Contrary to popular myth, you can train older dogs with pretty much the same methods that you would use on younger pups. The big difference is that the older dog will require much more patience, time, consistency, practice, and patience from the trainer (I listed patience twice on purpose).

The most important thing to train a birddog, in my opinion, is to stay close to the hunter when off-leash in the field. If a birddog ranges too far out, it will flush the birds out of shotgun range. If a dog knows nothing other than to stay close, however, it will at the very least help flush birds within gun range and provide companionship while on the hunt. All of the other more advanced behaviors are a bonus once the dog knows to stay close.

To train a dog to stay close, I make a check cord out of a 50ft piece of rope. I tie a dog clip to one end of the rope, and a carabiner to the other. I think you can buy long check cords at sporting goods and pet supply stores, but I’ve found it cheaper to just buy the pieces and tie them together myself. It is effectively a 50ft dog leash with a carabiner at one end.

I clip the carabiner to my belt loop with the dog clipped to the other end of the rope, this way I can work the rope with both hands and not worry about where the end is. When the dog ranges out the extent of the rope, I give it a tug, give the “come” command, and give lots of praise when it returns. I repeat this extensively while walking a field until the dog learns to consistently stay within 50 feet while covering the field at my walking pace.

Good luck with your feist! If you can keep him close, I know you’ll have a lot of fun bird hunting with him.