Well I like wise have always gotten pups and trained them up. However I've always found Labs to be affectionate dogs who will follow their master anywhere through anything. With that being said his nature is to be a pleaser and to be intelligent. I think with patience on your part and a good book on training you could develop your self a good dog that will full fill all your needs and then some. To be honest the greater challenge is how well you can train him as he has been bred to be successful and to retrieve. YOU, not so much. Keep a positive attitude and good luck.

I disagree. Depends a lot on the dog which depends a lot on the breed. That lab may just work out fine. Important thing is to keep working with him every day on the basic commands, especially to come back and to stay with you. You can work on this stuff every time you take him for a walk. I would suggest bringing home a dead bird and working with the dog in the yard fetching that first. Get hime excieted with a LOT of praise when he gets it right and brings the bird to hand. Get right down on the ground and roll him over. Make a BIG fuss. Don't get too focussed on controlled releases to the bird at this point. Heck, my dogs still break on the shot and I don't care. Not a problem for me because I almost always hunt alone with no one anywhere else in sight. After the dog is used to picking up birds (and waterfowl are the best choice for starting a dog because they don't lose feather so easily as uplands and many dogs don't like that stuff coming off in their mouths), get him out to the range and work on gun noise. Stay close to the rig and leave the door open to give him a place to hide if he panics. Take lots of treats along in case he gets a bit shook up at first. If he learns to associate bang with a treat then you won't have any problems. Once he's good with gun noise and will pick up a bird, head to the field and go hunting. He should pick it up quickly. Again, important thing is to make sure he has the basics down (come, stay, sit, heal, etc.) and IS IN CONTROL when you're in the field. There's all kinds of other stuff out there besides the birds you're hunting - deer, skunks, porcupines, rattlers, badgers, other guys with their dogs, cars tearing down country roads, etc. Good luck and let us know how it goes.