That was my exact point as well-he is going to be happy with either one he gets-both great dogs. I have had labs that settled down at 9 months and became adults at that point-I have also had ones that I am not sure ever matured. GWP's however are different in temperment than GSP's-I have hunted both and trained GWP. He really asked two questions-one was about dogs and the other was about training if he was not as experienced. Trained poorly both dogs are worthless. Loved your analogy about the dates-just hope my wife never finds out.