does your dad actually USE the dog for hunting or is the dog just a companion while he hunts? most cockers these days are bred for the show ring or pets, so finding one that wont be a total knucklehead when it comes to hunting may prove difficult. Labs on the other hand are very commonly still used as hunting dogs so finding a decent hunting lab would not be very hard.for the ECS there are a few out there that breed for both hunting and show, HOWEVER this is really luck of the draw,it depends which they are more focased on. from that POV I would go for the Lab lol