at 8 months she is still just a pup, most trainers dont really start working on hunting skills untill about 6 months, before 6 months is mainly obedience. As far as retrieving, most labs are born with the instinct, you just need to hone it into what you want. I know people that have gottend dogs as old as a couple of years and made good hunters out of them. I would recomend reading any and every dog training book you can get your hands on, go to the library and study up. I have a 4 month old female yellow lab, this is the first dog I am training myself, and she made her first goose retrieve at 14 weeks!! I also had her retrieve a pheasent about 5 weeks ago. Also she walks (heals) 95% of the time without a leash already. She sits, and will stay for an hour if you want her to. And remember I have no experience in training, I just did a lot of research. You need to develop a plan for your dog, get in your mind what you want from a good gun dog and be persistant in your training. Train even if you dont feel like it, but just remember to have fun with it and keep it fun for your pup. Good luck and enjoy your new hunting buddy.