Anyone ever train an old dog to hunt?

My Vizsla is 10 years old. When I got him I had all the intention to train and hunt him. Needles to say the same Spring I got "Major" I had my first son...fast forward through two more kiddos and Majors hunting career never really got started. Obedience, and fetching are easy tasks for him and he has some hunting instinct but he is a house dog....now that my guys are older and I have a little extra time I want to get major out to the dove fields with me...I figure he may be up to the task of easy retrieving but I'll be starting from scratch! Anyone have success with that?

It depends on your expectations. If you just want him to go fetch a few birds and have fun in the field he may do just fine.

Is he used to gun fire?

Is he steady... Meaning won't break on gun fire?

I would say that you could take him out and see how it goes without high expectations. Realistically you only have a few years left depending on his health.

Dove hunting can be hard on a dog due to the heat so be careful.

It will take a lot of work depending on what you want the dog to do for the limited years he has left.


I would consider getting a new pup if your starting from scratch anyway.

All I want him to do is retrieve dove for now. Nothing too technical. Well we are not getting a new pup! 3 kiddos and two dogs my house is as full as my wife will allow. My guy is 10 but has more energy than a 5 year old lab. House duty has his stamina a little lacking right now but he still responds to simple obedience training refreshers. I expect about 3-4 more years out of him.

I played fetch using a few dove carcasses the other day and he retrieved them...eating one! It is a start. I'll take him out this week on a short leash and see how he handles the gun. From there we'll have to see if he has a soft enough mouth and the ability to track one in the air.

Just looking for success stories.

You might want to do retrieves, with someone else shooting blanks from a distance. No way I would shoot over a dog to see how it handles gunfire.

I trained a 10 year old lab last year he went on his first and last hunt of his life and passed he sure died happy so yea it can be done and it'a rewarding.

Wow! Best dog story ever! That's a tear jerker for sure and all the motivation I needed! Thanks for sharing.

I dont think it is correct to think a dog has a limited time frame to learn. Every year my dog gets older and she learns something new each year. you see older dogs as well as young dogs running in finished test all the time. Just take your time and set realistic goals. and have fun with your dog