You absolutely can teach an old dog new tricks, but for something like this, it may take a little longer to achieve total reliability than it would have, had you started with a puppy.
To teach recall, you'll want to practice in the house away from distractions. Do short training sessions teaching your dog to simply come when called. You can use his name, or another word like come/here/touch. I recommend having a regular recall word, and an emergency recall word that is rewarded EVERY time the dog responds to it.
To start, all you'll need is some favourite treats. You can start by holding your palm at the side of your body, facing out, and using your thumb - hold a treat to the center of your palm. Say 'Touch' (or come/here/name) and the second your dog touches your palm, release the treat. Repeat this action again. You can even work it into your day. Usually after a few tries, a dog will associate 'touch' with getting a treat and will come to you.
It's also recommended you don't phase out the treat, so once your dog is reliably coming indoors, you can move him into the yard on a lead and practice with some distraction, still using the treats. You may find that treats tend to lose their value if they're used too often, so you may have to switch it up now and then and offer something new.
Also - before you hold your breath and jump into the walk with an off leash dog, make sure you're doing this legally. Some places have leash laws, and if you're caught with your dog walking off leash, you can get into some trouble and be fined. Don't 'Monkey see, monkey do' this kind of thing. Just because buddy down the road does it doesn't mean you should - unless you don't care about the fines... lol
Good luck!
