Thanks for the recommendation Hagen. I am one of the owners at Blowing Springs Kennel. Here are some things that I would consider when placing a waterfowl dog with "novice" owner. I will also try to answer some of your questions as I go.
1. Any of the retriever breeds will do just fine on Canada Geese. I have a chocolate that only weighs about 50 lbs that can get Canadas just as good as a "big dog". You shouldn't limit your choices to just a big dog unless you are going to pick up Canada Geese every day of the season.
2. Chessies- These dogs are not for the faint of heart. They are incredible retrievers, but they are also incredibly hard headed. Some of them alse tend to carry a bit of an odor (due to the oils in their skin). I would not recommend a Chessie for a novice dog owner.
3. Companionship - Even if you were to hunt every day of the season, you still have 9 months of the year that the dog will just be a pet. You should consider the dogs behavior and temperment a greater asset than its "hard charging" nature. Some dogs can have both, but you have to find them.
4. Bloodlines- Most novice folks don't know good bloodlines. I see dogs advertised all the time from "champion bloodlines". Frankly, there have been so many different types of championships that I would venture to guess it would be impossible to find a lab that didn't have champions in its bloodline. I have even found there are several "hard core" retriever folks that have a hard time keeping up with the bloodline stuff. Sometimes it gets overwhelming. The bloodline is only a small piece of the puzzle. We have had dogs in the kennel that have the best bloodlines that money could buy and they trained out just as nice as some that were rescue dogs. I would buy the best bloodline that you can afford.
5 - Breeder / Bloodlines - Part of this is a continuation of item # 4. Once you settle on a couple of breeders and / or trainers, I would visit their facility and look at the dogs that produced the offspring. Typically there will be older dogs there that came from the same pairing. You can look at the parents and previous offspring (sometimes at different ages). To me, this is the best best way to select a dog. There is also an advantage to purchasing a dog from a trainer who breeds than just a breeder. The trainer who breeds has spent more time with the previous offspring and knows the strengths and weaknesses of the line.
6. Started dogs - As one of the previous posters said, started dogs are the best value in sporting dogs. I think every dog owner should experience "bringing up pup" at least once in their life, but typically after that they don't wanna go through that stuff again. With a started dog (depending on the age), you get past the barking, chewing, crate training, and most of the obedience is done. If you get an older started dog, they will have been exposed to gunfire, wild birds, atv's and the like. They may also have some basic handling and hunting training.
I hope this helps. If you have any other questions, feel free to let me know. Good luck in your search for your next great hunting dog.
