Im not sure Pods are the best idea for a surface drive, I know beaver tail does it, but Ive read where it can become a pain in the shallows. Also I would think pushing a boat around (by hand) when trying to hide it, turn it, etc. would be really hard with pods in mud. Just because its alot of edges to dig into the mud. I would think if you where gunna spend the money, try and do something like a hunt deck, but to get that welded is gunna probably cost more than the boat itself so you might wanna think about that. Do like everyone said and move your stuff to the front and ease off the gas when slowing down. And people saying you have to much motor aren't saying the boat cant handle the HP, but instead that the motor is to heavy for the LENGTH and WIDTH of the boat. But be careful because your situation just sounds like an accident waiting to happen.

Also with all the gator comments.I have had a gator come up behind my dog when I was working him, scared the crap out of me, and I came running yelling and throwing my arms around I think thats the only reason the gator didnt make a move. I always carrier one or two buck shots just in case now. Its always better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it.

fetching a lot with a dog is not good. All it does is teach a dog to not be steady. A good lab will naturally retrieve so you shouldn't have to train that into them. The only time you want to do alot of fun retrieves is if you have a dog with little drive. Look if you dont have alot of time work your dog once a day and start with 10 mins of obedience and 10 mins of simple retrieves in short grass. Try to always set your dog up for success. Water Dog is decent I think alot of people would say it is out dated and there is better stuff out there now. But it is short and easy to understand so give it a try (you can get it on amazon for like 10 bucks).

First off dont go get a e collar while they can be very productive, an inexperienced trainer will ruin a dog real quick. Also you need to read it seems like you bought this dog not planning on making it a hunting dog. I have two labs now, and before I bought my first one I think I read 4 books and read tons of training threads online, before I got my second one I read even more bc I wanted to make sure I didnt make the same mistakes twice. Having said this its not to late for you to train this dog, but if heal is frustrating you this much as everyone said you might want to consider getting a trainer because I promise you there is going to be times that the dog will about drive you crazy. When training obedience you dont want to make it a long session, try doing two ten min sessions a day, your pup isnt going to have that long of a concentration span.

As everyone else said you are more than likely going to ruin your dog by doing this. I wouldnt even take him into the blind with you the first couple of months you have him, this is especially true if you have to take a boat or pirogue to your blind. Everything you do with your dog needs to be done in strides. All you do is either risk the chance of scaring your dog away from hunting or creating a dog with bad manners in the blind. I think obedience should be 100% before your dog goes into the blind bc you dont want him to think that is a time where he can run around and act like an idiot. Trust me its easier to teach the right thing first than to have to change a bad habit. To introduce guns try shooting cap guns while he is feeding and over a period slowly move closer till you can shoot it right next to him. Obviously this depends on your dog, if you see no signs of him being scared then you can speed it up alittle but never go from step 1 to step 10 in a day. The point of this is to get him to associate a positive thing with the sounds of guns. Also with a 7 week old I wouldn't even worry about guns most people dont start basic retriever training till around 4 to 6 months, some even later.