Best breed of dog for waterfowl retrieving

[LOC]

I think the reason people say labs are better (or at least one of them) is the fact they are easy to train, so you will see results faster. A chessie though, once it decides it wants to do something - nothing will stop it.

I read a great quote about retreivers (it may have been here): You tell a Lab, You ask a Golden, and You negotiate (sp) with a Chessie

Either way you go, like its been sadi already, find a good breeder and spend alot of time with them. You can't really go wrong with either a lab or cbr.

[HuntNHookSports]

Isn't any body going to recommend the Standard Poodle?

They are good at it.

[Sasquatch]

If you are a serious duck hunter, you can't go wrong with a Chessy or a Lab.

However, if you like to hunt upland also, I would choose a versatile. Not that you can't hunt upland with a Chess or a Lab, you just will miss out on watching them point.

[HuntNHookSports]

Labs will point.

[outdoorsman812]

i probably wouldn't be hunting hardcore for waterfowl, just whenever i had the chance and get out for some hunting and bring back some grub, i don't think i would need the best dog for the amount of hunting i would be doing, just one thats affordable and dependable, is buying the most top notch lab a must or do alot of them just have the natural instinct and ability?

[Islandeer]

Be aware that puppy mills sell their dogs for 750 to 1000 so you can buy pet quality too for this amount of money. Listen, you need to decide how committed you are to a quality hunting dog period. They need training and time. There are no short cuts. Research the blood lines of the Dam and Sire. Post your questions about prospective pups here and you will be helped. Expect to pay 1000 for a quality,fired up hunting retriever.

That is all.

[Jimbo]

"What breeds make the best retriever and is the easiest to train?"

This is really 2 separate questions. Best retriever would be a Chesapeake or a hard driving Lab. Easiest to train would be Golden Retriever or placid Lab. Ask yourself, honestly, what is your training experience and how much time are you willing to put into this ? For a pet dog that hunts a few times a season, look for a Golden with a hunting background. Labs cover a wide spectrum of ability, from dopey show dogs to fire breathing field trial champs. Chessies are serious waterfowling dogs for people with dog training experience.

[outdoorsman812]

I appreciate all the info and understand what you all are saying, commitment and hard work is what it would take. I don't have experience in dog training i admit that, I was just asking some questions so in the future i would know a little more, I don't have the time required right now for training a dog. I would have to do a lot of research and talk to some people and get advice before i committed to such a task. Thanks everyone for the info

[Marc]

Good point Jimbo, the dog will only be as good as the amount of time you invest in him. It's sad to see dogs with such potential that have been neglected to the point that they lose their drive or natural instinct to retrieve.

It's not fair to have a dog penned up outside and the only time they see you is when you bring out their food and water. Retrievers are very social animals and like to be part of the pack. I try to spend at least an hour a day either doing retrieving work, basic obedience or just out in the boat on the chuck catching crabs with the new dog or playing around in the duck boat so he gets used to it. That doesn't include the many hours I spend with my dogs while surfing the website.

One day my wife made the comment that I didn't spend enough time with the dogs (trying to get me off the internet.) So I moved my computer into the dogs room. So now every night I spend at least 2-4 hours with the dogs and they come up to me and I play/socialize with all 3 of them.

[shotgunjohn]

I'm maybe going to take some flak for this but if you want a pet that also retrieves most labs will fit this bill. They really don't need to be from field trial champions and that kind of dog might not make the best house pet. If you spend lots of time playing and interacting with the dog and then take it hunting they seem to pick up on the fact that hunting is more serious. I've seen some half labs and mixed breeds that worked fine as casual retrievers and the fact is just about any dog is better than no dog when it comes to duck hunting. You can spend as much or as little time training as your life and temperament allow and still end up with a dog that will help you recover ducks. I guess my point is not to be intimidated by the you need to spend 1000 dollars on a pup and become a master trainer field of thought.