I am recently taking up hunting for duck, geese, quail, and pheasant. I am trying to decide which breed of dog is best for me. I work M-T 9-5 i would sometimes be able to take the dog to work with me and my dad is home often so the dog could get some attention during the day. I have a medium sized yard in a beach community. There is a dog beach, a dog park, and a nature center to bring dogs to for exercise and when I go out the dog would usually go out with me. I am looking more for a good companion dog that can be trained as a gun dog. I would prefer a German Shorthaired Pointer but from what i have read up about them they need a lot of free space and A LOT of attention so I don't think that would be the dog for me. I prefer a short-haired dog but a fairly calm one at that. I have done some research and it seems like a Labrador Retriever is the way to go for my situation but I would prefer something a little more calm. (A friend has a black lab and it is extremely hyper and horrible on a leash and does not take commands very well. Is that something labs go through when they are younger since he is only about 2 years old or could that be the way he was trained by my fried or lack of training whichever the case may be?) Is there such a breed that any of you could recommend that is mostly a good loyal companion, good with other dogs and people yet smart enough to be trained? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!!