sprouI wonder what you have hunted with and seen in 50 years. I'm 53 and have put dogs together of all ages and different breeds at times and if they are well trained they did fine together. I just hunted over some nice pointing Labs in So. Dakota and threw my two year old in the mix that was his second time on wild birds and they worked just fine together. The key is to be able to control your dog. I kept my dog inline with the guides dogs which was about 20yds out and quartering back and fourth.