I just recently lost my best friend "Tyson" who was a boxer last weekend. I have decided to go with a yellow lab now due to duck hunting and also looking for a good family pet. My question is how to choose a good puppy? I've never trained a lab before, but I look forward to the challenge and reward of doing it. I live in Patterson and if any one could point me in the direction of a good breeder that has hunting dogs I would appreciate it. I've been told to make sure and read Water Dog before training my puppy. Just looking for some general information on how to pick a good puppy out and maybe some pointers on training him as well.

While theres a some useful info in waterdog, its a bit outdated and doesnt cover alot of newer "standards" (such as ecollar and proper force fetch if your going that route). Alot of people like the fowl dawg dvds, my advice is to get your hands on as many different programs as you can and use the one that suits you and/or your dog the best. As for picking a puppy that can be a personal choice, but look for what you want in the parents and you increase your chances of getting what you want. Good luck, it may be more expensive than you think

Just remember E colars are NOT a must

I've trained dogs on a couple of different platforms and took what worked best for me and my dogs.

Rick Starwski's Fowl Dog series. Cheap to purchase and easy to follow and pretty straight forward.

Evan Graham in the Smartwork's series. Awesome material and the platform is more based on train the trainer type very very easy to follow.

Mike Lardy in Total Retriever series. More good material but the platform is based on that you have at least some knowledge of training.

Richard A. Wolters series of water dog, gun dog, family dog.... while cheap; I'd stay away from it due to the dated material, tools, and equipment. There has been many advancement that makes these obsolete.

Plus many others out there...

I've trained dogs on a couple of different platforms and took what worked best for me and my dogs.

Rick Starwski's Fowl Dog series. Cheap to purchase and easy to follow and pretty straight forward.

Evan Graham in the Smartwork's series. Awesome material and the platform is more based on train the trainer type very very easy to follow.

Mike Lardy in Total Retriever series. More good material but the platform is based on that you have at least some knowledge of training.

Richard A. Wolters series of water dog, gun dog, family dog.... while cheap; I'd stay away from it due to the dated material, tools, and equipment. There has been many advancement that makes these obsolete.

Plus many others out there...

Choosing a pup is always a crap-shoot. First figure out what you would like out of a dog. Is it only going to be a family pet? Hunter? Hunt Tester? Field Trialer? Whatever your choice is go to a breeder that best suits your needs and your budget. I always try and purchase the best pup(on paper) that I can afford. Always make sure when purchasing your pup, you get one with health clearances, hips, eyes, elbows, CNM and EIC, and get a pup from a reputable breeder with a health guarantee. Hope this helps.

W.E Phillips will have a couple litters soon, he usually has some pretty good dogs

I'm looking for a hunting dog first and foremost, but also would like him to be family friendly. We go to the camp a lot and I'd like for him to be sociable but also be a good hunting dog. I know puppy's can cost a lot, I really don't want to spend more than $500 for a puppy. I know that doesn't sound like a lot to some people, but for me that's as much as I can go. I'll check out all of the recommendations for the training, I appreciate the help guys. I'll update later on when I get the puppy.

You should be able to find a fairly nice pup for that out of a nice Senior or Master Hunter sire and a Junior Hunter female with all the health clearances and a guarantee. You might have to add a hundred or so, but it will be worth it.