AlaskaHunter
Well-known member
My oldest lab turns 7 this summer, so time for a new pup into the rotation.
We named her Birdie.
We named her Birdie.
lab pup
- Thread starter AlaskaHunter
- Start date
pabearhunter
Well-known member
What a cutey.
Hunting Wife
Well-known member
Adorable! We’re also in the market for a lab pup. Can’t wait!
noharleyyet
Well-known member
I like the name...cute pup.
OntarioHunter
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2020
- Messages
- 5,980
Sigh! I am envious. Would love to have another pup. Coral (aka Puppy) will be 12 this spring. Still pretty frisky. Four weeks ago a softball size tumor was removed from inside her abdomen. It was cancerous but a kinder variety. Prognosis is not bad. Possible long term recurrence, but she is almost twelve so how much long term is left in her bank? My Lab Ellie will be eight in a few days (hard to believe Pearl has been gone that long). She is showing recurring lameness on right side after a day's hunt or playing hard. Seems to be aging fast ... physically anyway. I am unsure about getting another dog this late in life. Longevity is not in my genetic material. Guess I will just have to be content living vicariously through your posts. Looking forward to it.
MTLabrador
Well-known member
Great looking pup!
Scott85
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2018
- Messages
- 3,004
She’s a cutie!!
BirdManMike
Well-known member
Cute little pup!
Nick87
Well-known member
Not to hijack this thread but you guys who have hunted over labs for a while at what age do you usually rotate a new pup? Or do you not until the one you have is gone or not able to hunt anymore. My lab is 6 and still hunts hard. However I noticed after a hard hunt she wears out pretty quick compared to years past. This is my first lab/hunting dog so...
Last edited:
Ghillieman
Active member
Loved our Yella...Ole "Harley" AKA Harley David Son, was truly a gift and a beauty. Stuck around for 12 years and it broke my heart to put that best friend down...
HighDesertSage
Well-known member
Oh om goodness...stop it
AlaskaHunter
Well-known member
I usually get new pup when the older dog is 5-7 years old.
Sometimes it takes a few attemps...I want a spring pup and a female.
This one was no different. Started looking in October.
First litter I was interested in was unsuccessful breeding.
Second breeding from a different breeder in November,
put my deposit down and number 2 on the list for a female.
Unsuccessful breeding, so the breeder sent my deposit back.
Third time found a breeding I was interested in, pups on the ground,
sent in my deposit and was lucky as only 2 female blacks left.
One year I was number 1 on the list with my deposit in and all pups were males...
Sometimes it took me a couple springs before I finally got a pup.
5-7years is in their prime, typically they start to slow down on upland hunts around 9-10.
I usually hunt the old lab most of the time and hunt the pup that first season on only
easy hunts where success is likely and mostly building good habits in pup.
AlaskaHunter
Well-known member
Yes! With pups it is always the owners fault if pup chews something she should not chew.Congrats! Enjoy those razor teeth and nails! Hide your favorite boots and shoes!
Beautiful pup! I have two yellows, first was a female then we got a male, only 14 months apart. Genders were recommended that way and has worked out real well for me. Having two dogs, while more expensive, is much easier than having one. They have hunted great together but just this past year passed their prime (they are 14 and 15 yo) and are no longer hunting. I won't get a new pup until one passes on.
SFC B
Well-known member
Beautiful girl!!!
OntarioHunter
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2020
- Messages
- 5,980
It varies. I've had some Labs that hunted hard right up till the end ... at 10 to 11. I had one that was definitely done by nine. Ellie will be eight next week. She is still going strong but had some issues with her right hind leg/hip at the end of last season. But I did hunt her VERY hard. It acted up again last week after playing with my daughter's pup. I have a feeling she won't last more than a year or two more.
I have actually had best luck starting each Lab individually. Opal, gone now three years, was doing everything at three months old: pointing, flushing, retreiving. Her partner, Pearl, who was then still here in Ontario while I was working out of town in Montana, started retreiving big honkers two years before at four months. Ethyl (1977-88) retreived her first duck at five months. My current Lab, Ellie, was started behind Opal and my French Britt seven years ago. Ellie was pretty much useless the first two seasons ... until one day at the end of the second year I had to hunt her solo. Then she instantly turned into a priceless pointing Lab. It occurred to me the difference was Ellie is the only Lab I've owned that was NOT started solo.
I think you should just hunt this dog till it can't hunt any longer. Then pick up a young pup and start it solo. Once it's on track, then maybe bring the old dog along ... if it's still alive. Having said that, I can tell you having two (or three) dogs is always better ... for them. They keep each other company when you're not available. Hunting them together, however, can sometimes be tricky.
