I am beginning to look for my first retriever and have decided on a lab unless something else presents itself. I will mainly be dove hunting with an occasional duck hunting trip thrown in throughout the season. My dilemma is that I do not have the time for a brand new puppy and I do not have the money for a started dog. I am now looking into a younger rescue unless I can find a dog that needs to be rehomed for some reason.
My question is has anyone had success/ failure with a rescue?
Is there anything particular to look for that may help determine if the dog is going to work out?

Welcome to the forum. Ain't a horse that can't be rode. Ain't a man who can't be throwed.

The first question I would want to know is why is this dog a rescue. Not to say some nice dogs have been found and re-homed and performed. Chad, you are in the dilemma that we as dog owners have to face with every new dog or pup we decide to keep. You have to take a chance. Some work and some don't. Believe me when I say that I have as nice of string of dogs that I have ever had at the moment, but I had to go through a bunch of them to get there. Things I would look for are the dog's social temperament. Is it shy, timid, standoffish. Test it to see if it has had any sort of training even if it is the sit or heel command. Will it retrieve a stick, frisbee or dummy? Does the dog seem eager to please? Will it even look at and chase a song bird? You have to settle in mind that the dog has a prey drive and the will to capture.

I would suggest not getting a dog from a shelter if you want to use it for hunting. My parents currently have 3 labs, all rescues, and not a single one will fetch, and only one swims. They have a pool and lake in their backyard. Instead, I would keep your eye out on here, occasionally someone will be looking to rehome their dog for one reason or another (I got my dog this way). Another place to look would be craigslist, often times people will get a cute little lab puppy and then realize they can't take care of it or they are moving, etc and will need to find a new home for it. You could probably get a papered one considerably cheaper when it is two years old or so this way.

I had a mutt show up to my house years ago and it was Ole Sallysue She was great hunting partner and I did a DNA on her no hunting blood in her

Talk to your local rescue organization, lab, gsp, Brittnay or whatever. Let them know you are looking for a dog that will hunt. They will help you find the right dog. Then it's up to you to work with the dog. I got Junior in 2006 from American Brittnay rescue. He has a very high prey drive, is a good pointing dog and great companion. Yes I would get another.

My lab/pitt is a dallas county rescue. Got him as a pup and at 6 now he has retrieved hundreds and hundreds of birds. Lots of prey drive. Getting him in water was a challenge but using live birds got him over that. Not trying to be cocky but I'd put him up against a purebllod high pedigree lab in the duck blind most any day.

Not a dang thing wrong with finding a dog at the shelter - regardless of what anyone on here says. I have several buddies who have great duck dogs that came from various shelters and rescues. Some took more work than others, but they all got there eventually.

I rescued a Blue Lacy mutt from WM parking lot. That rascal is a hunting dog for sure.

Most dogs are responsive to an owner who patiently shows them what to do.
Once you get the dog be sure and work with him/her plenty.
Invest the time and you will probably get the result you want.


Best of luck to you.

Our son got a rescue dog and that dog is the best rabbit/squirrel dog I've seen in a long time. His is a boxer/bloodhound mix. So you never know what you'll get in a box of chocolate.

If you don't think you have enough time to train a puppy, are you sure you would have enough time to put into corrective training on an older dog? I would think a puppy from hunting lines may require less training than an older dog who may not have any of that ingrained instinct.

I was rescued by a GSP named Rusty years ago. He had no training as far as I knew, but fetched, heeled, and whoa'ed easily enough. When I found him, at about a year old, he was full of BB's from his "neighbor kid" and had staples in his side from a run-in with his pitbull kennel mate. After a little TLC and some vet bills he was a new dog. Never really tried to get him over being gun-shy, because he came by it honestly. He'd come out and sit with me, but at the first shot he was going to the truck. At the end of the hunt, though, if anyone had a bird or two they knew was down but couldn't find, Rusty would find them and bring them to me. I did a little light training with a "wing on a string" but that was it. He only learned 5 commands his whole life. Sit, Stay, Whoa, Heel, and "Bird!" Oh, and my wife taught him "Aaaangk!" Which means "whatever you're doing or abount to do stop." He knew that one best.

The training time should not be an issue I can dedicate my afternoon to training and working with the dog. I do not have the time required to raise a puppy straight from the breeder at only a few months old.

Thanks everyone for the input. I will keep an eye out in the San Antonio and surrounding area for a dog that fits the bill.

I have been through a lot of the pages in the forum already trying to pick up little hints here and there. One of the things that I've seen recommended was joining a club. Is there a retriever club in San Antonio that anyone can recommend?

I rescued one of my DDs when he was about 5 or 6 years old. He had been in a kennel for 99% of his life. He was never let out and it was never cleaned out. I taught him his name and took him along. He is excellent, but then DDs are bred that way.

When my B-I-L died I found his dog a home here on THF. He was a family dog. About a year later the guy sent me pics of the dog hunting with him. He said he didn't want to hunt, he just wanted to sit next to the guy while he hunted. He was a hunting buddy.

It can be done.

Growing up, my family decided to add a second dog -- house dog. We rescued a beagle. She was, and still is, one of the largest beagles I've ever seen. She weighed on average in the high 30's. On a whim one day, we let her run some rabbits at the local park and never looked back. She was the best rabbit dog I've ever seen. She would never give up, and only my parents could break her from trailing them. Elvis would have said plenty of times she was a friend of his.

Rescue dogs are an unknown, but I wouldn't hesitate to try it again. When she was getting older, we picked up a beagle from a breeder and taught her from day one to hunt. She was a good dog, but couldn't hold a candle to Shelby.

I am in your exact position. I actually checked out Texas Sporting Breed Rescue (http://www.retrieveafriend.org/)for a lab. I decided on getting a pit bull because I didn't think I had enough room in my one bedroom apartment. I will still take him on Dove hunts just so the puppy will be in the field with me.