Advice please on hurting dog?

[akirkland]

Glad he will be ok. I learned the hard way and this is just advice. When my labs turn 8 i retire them. I pushed my first lab way too far (i think) and i regret it to this day. She has been gone for 5 years now. She had cancer and passed at 9. I just think i pushed her too hard. I hunted her back to back to back, day after day. My labs are our kids and although we hunt them, i will never push them like i did Belle. Your boy is getting up there. I hope he will be around for years to come. With conditions the way they are with him i would slow down a bit and let him recover from hunts. Just my opinion. Obviously you care for him. I just had to share my experience and thoughts. Good luck and give em a bone for me

[BurleyDog]

I appreciate the advice.

He's my first REAL hunting dog and he's my best friend.

I think I am going to limit him to grouse hunting and waterfowl. Upland is just too tough on an older dog.

[akirkland]

Good choice and very respectable I have a 7 year old black lab (female) and a 3 year old chocolate (male). To be completely truthful i only hunt birds because i have labs. Since i wont live a day of my life without a lab, i suppose i will alawys hunt birds. They bring me so much joy and they are so fun! We hunt pheasant, duck and goose. We dont hunt hardcore but we make stuff happen. As much as they like to hunt they like to swim, go on walks (thats what we call grouse hunting) or just ride in the truck. I tie Drake in the back but sometimes i say hell with it and let him ride up front. It doeasnt matter if its huntin or playing catch. As long as they are with their dad they dont care what they are doing. Enjoy the time you have with your boy, he does for sure