retired dogs

[snakerivercatman]

In my experience, I'd bring em inside and like many have said, let em retire next to the fire. I made a horrible mistake with one dog a few years back by giving my old retired dog to a young uppincommer to train his young dogs. I had had this dog since a pup and ran lions with her for over a decade. When she didn't fit the string any more, I got rid of her. I went to visit her about 9 months later at my friends house and he hadn't done a thing with her but keep her in a small unkept pen outside with no cover from the elements. I was completely heartbroken. I took her back and ran her to the vet and upon close examination found she was in her last days of carrying around cancer. I put her to sleep but to this day I know it wasn't the cancer that killed her. she was dying of a broken heart. She gave me the best years of her life and gave her heart on every hunt to me, and when I got greedy I let her down and showed her how much I appreciated her. (Some daddy, right?) I will carry around that guilt for the rest of my days

[2ndhound]

I have read this entire post and can see both sides quite easily, Its a touchy subject in both camps of thought, Its a personal choice that only the owner can make for whatever reasons he has. I cant sit in judgement of either way of doing things, personally I sit in the retirement camp for now, But my situation may change down the road and I will be sitting in the other camp who knows? Its just too tough a subject to have a blanket answer for. I have gone both ways in the past and neither way is easy, JMO Ken

[outlaw13]

I go with both sides on this. If i have an old dog that is to slow to go except with a bunch of pups i would keep it and do just that but also if i know someone that will take good care of the dog and hunt it and use it to get there start and train there dogs i would give it away.

[pegleg]

circumstances beyond our control often arise in life. that being said I don't send a old hound or horse down the road because of age. if they have worked with me and added positive moments to my life I try and do the same when possible. I do realize every life has a autumn and plan accordingly. would I choose feeding a old faithful hound over my children? no. but truthfully that is hardly a realistic issue. unless, you have a dozen kids or hounds. if that is the case perhaps you should review some priorities. it's your life and your choices and how you handle it reflects who you truly are and that is what others use to form impression and opinions of who and what you are. my lead hounds retire here as they see fit. the truth is how many top hounds does anyone have of the same age at anyone time? I've lost my lead dog and have been glad to have the older one there to fall back on to ease the others along in the transition.
of course I'm also a bleeding heart when it comes to sticking our elderly in a old folks home when they are unable to completely care for themselves alone. I'm sure a good portion of them have had the thought they should have culled their offspring and tried for a better batch.
I don't put up much of a fight when th U.S gov. takes a good portion of my income to feed, cloth, house and provide medical for all the murders,rapist etc. setting on death row or serving life in facilities across our great nation. If i can peacefully bear a burden like that I don't agree with then surely the few extra dollars a year that a hound cost is worth the good times spent afield and the memories the very site of them bring on a shitty day.

[boardog]

wow! lots of great posts here.

i have only had one dog make it to retirement. he was the first hog dog that i owned.i got him @ 10 yo. this dog taught me and all my pups more than i could have ever asked of him . he really started to slow down @ about 14-15 , but would still get out and hunt, even though his ass end was shaking whenever he stopped. what i did was give him a 100' x60' area to live off the chain and opened the door up when we went hunting. if he felt up to it he would come along. in the next two years he really started to decline. he wouldnt give much of a chase and i could tell that although his heart was still in it , his body just couldnt keep up. so he still got to go out with us but he didnt do much, mostly just hang out with me and let the youngsters take over. that was fine by me, he helped train all my dogs and i felt i owed it to him, for if it wasnt for him i would not be running dogs. i ended up putting him down @ 19 yo. he could barely even walk and was having trouble eating. instead of sitting there while he suffered i did what i thought was best. it was one of the toughest things i have had to do. but when i look back on him i smile thinking about all the great times i was able to have in the hills with him and all the hogs that he found/caught. without him i wouldnt be who i am today......RIP Buddy.....ill see ya when i see ya!

[kordog]

my ol guy is 14 and half right now he was a stud for me on the court and off. got some great prodigy from him . id still be breeding to him if he wasnt an old dog with young ideas ,but it is time for his sons to carry it on . he will die right here . i wish i could of retired him someplace warm where he could run free.he has set the bar for me and taught me alot the least i can do is pamper him his last few years, months, days,minutes whatever it takes . special dogs deserve special treatment .

[Justaguy]

I'm with Mike Leonard all the way. All my dogs that reached retirement age had given years of of their lives busting a gut and more in some instances to sell thme down the road at the end of the day. They were used to train the next generation and a weekend hunt now and then When they got to old to hunt they got a spot by the fire until their time was done. after all they are and were part of the family all those years.

But that is just me....

Justaguy

[plottpappaw]

actually just retired an 11 year old dog and i'll be honest she deserves every minute of it. on over a hundred kills not counting training trees. trained countless numbers of puppies that as a group we can all step out to the kennel and see dogs she has trained. still hunting puppies out of her and they are leading the pack. so i'll go with letting them rest by the fire.

[artrodex]

i will keep the old dog until die become my friend and part of my family

[bob baldwin jr]

This is a problem for me . I have kept a few RETIRED dogs but sooner or latter it gets to the point where they can't get up ,or loose control of their body fluids and you just know the end is near . I have had to put a few hounds DOWN in the woods due to severe injuries . But I could NOT bring myself to do the deed on my own retired dpg . Just could NOT do it .Took him to the VET and and Stroked his head while she gave him the shot . Call me a WUSSY but I still shed a tear when it was over . At least we still have the memories to hang on to .

[plottpappaw]

i know it aint a hound but i bout a boxer bulldog when i was ten with my birthday money and when she was 13 had severe medical issues and i put her down my self and needless to say if i had it to do again i would take mr baldwins actions and go to the vet. sadly even hound guys allow their self to become attached to a dog that we think highly enough to keep until its retirement age. we are only human.

[bob baldwin jr]

Amen Brother ,we conspire in our minds to only use them as tools ,But the GOOD ones sooner or later get attached to our hearts

[StrawberryMt]

This is a problem for me . I have kept a few RETIRED dogs but sooner or latter it gets to the point where they can't get up ,or loose control of their body fluids and you just know the end is near . I have had to put a few hounds DOWN in the woods due to severe injuries . But I could NOT bring myself to do the deed on my own retired dpg . Just could NOT do it .Took him to the VET and and Stroked his head while she gave him the shot . Call me a WUSSY but I still shed a tear when it was over . At least we still have the memories to hang on to .

x2 I have been let out the back door of the vets office a few times so I didn't have to walk through the lobby carrying my buddy,bawling like a baby.My vet finally started coming to the house on his way home if I need a partner put down and he would do it for free(pissed his wife the bookkeeper off but he is a hunting dog man himself).

[cat and bear]

Strawberry, I'm with you man, i had to have my friend put down, and let out the back door carrying him, couldnt stop the tears. From the hundreds of dogs i have owned, two have died here of old age, and my third, in the next few years. To see a hound getting old, slowing down, which once lead the race or jump, and coming up behind a quarter mile, is the most heart breaking things, i have experienced. Several years ago, I made the decision ,of selling my dogs at four, no later then five years old. I live in the heart of bear country, and a few cats. I would rather train them, finish them, and sell them, to help the next guy out which has to travel to make hounds and i dont have to see them get old. It works for everyone. Usually business guys which dont have time to make hounds, but love hunting. Quality dogs which has had semen froze off ,from the new owners. I simply love breeding quality dogs, training them up, watching them learn, like young children. I now get very bored, with a nice finished pack of dogs, I would rather go to the woods with a finished dog, and a box full of pups, i have nothing to prove to myself other then being a good breeder and trainer also, the biggest challenge. For the dogs which have retired with me, they are treated with love, care and respect until the day they leave me, that is how it should be.

[bob baldwin jr]

cat and bear . I completely understand your thinking , But to me it would be hard to let a 4 year old go UNLESS I knew who it was going to and how they treated their hounds . I've read TOO many post where the hounds ended up NOT getting hunted or were kept in DEPLORABLE conditions If I am going to the time and expense to have gotten the hound to that point ,I would be treating them like family . I am not knocking your decision just saying Perhaps I tend to get too attached to them .Some will argue they should be used as tools of the trade ,I feel differently