Skip the dog park. Those have to be the worst experiences for dogs. Too many dogs over the years have been injured. That isn’t though the reason for my reply.
I had a golden that I started bird training with. Basic obedience is a must and an absolute recall is must. Dogs new to hunting started on pigeons where I was at the time. But now that I raise quail, dead quail would work better as they are more natural to the environment. You could raise a few quail for yourself then freeze them for later use. Training starts early but don’t be disappointed if your dog doesn’t show interest at first and depending on the lines your dog came from may never show interest. Most have bred out the hunt desire for the pet trade. I wanted to get a true hunting golden but at that time, it was near impossible. I found that’s why most who started with golden went to labs.
