New to Dogs

Hey everybody! I live in upstate NY and hunt small game and whitetail on public land. Ive done a little bit of goose field hunting with friends but wouldn’t describe myself as a real waterfowl hunter at this time. I had dogs as a kid and was able to teach them sit, stay, etc but ive never intensively trained a dog or hunted with a dog, but i really want to get into it. To me getting a beagle (or two) to run rabbits with is the lowest barrier to entry for hunting with dogs, but im interested to hear the opinions of the experts. Id love to get into it to upland bird hunting but i hardly ever encounter upland birds on the public lands i hunt and am not sure if theyre just not there or if a good dog is the missing piece of the puzzle. Any advice would be appreciated, tia!