training a five year old

[okstate]

I have just gotten a five year old golden retriever. and i was curious about training her for hunting.

is there any draw backs or concerns?

the dog used to be a show dog. so i know she will look awesome just standing in the field. but i really would like to teach her to hunt.

so any help would be appreciated.

thanks

[MinnesotaMongo]

You may want to find a local group that trains retrievers/flushing dogs and see if you can buy a clip wing pigeon - and flip it out in front of her to see if she is interested.

I would assume that if she runs over there and tries to pick it up and bring it back to you - she could have some instinct for hunting.

It would be a cheap way to find out if she's "birdy" or not.

[SDbowhunter]

Old dogs take a little more patience to train. I'd follow the above advice and if she's got interest in feathers naturally then put in the time to slowly introduce her to guns, birds, the field etc. If she's got a strong retrieving drive there is a good chance she'll want to hunt. I've seen 10 year old dogs learn new tricks so anything is possible. If she doesnt have the instinct I'd just accept it as a companion animal.