i started at about 8 weeks... depends on what ur planning on hunting. introduce him to the scent to begin with. after he gets used to the scent if your going to be hunting upland birds get the wings and maybe some of the scent and drag it through the yard and start him off short and sweet. i started my lab by carrying another wing with me before i put him on the trail so he knew what it looked like and so he was more familiar with the scent.