I'm not a vet but make surebefore you hunt him take him to one. Depending upon your terrain, tempreature, etc. it could beharsh on a healthy dog. I'm talking hunting all day inhot or coldweather. Your vetknows more than we do about your dog, so post these questions to him.

'Come'when called would be the first command. It's pretty easy. My pup already knows it at three months. 'Fetch' is another one that's easy to teach. 'Whoa/Hold' and 'Heel' can be taughttogether but I like to teach those later.

A professional trainer I talked to told me when he gun trains the dog, healways let the dog look for birds while he fires the gun. It's an association he's building: gun + finding birds. If your dog can't hunt then you can build associations with other things like gun + treats. But always graduate the noise, ie. cap gun, .22blank pistol,.410ga shotgun, .28 or .20ga shotgun. It's a big jump from a .22 blank to 12ga shotgun. Remember this 4th of July, keep your dog close and hopefully fireworks free. Nothing makes a gunshy dog faster than fireworks.