Puppy age

So what’s your preferred age for taking a pup home? I’ve gotten them from 6 weeks to 12 weeks.

7 weeks.

Seven weeks seems to be the normal, but the best one I ever owned was around six months. She was out of the winningest female in NSTRA of any breed by Honky Tonk Attitude. I named her Cookie. She was the fastest dog in NSTRA. She won our regional championship at a 14 months old. I took her up to my lease in Concho county with 6 more dogs when she was a year old. We pointed a total of 17 coveys. Cookie pointed 14 of them. She pointed over 50 coveys her first year and bumped only one.

Had that pup been worked a lot before you got it at 6 months?

8 weeks

Some. It was broken in to the gun and had some pigeon work. I put Her through the collar conditioning and breaking process. Pointed and held two wild coveys the first time I put her on the ground.

My last pup, which has been my overall best dog out of all of them, I got at 16 weeks. He hadn't been work at all but at that age, he came along on everything so fast from house/yard training to birds. He was basically natural and I just put good obedience on him and put him on birds. He was in the field hunting and finding wild birds at 10 months.

My two best that I got from a breeder are Daisy & Bleu. I got Daisy at 5 weeks and Bleu at 6 months. So hell, I don't know.

10-12. Before that they miss out on some important socializing with mom and siblings. Also they can control their bladder better.

5 weeks, did you have to bottle feed? I got my Britt at 6 weeks, I was told she was weened and eating solid food. She sucked on my finger a few times on the ride home

If they’re going to be a pet and be in the house part of the time I’d rather get them 7-12 weeks old. It’s easier to teach a pup manners and how to act around the house if you get them young. If they’re going to be a kennel dog only, I prefer to get them 6 months to a year because puppies are a lot of trouble. I’ve gotten some nice older pups for cheap or free because freinds had one left over from a litter, bought a dog that they don’t have time to mess with, or wanted to go a different direction.
I turned down a well bred year old pointer this summer. A buddy that has 50+ dogs was going to give him to me because he has a sickle tail which would make no difference to me, but I had just been given another dog. That gave me more mutts than I need. I work too much to have more than one unbroke dog to train at a time.

I’m sitting in a motel bar in Minneapolis wishing I was home working dogs and playing with momma and the boys so I thought I’d post some pics.

This pretty girl was given to me as a yearling with no training and never been out of the kennel. She did great on her birds last year and will be a top mutt this year. She was very easy to train and would love to be a house dog. She’s retained her training perfectly. She won’t let you forget to work her in the evenings. She loves to be loved on and wants to please. She’s out of Blue Dawn kennel and runs as big as you’ll let her, will hold her birds all day, and is a natural retriever. She looks and runs like a pointer with a short tail to me. He can’t believe he gave me this pup. These pics aren’t points, just hollering Whoa. I never think to take pics in the feild.




I bought these two as 7 week old pups. They’re both fine little dogs. The orange one is out of CCBIRDOGMAN’s dog Bleu. And the black one is out of Plum Creek Kennel in South Dakota. The black pointed and retrieved over 350 bird her first season, she keeps getting better. The French Brittany is supposed to be a close running dog but this one will run as big as whatever dog she’s braced with, she doesn’t like other dogs finding bird before her. If you foot hunt her by herself she’ll stay in sight all day. Put her with a big runner and you’ll only see her on point. They’re both great 3 year olds, awesome bird dogs and pets that will go anywhere with me. There’s not enough electricity to make the black back. If a dog finds a covey before her she has to be a half inch in front of the finder. She won’t bust the bird but refuses to back. The orange one is the best singles dog I’ve ever had. If you wanted to kill a whole covey she has the ability to do that.



I was given this knucklehead as a three year old know nothing this summer. I thought he was dumb when I got him but he’s a smart con artist. He is a challenge to train but I’m expecting good things from him this year. The only 2 times my buddy ran him last year he lost him for several hours and he showed up when he heard shooting miles from whee he was lost. He’s broke now and knows what is expected but we’ll see this weekend. He’s doing well on his pigeons and I’m ready to see how he handles hunting. He loves to retrieve. He came from Hi Tailing Kennel. I feed this dog as much as the other three put together but he won’t gain an ounce. He always looks starved.

Thanks for the pics and backgrounds on your hunting string

I know no one cares but the conversation at a Minnesota bar is limited so I figured I’d be another guy drinking beer looking at a cell phone. I may be obsessed with dogs. I’m always thinking about what to do next with my mutts when I’m on the road. I thank God I fly out of here in the morning. My partner has 2 pups to run this weekend and I’m wondering what we’ll see with them.

Sounds like it should be a fun opener

Lucy's looking good! (all your dogs look good)

Pups are definitely a pain in the butt. But after my last experience with an older dog, I’m just gonna bite the bullet and shop for another pup.

10 weeks IMO.

Nah, she was eating softened kibble at 3 weeks.

The younger the better but like them to be weaned and had one shot, so 6-8 weeks. The younger I can get them the easier to socialize, house break, etc. And if I can start turning them loose and have them walking with me at 7-8 weeks I'm way ahead of the curve for putting a handle on them.

Thanks for the replies!

How is a pup with a smaller bladder easier to house break?

No bad habits, easy to contain.

This!

Picked choc. lab up at 6wks and 3 days. Never heard a wimper out of him from missing maw, paw and sibling. Saw him in person for the first time. Was in and out there in less than 3 minutes. Still all puppy at 11 months. Love it.

We got our lab at five weeks. He was weaned already. Socializing was easy. House breaking wasn’t too bad, either, but I work from home and was with him all day. I like getting them early.