RE: Lab hunting
labs are great all around dog IF they are small ones.
they will hunt anything you train them to hunt and can take weather better than any dog out there.
best is retrieving,thats what they do.
they do well at pheasants.
grouse /rabbits they do good but are a FLUSHER.
best dogs for pheasants are setters/gsp/lab/brittany
grouse, setter/gsp/brittany/pointers
rabbits, beagle
labs nose picks up scent different than a setter.
i had friend that tested labs vrs setters on pheasants.
he said in avg test,setter would point up 11 birds for 7 for lab.
he said the lab missed many birds that setter found.
i also see this hunting too.
setter hunters seem to get more pheasants than the lab hunters but they may be because the setters POINT and you are ready more than a lab that flushes a bird.