Jan 2010

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[Campfire News]

The Weimaraner
by Luanne "BeaglePup" Bragg

THE Weimaraner a/k/a The Gray Ghost.  Although is recent years thought of as a pointing upland game dog the Weimar was originally bred in Germany to hunt bear and wild boar and also to retrieve waterfowl.  The Weimaraner is a centuries old breed which appears in paintings by Van Dyke in the early 1600’s. There are various theories on its original origin.  Some feel that it is the result of albinism that overtook some ancient German pointing dogs; others feel it is a descendent of the German hound and still others feel it is the fruit of crossings overseen by the Grand Duke Karl August of Weimar between a regular pointer and a certain yellow pointer.

 The Weimaraner is a striking animal.  The males will range between 24 and 28 inches in height and the ladies will be slightly shorter.  Males should weigh between 70 and 85 pounds and the females should not exceed 80 pounds in weight.  The lean head should be long and broad above the brow with a long muzzle.  The nose should be flesh colored and almost blend into the face.   The eyes must be amber to yellow in color but blue-gray eyes are seen but considered a fault.  The Weimar should have an intelligent expression.  The ears should be long, broad and rounded.  Tails on the breed should be docked (1 ½ inches at that time) and dew claws removed very shortly after birth.  The body should be long and muscular with refinement noticed.  The coat is very short and the breed sheds very little.  All shades of gray are acceptable and the head and ears should be slightly lighter in color.

This is not a breed for everyone.  They tend to be very stubborn and strong willed.  This breed has energy to burn and required room to run and exercise.  Weimar’s need firm, thorough training to control its tendency to dominate and be aggressive.  They make great watchdogs and are good with children of their own family.

The breed has very few health problems which include bloat (as can be common in larger dog breeds) and occasionally hip dysplasia

With the proper training the Weimaraner can be used to hunt in the field or in the water.  Fact is, your author’s Weimar’s absolute favorite thing to point is Bull Frogs……and he is a relentless guard dog.