[huntinlabs]

While no dog can ever fully replace my male that I have now. However he is 6 this year and when I talk to people I see out hunting everyone says ohh about time to get a new one to start getting ready. While my male now is purely a meat dog and I will hunt him until he shows me it's time to retire. This had me thinking at what age should I start looking for a new dog? To me duck hunting is really all about watching the ducks and dog work and I do not want to end up without one. So when do yall suggest I get a pup so he can learn under my current male?

 

[quackaholic]

I just bought mine because my meat dog is seven. Still acts like a pup though.

 

[Julie R.]

I'm probably not a good one to answer this question because I have 6, but any time after the first one is well trained is a good time to get a puppy! That said, when you are ready to take on the challenge of training a new hunting buddy, but before your guy gets too old, not just to hunt, but to tolerate the rough and tumble antics of a new pup. There is much a wise older dog can teach a puppy in training and you don't want to wait til he's too old to do that. Could be now, could be in 2 years. I actually have an old 14.5 year old matron that has raised every single puppy I've kept and put manners on every young dog that has spent any time here. There simply is no better teacher for some stuff than a wise and patient older dog.

 

[Newf]

It depends on your goals really...lots of dogs keep hunting into their later years, 8-9-10 as long as they can still do the work and enjoy it there's no problem - you could add a new pup when you old dog is 8 or 10 years old and everything will be fine. Now with that in mind if you add your second dog when your first dog is middle aged, (4-6) by the time the old dog is slowing down with age, the new pup is just in its prime for a working dog. Then, as the old boy passes on, you incorporate a new pup into the family that way you virtually always have a dog in good hunting condition. So I guess there's no hard fast rule, whatever works for your situation really.

 

[huntinlabs]

Well he will at least be 7 before I get a new one due to me going to Korea for a year.. so really his next hunting season he will be right at 8 years old

 

[jacduck]

My thought is it takes 2 years to train a meat dog, less to start a ht dog but figure most large dogs slip around 8 but can still go until the end. So 6 is our magic number.

 

[Carolina Mudpuppy]

Thanks for the great advice here. This is one question I have long considered.