weimaraner question

[waxworm09]

I was doing some research on weimaraners and had a question. I noticed in the dog suggestion thread there were a lot of different suggestions but I never saw anyone recommend a weimaraner, just curious why? It looks like they are good hunters and good family pets, but I would like some input from someone with experience working with them on the positives and negatives before I look into them any further. Thanks for any advice or input.

[Farmboy1]

I had looked very seriously into a weimerers when looking to get my first dog. I feel a weimer and a vizsla (what I have) are very similar dogs, with many of the same traits. I have seen a few of them hunt and I was impressed. The ones I have seen tend to be of the hyper variety that most of the high energy pointing dogs fall into, similar to my Vizsla, and I like this as it fits my personality. They are supposed to be very trainable with a high desire to please. They tended to be on the larger side for pointers (at least the breeders I checked with) and ran about 60 to 100 lbs for a real large dog. VERY beautiful with their grey coats and a regal face.

IMHO most people will say the breed of dog they have is the best. There are not many weimers around, therefore they must not be that great Labs are the most popular dog so you will get most people saying to go with them.

Do your research, see many dogs in action, choose based on what you feel is the most important traits to you. Visit breeders and find one that you like. A breeder is as important as the breed.

The breeder I got my Vizsla from also breeds weimers. I can send you his name if you are interested. he is a small breeder who has about 3 litters per year and is very good.

[Ralph Wiggum]

IMHO most people will say the breed of dog they have is the best.

Great Danes are best

I'll echo a lot of what Farmboy says. I'm not much of a hunter, but I have come across my fair share of weims at parks, in training classes, and at obedience competitions. They can be a bit high-strung, but they are beautiful dogs, and from an intelligence/trainability standpoint, they are great dogs.

If you're interested, find yourself a good breeder. Well-bred dogs can be a bit spendy up front, but you want to make sure the parents have been health-screened and are of good temperment. Also, a good breeder will be a wealth of information about the breed.

[gspman]

I think there are good hunting Weims around but you have to look real hard and be very choosy. Also I feel Weims need an experienced dog person as an owner as they are fairly smart and I think could be a training challenge for a newbie. Plus they can be a bit overly protective which some people like but I don't like. Most are very close ranging which, if you are a flusher person, might suit you well. I was at a Weimy trial once up in Little Falls and couldn't believe they were following their dogs on horseback as they just didn't range at all and were fairly slow, close ranging and methodical. I'm sure not all Weimys are like that but I think that is the norm for the breed. If you want one do a lot of research and a lot of looking. Diane Vater (from Pennsylvania I think) used to be a well known Weimy trainer/handler. You may want to look her up. Don't be afraid to go out of state to find what you want. Also there are a couple AKC Weimy breed clubs in MN you could start with too.

[FCspringer]

Wish I could help you out. They are beautiful dogs. There is a guy that chats else where that knows quite a bit about them as hunting dogs, and I'll see if I can get him over here for you.

[grey ghost]

I am the owner of a 1.5 year old Weim. I can give you the experiences I have from my time with my dog but keep in mind that this is only 1 example.

I hunt my Weim on pheasants basically every week throughout the season. Last year I took her out just to have fun and get her some experience. This year we took hunting a little more serious. She was a little slower to develop as a pointer than other pointing breeds that I've hunted behind but she has now caught on and is improving greatly every time out. Paitience has been the key to training her for hunting. I've hunted her a couple of times this past week so because they have short hair doesn't mean they are soft and can't hunt in the cold and snow. For training her on obidience she caught on quickly and is reliable but she will occasionally test me to see if she can get away with something.

She is a great companion in our house and is very attached to us. She wants to be everywhere with us and needs to be around people. She is crate trained and I think this is a must for this breed. She is also a very active dog and needs exercise daily. I can definitely tell if there have been a few days since she's gotten a run in. This breed is not for a person that is not active.

If you have any other questions you would like answered let me know.

[DIESELDAN]

I had a weim and she was a good bird dog but not great. She would point pretty good and was a excellent retreiver. She certinally did'nt compare to the gsp I own now as far as pointing gos but she did a pretty good job. She was a large dog 80lbs of solid muscle, and was very protective of me and my family. She did a great job retreiving geese when we feild hunted always beating my buddies lab to the geese and good luck to the winged geese that would try to intimidate her. Would I get another? probally not but she was a good dog, just don't think they have the bird drive and natural ability as some of the other breeds.

[FishinFreaks]

My weim is hunting his 12th season (I'm guessing it's his last). I've got a GSP pup on order for spring, and I'm most looking forward to a dog with drive. Kode is a good hunter. He points well and retrieves very well. Great companion for the family. But he has never been hard driven. He will not go into this cover like cat tails or brush unless I really force him to or there's nothing else around.

I would echo almost word for word what DieselDan said above, and I'm excited at what he said about his current GSP.

Good luck on the dog choice. The weims are great family dogs and decent hunters. But if you're buying it to be a big time hunter, think of another breed.

[waxworm09]

Thanks for the advice. Are the weims decent waterfowl hunters? I hunt about 80% pheasant and 20% waterfowl, so I just want a dog that can retrieve in the water. Im not looking for a great dog, just a decent one. We probably hunt waterfowl 4 or 5 times a year and pheasants 15 times a year, so we arent diehard hunters, thats why I would prefer a family dog 1st and a hunter 2nd. I just want a dog thats reliable in the field, would a weim be a good choice in that situation? Also one guy wrote that they should be crate trained, is that true for this breed? Our dog basically runs the house when we are away, and we want another dog that can be left alone in the house all day with our dog we have now. Should I keep looking or can they be good house dogs too?

[311Hemi]

A good friend of mine has a Weim and I have hunted with it a few times for pheasants. His dog is a good house dog and does not stay in a crate. However, my opinion is that ALL dogs should be crate trained...that way you can use it whenever you need. My dogs stay crated inside for the first 1.5 to 2 year to keep them out of trouble when we are away. After that they have the run of the house.

My buddy hunts both ducks and pheasants with his Weim. The dog does well retrieving ducks from what he says, I am always in a different blind with my dog so I have not hunted behind her. She does pheasant hunt as well and points decent, but does not have a ton of experience. We hunted the first weekend of December this year during one of the bigger storms, and cold weather. The Weim definitely did not like hunting in those conditions....but they were pretty extreme (cold - zub zero wc, windy, snowing). I also noticed that his dog does not bust through the cat tails and heavy cover like the labs in our party do. I would say they are not the best for cold weather hunting.

His brother has one also, and I noticed that both Weims are fairly hyper and have a lot of energy...at least compared to the labs in our party. They are always moving around doing something. Not too often the dog just laid down to relax, and she is the same way in the boat when fishing. Also, as mentioned above my buddies is a bit protective.

[nofishfisherman]

I have a vizsla and I did alot of research on Weims and seriously considered a Weim when looking for a dog. From all of the research I did it seems both breeds are very similar in temperament and personality the main difference really only being the size and color.

I can tell you my Vizsla is pretty gung-ho and would go anywhere or do anything when he's in action. Cold can be am issue since their coats are so short but I know my dog will work through the cold. Some sort of vest or chest/stomach protector would probably be a good idea since they have almost no fur on their stomachs so it can get cold and red pretty quick.

As for being crate trained I think both a vizsla and weim should be crate trained and the crate should be used until you know 100% for sure that they can be trusted alone. Both breeds have so much energy that you shouldn't expect them to just lay around the house and sleep all day. My vizsla will go from sun up to sun down everyday and not lay down once to chill out for a few minutes. If I am home and watching tv on the couch he'll for sure come up and lay next to me but I know if I left him uncrated during the day he'd find some not so great ways to release some of his energy.

Both breeds require a ton of exercise time and by that I mean time to run. A 2 mile walk might tire me out but its just a warm up for a breed like a Weim or vizsla. When I don't get my dog to the park or somewhere he can run I notice right away. He's not destructive but he paces around and just looks antsy.

I think for what you are looking for (good hunter, and great family dog) a Wiem or even a Vizsla would be a great choice. Both breeds demand to be part of a family and they really make great additions. The biggest thing to be aware of is the energy level. They aren't like your typical lab in terms of energy you really need to be active and find ways to keep the dog active even when you aren't hunting. Every winter we sign up for obedience training at local training centers. Mental stimulation tires them out just as much as running. Is also a good way to keep the dog learning and getting better with obedience. This winter we are starting our vizsla on agility training just as another avenue to help keep him active.

[grey ghost]

If you choose a Weim I don't think you'd be dissapointed based on what you want out of the dog. I was in a similar situation and now I hunt pheasants much more than I thought I would because of her. When she gets more experience she will be very reliable in the field. She does water retrieves for me and I'm sure she would do fine duck hunting if I trained her for that. My Weim is not protective and gets along with all dogs we've been around. She doesn't really play with them but she definitely isn't aggressive either.

The reason I said they should be crate trained is because they are very active and with my young Weim I just think she'll "find" something to do until we get back and I don't want to take that chance. Also she is 60 lbs and alot of Weims are bigger than that so be prepared for a bigger dog.

[scsavre]

I have two good friends with Wiemys, and I can only refer to them. I dont think either of these dogs were sought out for bird hunting, or great breeding, I am not sure.

They are beautiful dogs, very loyal and very protective of their owners/house/yard etc. Not aggressive, but right there between a stranger and the front door if needed.

I have hunted behind both of them multiple times. I am not sure what to think. They were more OK than great. They reminded me of GPS's maybe more methodical and less rangy, however not as good of raw pheasant talent. Both of these dogs were over 100lbs and solid muscle, but not out of control blasting through stuff. I would say they were hyper the first 2 years and now they are calm.

The biggest things that bother me about these dogs are there love or hatred for squirrels, but I think that might just be to their home arrangements, their giant frames, and the fact that one of them will not go into the water. THey both hold a point forever, if I could lift 100lb dog I could honestly pic em up and move em and they would still be pointing.

Also remember that these are a perfect example of needing a good breeder. these dogs went through a huge $$$/popularity boom like 10 years ago, and all the back yard breeders jumped on board. It really diminished the quality of the breed around here.

[FishinFreaks]

As far as the waterfowling goes, my weim could do the retrieving no problem. The issue is sitting still in the blind. As mentioned by several, weims are not dogs that will sit or lay around. They are built to run. I think you'll be pulling your hair out in the blind. I tried my dog about a dozen times in the duck blind and chose to go with no dog.

[waxworm09]

Farmboy, i would be interested in the breeders name and HSOforum. You can email it to me at [email protected] if you want. I also have a question on your Vizsla. I was looking into them recently and they seem like a perfect dog for me. I want a female, and i read they are 45-60 pounds, that is what i would like for a dogs size. And they are supposed to be great in water and land, is yours a good duck, goose, and pheasant dog? The only thing i would be worried about is how active they are, are they real hyper dogs? We let our black lab roam the house all day when we are gone, and we really want another dog we can let free inside also when we are at work, is that possible with this breed? Thanks a lot for any advice!

[Farmboy1]

Email sent!

[blueweim]

Wish I could help you out. They are beautiful dogs. There is a guy that chats else where that knows quite a bit about them as hunting dogs, and I'll see if I can get him over here for you.

First time to this forum but was asked by FCspringer to stop by with my weim experience. I personally will never have a different breed of dog but I cannot express how important it is to select a good breeder if you want a hunting weim. You also have to understand what you are getting and it is not a gsp. If all I wanted was a hunting dog I would own a gsp in a heartbeat. Someone mentioned lack of drive well I can tell you that my weim has as much drive as any dog I have ever seen when we hit the field but he can turn it off when we are at home. Matter of fact he loves nothing more than curling up with my wife while she reads a book. Weims are very soft dogs and you have to be careful when training not to be aggressive or they will just shut down on you. You have to build trust. They are smart (almost scary at times) dogs and they will get it but they can try your patience. I had a trainer that helped me and he was very reluctant when he heard I had a weim. He said weims don’t hunt anymore but he agreed to meet me and give mine a chance (for $50). 2 minutes after meeting me he said “Wow that dog will hunt” but in his experience it takes him 1 solid month at his kennel before a weim even trust him enough to start training so I did it on my own and I couldn’t be happier or prouder. The most important thing is to get a good breeder that focuses on hunting. My breeder even brings dogs in from Germany because they still focus on the hunting genes. German lines are very prey driven but they hunt for you so they don’t have the range that some of the American weim lines do (thanks to field trials). Range is not that important to me as long as the dog finds birds. As far as energy levels go yes they have high energy but that’s what you want in a hunting dog. I take my dogs everywhere with me even to my office a few days a week so as long as they have exercise they are fine just hanging out on the dog bed and don’t even bark at the mail man or most other people that come in. One dog does bark at certain people but he seems to be a good judge of character so we made him head of HR. It seems to hold true that the first 2 years they have serperation anxiety issues and it is best to crate or contain to keep them out of trouble but both of mine now have free roam of the house (2 and 4) .

Just get a good breeder and oh yeah weims should be 50-80 lbs anything more is not true to the standard. My breeders HSOforum with lots of good information about the breed [Please read forum guildelines]

Oh and as far a duck hunting goes. I can’t keep him out of the water so I am sure I could train him for it because he is an awesome retriever but they are not very cold tolerant and neither one of us is patient enough to spend the day in a blind. Weimaraner as a breed are considered a versatile gun dog so they should be able to water retrieve. There are always long hair weims as well.

[blueweim]

[phil128]

hello, first post. as of an owner of three ranging from 11 to 2 i agree with everything blueweim said. they are not a dog for everyone but if you choose to go with one search and find a great breeder. unfortunatly for the breed many view them as more of a show type dog and over ther years the hunt was bread out of them. a good breeder is a must. as far as hunting i hunt grouse all fall long and have to work to keep up with them. i also will never own a different breed

[CJH]

One dog does bark at certain people but he seems to be a good judge of character so we made him head of HR.

Hilarious!! Funny how some dogs can pick up on that, my Lab certainly does!!