What age would you retire a dog?

[Autumnbriar 0]

My dog Johnny who is going on Six, and while he's in good shape, and would still run if I cut off two of his legs,....but I notice he's slower to get up these days, When I was in a different area we ran cottontails and Geese, and it wasn't as hard as running coyotes....... last season was his second year doing such, also the ground is very rocky and often heavy with timber...... I'm just kinda wondering and thinking out loud I guess.....

[Guest SJM]

If the dogs still fit and wants to do the job then let it be the judge of when it retires. I said I was going to retire my 10 yr old lurcher a few years ago when he started to slow up and allthough he is pretty much fully retired now, he still surprises me from time to time and nudges a rabbit out and grabs it in front of the younger dogs, allthough he doesnt waste his time running rabbits that he knows he cant catch anymore. If they can so something to keep them useful in their golden years its better than doing nothing at all. I take my old dog shooting and he retreives a rabbit now and then. Hes getting stiff and isnt jumping the fences as well as he used to, so Ill probably have to stop taking him along and this will be his last year doing anything, after this season I will just take him for a wee walk so he doesnt feel hes missing out (he gets jealous when I take the others out and he gets left behind) His daughter is 7 and I hope to get another few seasons out of her as she is still keen for work, allthough shes starting to slow up too. Fingers crossed Ill have a pup to replace her this season and she will take the old dogs place as a shooting companion and the cycle will go on. Nothing helps you get over the sadness of an old dog getting too old to do its job like a keen young pup waiting in the wings

[mad al 146]

What breed are we talking about here?

 

Al