Lots of questions, Need answers (dogs)

like everyone said depending on what style you want is going to depend on they type of dog you get. notice i said type not breed. the are variations in every breed and in every litter. personally i like getting pups that i way i know how they are raised and how they were trained to hunt. it takes longer and you can run through some dogs to get what you want but it's just fun for me. i also have the luxury to hunt with a guy that has several finished out dogs so i'm always able to walk behind dogs that will show me meat 9 times out of 10. plus my pups learn form some jam up dogs. it allows me to gauge how my dogs are progressing that way.

i would hunt with a dog several times before i choose to buy them. i would hunt them in the comfort zone then i would bring them to your spot and see how they handle what your will be hunting most of the time. a HUGE word of caution, this is one addicting sport. once you get bit seriously with this bug it's a hard one to shake. it's loads of fun!

when i first started before i let my dog loose the guy i went hunting with told me before i let him go that i run the risk of me not bringing him home. if you can't handle that burden then i would highly suggest not getting into this. you can read some past posts of people loosing their best most favorite dog to a bad hog. there are many people on this board with great knowledge and will be more than happy to steer you in the direction you want to go. they can hook you up with people that have some great dogs and great pups. the biggest piece of advice i would offer is to be patient, it pays off in the end(i'm a very impatient person sometimes and it has bit more times than once in my butt...i'm still working on it..lol)

welcome and look forward to seeing the fruits of your gained knowledge here.