My wife graduated and got her dream job, moves in February.
I finish grad school and move to where she is in June.
That means June and beyond we're ready for our first pup. Due to budgetary restrictions, we plan on adopting our first pup and saving up for one of my "Dream sporting dogs" in the future.

Do any of you have experience with adopting a dog <2yrs old, training, and hunting it? Pretty concerned about not knowing it's pedigree and will be basing selection on "breed" and temperament in person.

Any other tips?

With rescue dogs, you will have no idea what breed mix or the lineage you are getting.  It's a roll of the dice.  If you really want a hunter, you might be better off saving up and getting a known dog.  Otherwise, be prepared to get a dog that won't hunt at all.

I got a Springer Spaniel from the pound 20 years ago, he had little to no interest in birds. But he was a good dog.

I’d look at the breed you’re interested in and check breeders.  There are people that buy these dogs and are not able to keep up with them. They return the dog to the breeder or a rescue for that breed. You might get lucky.  The breeder that I got my English pointer from, got back the older 1/2 sister of the puppy I bought

Also if the breeder is worth their salt, they’ll insist that if you don’t want the dog anymore, they’ll insist that you return the dog to them.

For hunting, don’t. Every hunting dog I raised from a pup was a decent hunter.  I am 0 for about a dozen someone gave me. If he is grown and not started, too risky. 50+ years of hunting experience.

Just casual hunting, it's certainly possible tho it's a crap shoot. The best hunting dog we had growing up was a yellow lab/golden mix that was picked up at the pound. I'd say the younger the better for an adopted pup and if you have some certainty about one of the parents. Plenty of breed specific rescues out there. I have an adopted Coonhound I got at 9 months old that I casually hunt small game with. She does fine

If you stick to a specific breed, or dominant breed in a mutt and get it young maybe. For me it’s beagles. It’s pretty easy to spot a pure or mostly pure bred beagle and I have had succes with gimmes. Most would hunt, some just didn’t like the gun part. If cost is a concern than pick a good pound candidate and give it a go. Either way you will end up with a new friend. If he doesn’t hunt the extra time you spend with him trying will pay off in you and his relationship.

Thanks for all of the feedback so far. So I'm gathering that if it is still a pup, might be okay, otherwise not.

I will definitely look into breeders and try to find breed-specific rescues! Not sure why I didn't think of that.

Look at rescue breed orgs...

I use to rescue German Shorthair pointers 30 years worth.. out of NY. I worked with NY, NJ, PA www.gspca.org

The problem you will be faced is really two things.. One usually a lot of these are older dogs that have health issues.. second is don't expect an awesome hunting dog.. Out of the 62 i rescued over the years i had three were awesome hunting dogs.. Some here gun shy and didn't want to hunt.. others had major health issues and couldn't hunt.. or others just needed a lot of exercise and people didnt spend enough time with them to calm them down..
They are very high strung bread that needs a lot of exercise to get the energy out. They are very loyal dogs which is why love the breed.

So leave this open as an option also.. Since the need is usually greater than placement..

If you go through breed specific rescues you may find exactly what you're looking for. If you want a spaniel tell them you want a field dog. I was able to get a great Boykin Spaniel last summer from some super sweet rescue folks in Texas. She's one of the busiest dogs I've ever had and with just basic training is doing great with flushing and retrieving.

Definitely a gamble without going the breed specific route and with the adoption fees I saw on some of those when I was looking, might as well get one from a breeder. My little buddy is a lab mix, mixed with what I don't know. Got him when he was 10 months old with the idea of him maybe becoming my dove hunting partner. He's such a stubborn psycho though, not sure if that will ever happen. I love him to death though and we have a lot of fun. He just stays home when I hit the fields for now. Still hoping with time and training he may make it out there with me, we'll see.

We have a pound mutt (we think lab-shephard mix), that was abused and abandoned. He's lived the feral life for a while, and knows he has it good. He has blind faith in us as the pack leaders.

He's no proper hunting dog, but he uses his nose, and knows what a gun is.

He will run anything he can smell or see, and attempt to tree it or push it to me, classic hammer/anvil. Just yesterday he got a doe 15 yards from me, and was already off on another from the herd. He won't listen that its not deer season, nor can I hunt deer with him. So they got passed. Got me a squirrel out of the brush yesterday. Killed it too, where my shot pattern hadn't.

He'll run into the brush and spook up small game, and if close enough to hear/see it fall, he'll retrieve it. He'll defend our kill too.

He will run through 6" of snow when it's below zero to the point his paws are cracking and bleeding, to get us game (not doing that again, sorry bud). Come in my house and you better hope I shoot you before he gets to ya.

No luck on birds as we don't have any local. I don't want him going deaf so I wouldn't bring him to blind hunt waterfowl or dove.

He's training our elkhound-shepard mix pup to hunt. She's picking it up pretty good.

In my little knowledge/experience, the breed doesn't matter as much as their desire to hunt/kill and be a part of your pack. I'll take a smart mutt over a two thousand dollar papered idiot. We also don't believe in dogs that live locked up in a kennel/run. Ours are part of the family/pack. They eat wild game with us. They sleep under our bed.

That said, obviously breeds are that way by design. Hence why we got an elkhound mix. We wanted a hunter, and took the alpha of the litter. She works pretty good as an alarm dog. You just can't cram enough guard into 35lbs to be useful though it's not for her lack of trying. I think she's going to do great on rabbit once season opens. I've seen her outrun bunnies in the yard. Might not even have to shoot, she'll probably just kill them herself.

Old thread, but for posterity, I was set on getting a working dog for search and rescue to serve my fire department and I was set on finding a rescue to do it.  I picked a pup that appeared to have some working breeds in her and ended up with a coonhound/GSD/Lab mix - someone's hunting dog got mixed up with a local mutt and they dumped the puppies at the pound.  I met two sisters and picked the one I had a connection with, she didn't startle easy, had good drive for food and toys (as much as you can tell from a 14 week old puppy bouncing around shelters and foster homes) and would chase me while playing - good enough.  She's now certified by an international agency in one of the most difficult canine disciplines.  Was it a chance?  Yes.  Is it impossible to find a rescue dog that will work?  Not by a long shot.  I also have a friend who rescued a GSD that is a dream working dog and another with a husky mix who is great as well.  Most pups are trainable as long as they don't show fear, have some interest and are physically in good shape (no heartworm or other stunting diseases).

Could you end up with a dog who doesn't hunt, sure, but 600,000 dogs get put down every year and with enough dedication you can save one.