I didnt wait quite a year but I agree with your philosophy from having hounds. A dog with no manners or obedience training is next to worthless in my book. Thats where you start. I started playing fetch with him pretty young. I took my muzzle loader out in the yard. Cap no powder. I would toss a ball or stuffed animal, pop the cap and say dead bird for the fetch command. Seems like it worked. He got excited when he saw a gun. Now that he's been hunting I have to give him a sit command when he sees a gun. Else he runs around in circles and stands up on his back feet when he see's one.

Another thing I would recommend is to handle his/her feet regularly, it will pay off later..

I constantly play with their feet also mess with the mouth as young as I can.