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I'm late getting into the discussion but I did want to say I agree with you to a point.

I have only put a WC on one dog (note: I'm in Canada so a WC is 2 land, 2 water)but I have trained enough to know I am not interested in standing in wet grass, in the rain, five or so days a week. I have trained to UD in the obedience ring and, although it doesn't necessarily show marking ability, I feel that obedience does show the trainability and willingness to work as a team.

I think the Labrador Retrievers original intent WAS to go out for a days hunt. The number of birds is irrelevant. The focus should be on the willingness and ability to do the job. I chuckled at Valerie Jones comments that if you're hunting all day you're either a bad shot or have gone over limit.

I have put the three relevant standards below. You will notice that the FCI and CKC standards call for a dog that is biddable (def: willing to do what is asked; obedient) and only the AKC standard hints to the intensity of the work required.

As an aside, I find it sad that people have to post under an assumed name because they are afraid of repercussion. Obviously many Labrador owners don't have the same, kind nature that their dogs have.

"The Labrador Retriever is a strongly built, medium-sized, short-coupled, dog possessing a sound, athletic, well-balanced conformation that enables it to function as a retrieving gun dog; the substance and soundness to hunt waterfowl or upland game for long hours under difficult conditions; the character and quality to win in the show ring; and the temperament to be a family companion." (AKC Standard)

"Good-tempered, very agile. Excellent nose, soft mouth; keen lover of water. Adaptable, devoted companion. Intelligent, keen and biddable, with a strong will to please. Kindly nature, with no trace of aggression or undue shyness." (FCI Standard)

"The breed is noted for its love of retrieving and water, for its excellent nose, soft mouth, intelligence and biddable temperament." Extraordinary versatility allows Labradors to excel as hunting, service, and therapy dogs; in search and rescues; in drug and bomb detection; as family companions, and in performance and field events." (CKC Standard)

Great posts Sue. I do disagree a bit on the JH thing though, but maybe it's a matter of semantics. I have trained (on my own, w/ no help of pros)a dog to SH a few years ago, that along w/ CDX, open agility titles and tracking certification all by age 4. She was bred twice after that as well. I was pretty exhausted to say the least as we were training 7 days a week most weeks.

Now w/ more numbers here, I have come to feel very comfortable after training for JH, CDX (on 5 generations), tracking etc, in my assessment of individual working ability/trainability. I have one fire breather who I'll likely do a SH on but holy cow, she may need to be 9 by that time to just mellow out a bit! She earned her CDX handily at age 2, like several others here, and is also working on utility concepts as time allows. The thing is not necessarily do these dogs get the titles, but what the breeder/owner/handler LEARNS about the dog in the meantime. Do *I* really WANT another just like the fire-breather though? Not really... I'm personally hoping that by breeding her to a more grounded, but highly capable/trainable stud, I will approach my goal though. I'd not know any of that if I didn't at least do the JH, maybe do some SH handling at least (not necessarily title but see how they "learn") and do the CDX (which I know CAN be done very reasonably w/ a smart and biddable dog). OTOH, I've watched some MH titled dogs that were painfully pokey, so just saying that titles don't tell the whole story. I'd much rather breed to the untitled son of a fantastic dog from proven lines. But sometimes that takes really knowing the breeder well and being able to trust what they tell me about their dogs too.

The reason for all my posts about Romeo is one word... Balance.

Balance allows beautiful movement.

I do think Mary Roslin - Williams would love Romeo.

I really like how Crufts works. One judge for the girls, another for the boys. If they can't decide between them, a senior judge is called in to cast the deciding vote. I am sure glad that is the case. Three sets of eyes are better then one.

One has to remember that real life hunting is not a competition . It is a time to enjoy the outdoors with your Labrador. If you have a balanced one it will have no trouble in a field, on a mountain hike, or a swim in the ocean.

Most often it is our lack of training ability that makes for a poor hunter. As another poster said, most Labradors have the instinct. Will every Labrador excel, no way. Life does not work that way.