pet experience gain...

I'm wondering, does the pet gain experience when you do, or they gain it independantly?

I ask because I'm level 14, and I recently grabbed a level 5 bear near Lornar's Pass. Can I take it back to Old Ascalon and let it kill devourers to level, or will it not gain any exp because I'm not?

A pet gains exp just like a player when killing mobs, they do not gain exp from completing missions, bonuses or quests however. I have read on these forums that pets gain exp even while they are dead, I cannot confirm this though.

So in short yes, you can go around killing stuff and your pet will level up to your level. I wouldnt go to Old Ascalon though, the mobs are too low. Your level 14, so head to Kryta and kill the lvl 12 mergoyles.

Yes, they gain experience independently of you and they gain experience when they're dead, but only if they're in your immediate vacinity. When I switch pet types (I've tried a few) I usually just map over to Icetooth Cave, then go out into the area surrounding the cave and AE kill minotaurs. The pet dies almost immediately early on, but eventually (level 12 or 13) he can survive for a bit before getting mauled.

I generally can get a pet to level 20 pretty rapidly. From the time I charm the new pet and after hitting the area outside icetooth cave, it'll level from 5 to 10 in 30 minutes or less. From there I just go kill the stuff I normally kill when I'm soloing, and he levels rapidly.