4 months old is plenty old enough to be introduced to birds and to handle them gently. It's not about the bird, though... or his hunger, or anything like that. It's a RESPECT and DOMINANCE issue. Go back to the basics - obedience, patience & deference to the handler. Then teach him that the a bird is YOUR bird - not his. A patient, obedient & respectful dog carries out commands, restrains his impulses and never attempts to take anything from the alpha, no matter how bad he wants it - birds included. I would not give him the opportunity to continue along his current path until you have fixed this or you could be inviting it to get worse.

I have a 4 month old yellow lab who is having problems eating the bird. He's already caught a wounded live one and ate it about a month ago, and now I'm bringing in wings which he goes nuts and devoures it at sight. I know he's young and it's good he has a prey drive, but any suggestions to let him know it's not to eat? He'll be coming out with me this weekend for the first time and he may eat every bird, who knows. If I can get him to sit and focus instead of chasing grasshoppers I'll be good, but hey I guess he's still a puppy!

yes, my dad ruined his labs by shooting starlings in the back yard that were eating his figs! he thought it was hilarious to see them go crazy and would spend days out there shooting those bastards, it was funny until bird season! i refuse to let my dogs eat any bird and they do try to sneak away sometimes which gets handled immediately and sometimes with a smacking or two! gotta break them of that habit, and remember, cute and funny stuff your dog does one day can quickly turn into annoying horrible habits that will break you before them the next!

Well he hasn't had a problem with bumpers. He has never fought me on them. He retrieves, and will deliver it to my hand without a problem. If he drops it, a simple "fetch it up" will get him to pick it back up and give to hand. It's only birds where the problem happens. Now even when I bring out a wing he shys away because in his head he only knows eat. Bssically, if I have something better he will give it to me (a treat), but there's not much I cn give him thats better than a bird. Basically is the only way to show dominance and correct it force?

I think you're missing the point. You have to "teach" him the hold command and make him actively perform it when moving. It's called walking hold. Angie

Thanks for all the input guys. I skipped on taking him to the honey hole where I saw alot of birds, and took him to a smaller place where a good day is 5 birds hoping to just shoot one to see how he worked. I ended up shooting one on the edge of a pond. It seemed as long as he knew I was the reason for the bird being on the ground, he knew not to eat it. Took him a while to find it, being his first one. I used the bird for retrieves, having someone throw it, me shoot and him retrieve. He did outstanding. He did eat the head when it had to be pulled off, but never tried to eat the actual bird. It may have just been because of the many retrieves but the bird wasn't much of a bird in the end. Any ideas on teaching him to be a little more gentle? I've heard retrieving a paint roller bc of the lightweight and easy to hold feel of it.

PETA = Puppies Eating Tasty Animals