Thread: When to retire a dog?

Hi all,

My dog has just turned 6. I recently spent some time with family where they have a dog that at 9 has crook cruciate ligaments and can't really do a whole lot.

When have people on here retired dogs, provided they are still healthy but just old?

I'm hoping to get at least three or four more years of hunting with mine yet , he's certainly not showing any age or ill effects on the hill but I want to make sure I get those years if that makes sense.

Cheers
hebe

My pointer did his cruciate at 6, we had it fixed (bit of gamble) and he made it to 10.
If he is a good dog and likes his job I would let him just keep going and not bother about what might happen. Just be prepared to "pony up" at the vet if it does.
Its not the sort of injury I personally would put a dog to sleep for nor let them suffer with it.

I'm going through this delimma ATM with my dog - shes about to turn 11 and holy shit she still finds deer.

I think I've had to alter my expectations on the the "hunt" - Izzie will still find deer wherever I put her It's just that the length and terrain of the hunt have to alter.

Take your time on the hunt with an older dog, you may not cover the ground like you "use" to - but, if the dog can still hunt your doing better than a bloke without a dog. Sher still shows me the areas that I need to slow down and focus on and when to push on as there are no deer present.

hunt them till they dont want to get out of kennel to come anymore...or go deaf,or blind,or arthritic and struggle..let dog tell you when enough is enough.they live for the hunt..we dont give em fook all else to look forward to in life.

Mine's just a pet but I started adding mussel powder to his food when he started having hip pain at 10, it improved his mobility for another 2 years then the vet had to give him this wonder drug (Beransa-injection) and he's like a pup again.
It may be worth looking into starting supplements now to help his joints, mussel, shark cartilage etc

This is what I use. 1 cap per day on his food.

@hebe you will know when. On those cold hunts when sitting glassing etc put a jacket on him
winter time i made sure all my dogs had bedding and a dry kennel, Also try not to let old dogs jump from heights.(back of ute etc)
A dog will still go to work every day even if in pain to please its master.
I don't know if you remember my old grey heading dog she was 14 years when i put her down last year. The reason i put her down is when i went to rehome her i didn't realize how deaf she was. (that's when i moved house)At work she knew the paddocks but when i took her to this lifestyle block i couldn't call her back. If she got out on the road she would have been killed

I have had pig dogs hunt until 13 years old, they just go a little slower and let the young ones do the miles but still enjoyed the hunt, I retired him when his mobility started to really be a problem and he stayed on his bed in the sun until he didn’t wake up from his afternoon nap at 16 years old.
After all the work a good dog does they deserve a decent retirement in my opinion.

Even when my old girl was nearly at the end last year, I still took her for a hunt.
I found a place with easy scrub that held a few pheasant. Her mobility was not that great so carried her out car and let her find the sent. Off she went like a young dog.............for about 10 minutes. She pointed a couple and I flushed them for her.
Put her back in the car happy. It was her last hunt. We lost her about 4 months later to old age.

You will know when its time for them to retire and when its time for the "other" they tell you themselves if you are paying attention.

My last pigdog, Border collie- eye dog was still catching pigs at 13, she lost control of her bladder while sleeping, otherwise could still do a day on the hill.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

hunt them till they dont want to get out of kennel to come anymore...or go deaf,or blind,or arthritic and struggle..

shit i better watch it .... my dog will leave me at home.......

Thanks guys. Good to know I’m mostly on the right track. Not that I hunt enough these days to give the dog issues but I was just going to carry on as normal and try not to burn him out physically.

He’s a pretty good dog - my first one I’ve ever trained and I’ve shot 70 odd deer with him.Just want to carry that on for as long as possible so might start the supplement thing now.

Our dogs all get 1 fish oil capsule + Technyflex Greenshell mussel extract powder daily. I reckon ya best mates are worth the little bit of extra cost.
I am convinced it does make a difference

Your mate will let you know when its time to scale back his adventures.

Originally Posted by bigbear

@hebe you will know when. On those cold hunts when sitting glassing etc put a jacket on him
winter time i made sure all my dogs had bedding and a dry kennel, Also try not to let old dogs jump from heights.(back of ute etc)
A dog will still go to work every day even if in pain to please its master.
I don't know if you remember my old grey heading dog she was 14 years when i put her down last year. The reason i put her down is when i went to rehome her i didn't realize how deaf she was. (that's when i moved house)At work she knew the paddocks but when i took her to this lifestyle block i couldn't call her back. If she got out on the road she would have been killed

Sorry mate, but I'm not getting my head around this- you tried to 'rehome' a 14 year old dog? jeeze, I would have just stuck it out whatever the circumstances. Maybe I've got it wrong- ? Was it just a case of moving? Hey though, great effort to make sure dry bedding and kennel in winter. Maybe some food and water too at christmas? 'A dog will still go to work every day even if in pain to please its master.' It will, but it's the owners call if the dog drags it's arse to the job in pain- you gotta know when your not doing the poor fella any favours. Once again, apologies if I'm chewing the wrong end of the stick. Probably am.

When what you are doing hurts them.

Originally Posted by 00buck

Sorry mate, but I'm not getting my head around this- you tried to 'rehome' a 14 year old dog? jeeze, I would have just stuck it out whatever the circumstances. Maybe I've got it wrong- ? Was it just a case of moving? Hey though, great effort to make sure dry bedding and kennel in winter. Maybe some food and water too at christmas? 'A dog will still go to work every day even if in pain to please its master.' It will, but it's the owners call if the dog drags it's arse to the job in pain- you gotta know when your not doing the poor fella any favours. Once again, apologies if I'm chewing the wrong end of the stick. Probably am.

you are right you have no idea