How much to let a pup mouth a dead bird

[Chuckles]

I have a 5-1/2 month old Brittany (Mojo) and we have been in the field a couple of times now. I am wondering how much you let a young dog mouth a dead bird. Some have told me to let him play with it so he gets more ands more excited about the birds, but I have also heard the bird should not be a toy, and so my thought would be to get him to bring it back to me and put it in my bag right away.

So far I have done kind-of a hybrid of the two, but I want to know what your experience has been.

Thanks
Chuck