I trained a non-retriever from the book Water Dog and had excellent results. The blood line does stack it in your favor, but in the end a dog is only as smart as its owner, and only as good as the time you put into it. I was lucky enough to have a wife that followed the book with me and worked him while I was gone.
Everyone does have their own opinion and experience, find what you feel is best and roll with it - your gut feeling is worth more than any opinion or dog money can buy.
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