Old dog new tricks

[willy]

I have a two year old lab female that has no feild training.At this age will training be different or harder then a pup traning program? She is very birdie and has a good nose.

[Dakota]

It is best to start a bit younger, but assuming you have been training her with basic commands, she will probably do just fine. ######If she is birdy she probably has the desire, you just need to get her some experience and start shaping her. ######I saw a 2 1/2 year old GSP turn into a pretty good dog with some professional help a few years back. ######Labs are especially eager to please, I would bet she will do just fine.

[uhunter]

Not a Dog expert here, but trained my dog to do quite well, he is a golden retreiver. But any ways the show Doc On Point was about a 5+ year old dog that was trained to point. I think it is very possible of the dog knows basic commands and has the want to Hunt.

[Speckmisser]

Willy,

I started my lab with basic obedience and general retrieving up until about she was about 11 months old. ######At that time, I took a job here in CA, and had to temporarily leave her in NC when I moved. ######

Long story short, after a year, I finally was able to get her sent out. ######At that point, she had been, literally, a lap dog...sleeping in the house, doing whatever, no discipline, and definitely no hunting. ######I thought she was ruined as a hunter.

I went to work with her in the field, no time or place to practice in the city, and she went right to it as if we'd never left off the training. ######By the end of that first season she was working ducks at least as well as most other labs I saw out there. ######By the next season she was taking hand signals and doing blind retrieves.

She's no field trial dog, because I'm no field trial trainer, but she is a great hunting companion and she does a great job. ######

So definitely, if your dog has instinct and some basics, she's not too old to start.

[long shot]

If your dog has learned to learn, you should be able to continue at any age. My only dog, a 13 yr. old Springer , still learns.