. And Huge Thanks to Dave and Laura Wilson who are raising them for me.