Training for Labs..

Since your dog will form a unique bond with it's trainer, it's best to train her yourself ... assuming you have the time, and the dog is from a good bloodline. Buy a couple of books, like Trtronics and Water Dog, so you can try different techniques and find what works for your dog. You'll be surprised how easy it is with a smart dog. Of course, if you don't have time, pay a pro.

If you don't have time to spend daily, hire a pro and supplement personally. I def don't have the time each day, but have the waterdog book and movie. I watch/read occasionally for reinforcement and improvement. No matter what, your dog will always need the reinforcement, whether in the field or in the back yard

You need to go see some pro dogs in action. They are deff not robots, just trained right with no holes or gaps. If you don't hire a pro, you at least need to join a local retriever club so you can learn the "proper" and most advanced training techniques. Water dog is WAY outdated. The author was an animal behaviorist,and a great writer, not a pro trainer. Check out arhrc.org
Our club (amite river) has very knowledgeable pros and ams that are willing to lend assistance and offer hands on training. No book will give you that. Your dog will form a special bond with the pro, it has to for it to learn. Its more like a coach/athelete bond. You will always be daddy to her.

I've always trained my dogs myself.

Yes. Any pro worth their salt will instruct you how to handle your dog to get their full potential. We don't like to get dogs back from clients, that take months to fix issues and problems. The more you learn from your pro, the better your dog will handle for you. And maybe next go-around you can do-it-yourself, (the right way).