Can you train hunting dogs to point/flush and retrieve birds and big game?

[Kevindahl]

I was just wondering if it is possible to train a hunting dog to point/flush and retrieve birds such as waterfowl and upland birds and also train them to hunt big game possessing two skills in one dog? I am trying to get two Rhodesian Ridgebacks, but would like them to hunt birds and bay big game such as deer and bears. So, with that said, is it possible to have them learn both hunting skills or is it only one skill or the other?? Thanks!

[MTdrahthaar]

Its not one skill or the other, but that is question for the breeder of the dog. Just because it is a RR doesn't mean it will possess the courage they are known for. The qualities that a dog possess historically may have been bred out of them over time. I really don't know much about the RR, but I know that you will need to ask a lot of poignant questions when talking to the breeder. Have the "parents" or "grandparents" even been hunted? Do they point? Retrieve? Do they track? What do they track? Are there any hunt tests they have participated in and passed the tests? Are there other hunters you can contact to see how previous litters hunt? Don't try to reinvent the wheel, if the breeder can't provide this information, find one that can.