Legacy, I am sure you will hear some different opinionshere.first let me say that I am not a professional trainerand can only post based on my limited experience. I would not worry about playing with other dogs having any effect on the training. My pointer can get pretty crazy when playing with other dogs, but when he is in a hunting situation he knows that the fun and games are over. In fact he hates hunting close to any other dogs that are in the field. You could say he is kind of an independent hunter. I would make sure you never let him play with another dog immediately before/after training or hunting, and this should be enough to keep him from mixing the two together. My dog (now 1 y/o) has learned that there is a time for play, but he has realized that when in the field that he is working.