You're thinking the right way. I had an English Lab that was about 70 pounds. Quite a dog, he spent a fair amount of time with me at Schell (and a lot of other places) before there was such a thing as 4 Rivers. Trained him off the dock at Izaak Walton. I'll never forget Dexter. Words of caution: When you take on a dog it's 24/7/365.