Congrats Joel! 2 new bird dogs is a reason to celebrate.

GSP's can be such great dogs. Some starting out advice. 1st, training should begin immediately. Not hard core as they are so young, but basic control commands should be started. The sit, stay, come, heel, no stuff. I would recommend introducing training individually, as you can focus your attention and the dogs much better without them romping, but keep it short to start and equal for each. Over time, there would be drills and work you could do together.. but not until you had complete control of your dogs.

Get several books.... the most common are listed all over this site and amazon and every dog training web site out there. After reading and understanding the philosophies of each ... pick one and follow the plan. Pick one you feel comfortable with and you know you'll have time to follow. I think many guys read some training regimes and start with excellent intentions, but find the training is so time consuming and strict they bailat the dog and their owners expense. Reading several books will give you ideas to try when you find you're having a hardtime getting one of your pups to whoa properly, or they start flushing or.. any one of a milllion things.

Trap pigeons if at all possible, trust me .. it helps.

I prefer no e-collar. That is just me and in the right hands by trained dog handlers they can be used to the dogs advantage. I have said it before, if you are seeking help on training dogs on-line then you should probably save your money and perhaps spend it on a training session with a professional dog trainer.

Visit a field trial and ask questions, dog guys love to talk about how they make good dogs to interested people.

The 9 year old..... I have mixed feelings here. I know including your 9 year old in the puppy training will slow the process and may even hurt their development. Pups don't need to be shown a poor example. I am sensitive to the fact you have started hunting the last 2 years with the older dog though. I would keep your training sessions seperate but during fun time let them all partake together. As far as future hunting, you'll know by watching them interact if you should leave the 9 year old home or not.

Put the time in, as much as you can, and it will pay off. Good luck.