Where do I start?

[MPR]

I am a bit confused and I hope some of you may be able to shed some light. I have read through "words of wisdom" and some of the other posts about trying to train my GSP. He's six months old and comes from great, reputable breeder. His parents were both outstanding bird dogs. I am confident he has the genes, however, I am trying my best not to screw him up.

I will hunt him primarily on reserve raised birds; BW quail and chucker. I will rarely, if ever, be able to put him on pheasant. This is due mostly to the area I live in.

Here are some of my questions and concerns

Is six months too old to really get good training in?

Can I effectively train him on 1-2 15 min. sessions a day?

How much can I rely on "natural" instincts, meaning if I put him in a field with birds, his he going to have an idea what to do?

As far as training goes:

I have practiced the sit, stay, come commands with him. I have not started on heel, but that is my next step.

I have a few dummies, including canvas ones. I applied a very tiny amount of Pheasant scent to it (I know I said he wont see very many pheasant, but it's the only scent I had). He just goes wild and wants to retrieve it. Also, when he does retrieve and come, he goes right past me and circles around. How do I correct this?

I had a small wing on a fishing pole when he was younger and ironically he seemed to want to point/stalk it naturally. How can I convert this willingness to live birds? I want to take this dog out and at least "expose" him to a hunt but I don't want to waste his time/training, waste my time/training, and do something with the dog that may prove more harmful than helpful.

One of the only things I do have going for me is I have some small fields with high grass within a short walking distance.

I appreciate any and all help, and if anyone is in the lower Alabama area, I would greatly appreciate any advice you would be willing to share if you want to see the dog personally.

Thanks,
Mike

[snips]

At that age about all I worry about is Come, not good to teach sit and heel til you get the pup hunting and pointing "live" birds. I would put few lightly planted quail out in the field and let the pup figure out what it is all about. You want the birds put down so the will get up and fly away with the pup getting too close. If you are afraid of the pup getting gone, hang a checkcord on him to drag, but I would let him go free if possible. Don't mess with the wing anymore or the dummy in scent. I am not sure why people want a dummy smelling like a bird? It just teaches the pup to grab somethng that smells like a bird, when they should be pointing it. At this point just go have fun....