I’m pretty set now. Thinking yellow lab. One with a face like this…
Thank you guys so much for all this feedback.
At 49 days or 10 weeks, whatever the case may be. That SUCKS! I would miss all of puppyhood?
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Looking at puppies is a slippery slope! It takes a hardened heart to resist a puppy. 
Looking at puppies is a slippery slope! It takes a hardened heart to resist a puppy.
x2. My wife only gets to look at puppies online, any in-person visit may end up with dog #3 
Looking at puppies is a slippery slope! It takes a hardened heart to resist a puppy.
…X2 on that Ralph. If you really want a hard time, take Mom an the Kids with you.!! Those Puppy Eyes will melt them like butter.! If you do not want a pup out of the litter your looking at an mom an the kids are playing with the pups. GOOD LUCK WITH THAT.! You better stop at the Dairy Queen on the way home an try to get a few points back. LOL. … rrr
Another thing to consider is asking yourself how you like to hunt. For me, watching pointers work is best part of the hunt. I don’t care if we get birds, I like working with the dogs.
I wouldn’t be in a hurry to train early. Make training fun. At 12 weeks I don’t think it should be more than a game. I also would start with obedience before any hunting training. No sense putting a dog on a wing that won’t come when called. If the dog has drive he won’t even know you exist once a wing is introduced, so obedience first.
I think they all can be great family pets given the correct temperament, socialization, and owner temperament.
Last point, a rescue can work but they are hard to come by. Our second GSP was a rescue (at 1 yrs old) and we searched for a year before landing her. To find a rescue hunting breed you have to be fast because they get adopted quickly, like a day or two and poof.
Lots and lots of great advice on here! Here’s some things I’m going to reiterate or add.
1. Breed
What breed do you want? It sounds like you just decided on yellow lab- solid choice! But also take into account your hunting style- flusher or pointer? The conditions you hunt- will you spend an hour pulling burs out of the coat after each hunt if you get a hairy dog? The size of the dog? – How will you travel with it? How much space? Will you take weekend trips or just go for a day from home? Temperament? Energy Level? Ability to acclimate to cold weather? Warm weather? This list could go on and on.
2. Breeder/Litter/Pedigree
Not all yellow labs, or any breed of dog, is created equal. Visit the breeder, are they in it strictly for profit and more or less a “puppy mill” or do they genuinely care about their breed of dog and advancing that breed? Look at the pedigree and the parents. If the parents are a 110lb lab and the hardest thing they do every day is walking from the couch to the food bowl, then most likely your lab may not be cut out for hunting. If the parents bark 24/7, jump up on you, have no social skills, then maybe they are not the best suited for a family dog. Find a reputable breeder with a litter coming from a good background and bloodlines. Lastly, don’t base your decision on price. The cheapest part of owning a dog is buying it.
3. Homework/Training
Before you bring your dog home, have a plan in place for how you are going to train it and what to do. Very few people can naturally just train a dog. Think of training a dog like putting a child thru school. Can your kid graduate college without going to elementary – high school? Probably not. So don’t expect a perfect dog while skipping out on different areas of training. One thing is just a building block to another thing. Research different training philosiphies and programs that are out there. There’s a lot to choose from! Then follow the program. Have all of this knowledge acquired before you bring the dog home. Training them from a pup on is TONS of work and TONS of fun!
To the original question of trying to train another breed to hunt I would steer away from that idea. Is it possible? Probably. Training the average gun dog is enough work. Trying to train a dog that isn’t bread for the job would be monumental. Let the breeders build a dog that is suited for the task and save yourself some trouble in training.
The saying, use the right tool for the job, comes to mind here.
Keep in mind, a good dog already knows how to do all that stuff, hunting and obedience. They know how to sit, come, stay, nap, and chase things. The trick is teaching him to do it as a team with you. To that end, I believe in train the trainer. As pointed out, the dog already knows. It’s up to the trainer to figure out how to get the dog to do what he wants when he wants it to happen. So as already mentioned, start researching training methods.
Funny story, a friend had a mix breed German Shepard and Lab. The dog looked exactly like a Shepard. We thought, why not take him out to see what he does. His nose hit the field and off he went just like a lab would do. No training. He worked close quartering between us. We couldn’t believe it.
After an hour we came across a couple of other hunters, a dad and his boy. After chatting the boy commented, “I’ve never seen anyone hunt a Shepard before.” He was probably right. Probably not many had seen that before. 
Good old three tooth. He earned that nickname loosing one of his canine teeth trying to chew his way out of a metal kennel one day.
I love labs I have a 8 year old chocolate lab and she has been a perfect hunting dog. You will love having a lab easy to train and very loyal.
I thought that I would take a stab at your question. I hunt upland birds mainly pheasants above 35 days plus days a year. First there is a ton good info posted here. here my two cents worth. Is the dog going to be in the house with the family? Are you only going to hunt upland? Labs and springers are flushing dogs. I know that there are some labs that people are training to point but if you want a pointing dog buy a pointing dog. If you want a flushing dog buy a flushing dog. I am a partial to the VDD version of the German Wirehaired Pointer which are AKC registered, German registered dogs are Deutsch-Drahthaar ; http://www.vdd-gna.org these dogs are registered in Germany and are bred to hunt and be your companion. There is also a GSP called Deutsch Kurzhaar that is registered in Germany. A lot of dogs are line bred which causes health problems like hip problems and also have been bred for show dogs just like the GSP that won the West Minster Dog Show. There is a flushing dog English Cocker that is AKC and also Gun Dog registered. If you want a great little flusher I would lean towards a true English Cocker from England there are breeders in the USA. Also when you get a dog please order Rick and Ronnie Smiths DVD’s. Puppy Development I, Puppy Development II, The Silent Command System Vol 1 and 2. Buy a command lead for heeling your. All these dogs have the natural hunting built into them. Obedience training is a must for a great dog.
You lab guys… 
my peer bread chocolate her mom was a world class pointer and her dad was on the flushing circuit. My dog has pointed many times but I have never trained her as a pointer. However you are right that most labs are flushers, but if the genes are right and you put in the work to train them as a pointer it can be done.
Peer bread, huh?
I’m pretty set now. Thinking yellow lab. One with a face like this…
Thank you guys so much for all this feedback.
At 49 days or 10 weeks, whatever the case may be. That SUCKS! I would miss all of puppyhood?
As the Dad of an 11 month old yellow lab…you will not miss ANY puppyhood!!!!!
LOLOLOL 
I have more energy than the typical human. I REALLY REALLY want to train myself. I am going to get that old book. And try. I was looking online and how the heck are “peer” breed labs around $1,500???
What if a lab made a baby with a spaniel? You’d get best of both worlds.
Anyone got a lead on a yellow lab? PUPPY?? I’m obsessed now. I spend my work breaks looking through photos of my new family member.
I just can’t handle this face
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my peer bread chocolate her mom was a world class pointer and her dad was on the flushing circuit. My dog has pointed many times but I have never trained her as a pointer. However you are right that most labs are flushers, but if the genes are right and you put in the work to train them as a pointer it can be done.
In a competitive circuit a lot of the flushing breeds are trained as pointers. It saves them time in the competition. In the pro classes seconds can make the difference in earnings. Also they score extra points for using the least amount of shells. Two shoot a bird and your run is basically over.
The reason they do this is to save time by removing the shot and the retrieve. I don’t know if this holds for all competitions but the ones I have seen the flusher class is only required to shoot one bird per run. So to save time they train the dog to find the bird and freeze. Then the hunter runs (yes, runs with loaded weapons. They are often wearing cleats) to the dog, gives a command for the dog to pick up the bird and hand it to them. Bang, they just scored a find, a shot, and a retrieve. The most time was used in the find while the shot and retrieve took no time off the clock. A shell is automatically counted in this situation.
If you are looking for a flusher, I would not recommend a competition dog because they were most likely trained to point.
I was looking online and how the heck are “peer” breed labs around $1,500???
Well-bred dogs are not cheap. It can be a tough pill to swallow, but look at it this way: No matter if you spend $200 or $2000 on a pup, the cost of ownership over the life of the dog is going to far out-weigh the initial purchase price.
You could spend a lot more that $1500 on a pup, too!
I rescued a GSP last year from a family that left him in the garage all day and night with zero training, he was 10 months old. He now has been field trained as good as the rest and is the best family dog one can ask for. In fact, he owns the couch, you must ask him to sit on the couch. He is also very good with young children. The idea for this dog was to be “her” dog so I could get a good hunting dog. Well, we got both in one shot! Only downside, they cannot handle the cold well and need to keep moving to stay warm in colder weather.
A good all around hunting/home dog that somehow gets overlooked as hunting dogs are Golden Retrievers. They have a very good drive and instinct and can handle cold weather well. They are also huge lap dogs, they are around to please the alpha. They do tend to get smelly in the field pretty fast with their longer coat.
Golden retrever is the refined version of a lab. Hunts, family dog, loyal and what they wreck from chewimg and tearing is next to none during puppy hood compared to a lab. I still like labs but goldens are less hyper and they still chase pheasants/grouse and retreive ducks extremely well. Labs also get oily after they swim a problem I havent found with my goldens.
Ottertail retrievers has one yellow male available as of Tuesday. My parents just picked up theirs from them. And I think he said one male still available
Give Kyle a call. Here’s my parents dog.
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Oh my GOSH!!!
That’s to much cute!
Kyle who????? Thank you! Thank you!
Kyle at ottertail retrievers
Google them. They come fully papered,micro chipped. Great dogs I got mine a couple months ago from him. Wish I could help you out I just had a litter of chocolates in Jan. They sold so fast.
Enjoy your search
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Im getting two lab puppies from different breeders. Eboni Labrador Retrievers have blacks available. Flatwater Gun Dogs have a bunch on the way. Both have been very easy to communicate with. Cashman Kennels gives out contacts of breeders who have used their studs.
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