My time constraints are pretty nil right now. My wife' s an RN and I' m currently a " House Dad" , so I have lots of time on my hands. All I' m wanting to get instilled is the very basics, the rest they will learn from a formal trainer....at least that' s the current plan.

Sounds like you have thought it through. Wish I had that kind of time. You might can get away with out paying the very high costs of a pro trainer. I do still wander how much better Mojo might be if I did go that route. Trainer or no trainer I think you will be spending a lot of time with your pups. It is a blast and I hope you have fun with it. I have pups due tomorrow. Wish I could keep one but I plan to fine tune Mojo between now and duck season so I do not have the time. Plus I already have three counting Mojo. Anyway, have you checked out any training literature? Try " Waterdog" by Richard Walters (book and/or video) or I hear the 10 minute retriever by Mike Lardy (not sure if that is his name exactly) is pretty good and you might check out the following weblink:

http://www.dobbsdogs.com/library/retrievers/index.html

Good luck and keep us posted. Most of the time we hear of someone gettin' a pup and never hear how it is progressing.