Had opportunity to train my Springer pup with a nationally known trainer several years ago. Most sporting dogs have inbred ability to hunt. Some more than others of same breeds. Every once in a while the trainer would receive a dog that very simply had no interest at all. The dog could be trained to retrieve an object, but would not make a hunting dog. His way to train was to use a live pigeon to see if the dog had any interest, and if so, start there. If no interest, the dog was returned to a very dissapointed owner.