Pet Doc: Weimaraner dog breed

Question: who do you have for us today?

Answer: I have a wonderful Weimaraner puppy for us today.

Question: Weimaraners are a beautiful breed of dog, where did the breed originate?

Answer: the Weimaraner dog breed seems to have a mixed heritage concerning where they came from. The breed was refined to its current standards in Germany in the late 18th century, although there is a very similar dog breed that dates back to the 13th from France. They got their name from an area in Germany, the court of Weimar. Both the French and German nobleman loved hunting and the Weimaraner was developed for that purpose. The first name given to them was the Weimar pointer. There is some question of exactly which other dog breeds contributed to the development of the Weimaraner, but it is believed that the bloodhound, the English pointer, the German short-haired pointer, the blue Great Dane and the silver-grey huehnerhund were instrumental. The first Weimaraners were brought to the united states for breeding purposes in 1938. After world war ii there was a great migration of Weimaraners from Germany to the united states largely by servicemen returning from Germany. By the 1950’s the Weimaraner was ranked 12th in the American Kennel Club of the most popular dog breeds. They are presently ranked about 30th out of 150 plus dog breeds.

Question: what did the Weimaraner hunt when they were first developed?

Answer: they were trained to hunt big game such as deer, bear, and wolves, which were mostly found in the forests, but as the forest lands became increasingly smaller and the big game were no longer present they were trained to hunt smaller game such as rabbits, birds, and foxes. In the united states they are mostly bird hunters, but will hunt almost anything.

Question: how big do Weimaraners get?

Answer: males are about 25 to 27 inches tall and weigh from 70 to 80 pounds. The females are about two inches shorter and 10 to 15 pounds lighter.

Question: what about their hair colors?

Answer: they have a short, sleek hair coat. They have solid colored hair which ranges from mouse gray to a silver gray. They are an easy dog to keep clean and it is said that the dirt just does not stick to them. They do shed but weekly brushings will control it.

Question: what kind of environment do they do best in?

Answer: although they are a bigger hunting dog, they will do best being a part of the family as a house dog.

Question: are they a good house pet?

Answer: they are but they do require some training and socialization with other pets and strangers. They want to be with their human family and one of their nicknames is the shadow dog, as they want to be as close to their family as possible. They may not be the best choice for a family that that has other small pets such as cats or small dogs, rabbits, birds, etc. as their hunting instinct is strong and these animals could be something they may want to hunt.