[jstgsn]

Sorry for the late response. Here's my humble opinion.
A good hunting dog should also be a friend. Someone you enjoy being with, when hunting or when at home. For the past 16 years I had a yellow lab named Daisy. She was a companion, a trusted friend, a guardian, and a better hunter than I. Miss Daisy was obedient. If I said “sit” she sat. If I said “down” she laid down. If I said “stay” she stayed (until it became boring for her). For years if I sat out some cold beers on the ground and went into the next room and told her to “bring me a beer” she would bring me a can of beer. If I told her to come up beside me on the sofa, she would jump up and lay her head on my leg. She would get into the car on command, exit on command, and do whatever I told her to do. If a stranger came into the yard, she would let everyone know. She never bit anyone except one time she was eating a huge meaty bone and my son flopped down beside her, she wheeled and hit his nose with her tooth. It was his fault, but you could tell she was upset. She guarded my home, my vehicle, and my camp. But if a stranger came into the yard, she put up a great show, protecting our home.
When hunting she was magnificent. If you picked up a gun, or dressed in hunting clothes, she was at the door and ready to go. Her excitement was contagious. When goose hunting she had to have a view of the field, by either standing beside you in the blind, or having her nose stuck through the wall of the blind. When birds were in the air, she was watching. Often she would see doves or other birds before we did, and went on alert. She would fetch a duck hundreds of yards from the blind. She would bring back geese, ducks, doves, squirrels, crows, anything we shot, she brought back. She loved every second afield. Once when dove hunting in hot weather she fetched until she almost passed out from the heat. I had to take her to the car and rub ice on her stomach to revive her. Then she wanted to hunt some more.
She would scent out rabbits and squirrels. She wouldn’t point, but she would flush. Pheasants, quail, chucker, anything we hunted she would go after.
And at the end of the day she would be anchored to my side. She was great with family and friends. The most loving animal I’ve ever met. She was my shadow, always by my side, in the kitchen (especially in the kitchen), in the living room, in the office, in the bathroom, she was there, watching over me, looking for a pat on the head or a snuggle. The same with friends and family, she was a lover, a true friend.
If I had to run to the store, she went with me. If I went out to the garden, she went with me. When I went to bed, she was at the foot of the bed. And when I went hunting she was my partner.
We lost Daisy last August. It was one of the most painful moments in my life. I just now thinking of going it again with a puppy.
My choice is yellow lab.