I'm from Iowa but live in Texas. We (oldest son and I) go up for a week every year to hunt pheasants. A cousin that lives there has a dog that flushes well but won't retrieve. Can't tell you how many birds we've lost. My son got a yellow lab puppy a couple months ago and is determined to make a great retriever out of him. Can wait... getting too old to chase cripples and hate losing them.