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Called “Gary Ghost,” German local boy, the Weimaraner is preferred by dog lovers and hunters alike for their beauty, elegance, obedience, and affection.
Weimaraners enjoy exercise along with spending good quality time with their masters or owners. The breed provides a graceful picture of streamlined balance and grace.
Weimaraner Breed Characteristics
- Origin: Germany
- Other names: Weimar Pointer, Weim, Gray Ghost, Grey Ghost, Weimaraner Vorstehhund
- Size: Medium-large
- Dog Breed Group: Gundog, versatile hunting dog, pointer, sporting
- Purebred: Yes
- Lifespan: 10-13 years
- Height: 23-25 inches (female), 25-27 inches(male)
- Weight: 55-75 lbs(female), 70-90 lbs(Male)
- Coat Appearance: Short, sleek, smooth
- Coat Colors: Mouse-gray, silver-gray, silver
- Temperament: Gentle, playful, affectionate, bold, social, easy to train
- Good With Children: Yes under supervision
- Intelligence Level: High
- Good With Pets: Yes under supervision
- Hypoallergenic: No
- Grooming: Moderate
- Shedding: Moderate
- Barking: Moderate
- Suitable For Apartments: No
- Need For Exercise: High
- Easy To Train: Yes
- Good For First Time Owners: Low
- Health Issues: Distichiasis, hemophilia A, entropion, canine hip dysplasia, von Willebrand’s disease, gastric torsion
- Litter Size: 6-10 puppies (average)
- Average Price: $1400 – $7900 USD (USA)
Weimaraner History
Developed in the 1800s, the Weimaraner comes across as a veritable dog amongst most other dog breeds. According to reports, the duke, Karl August, was a sportsman. He wanted to create one of a kind hunting dog.
In search of his passion, August tried to cross various French and German hunting dogs with Bloodhounds.
The result was – Germany’s most popular dog- Weimaraner or Weimar Pointer.
The duke, initially, used these dogs in pursuits like wolves, mountain lion, and bear. With the passage of time, they found work as a Golden retriever who retrieves gamebirds.
This dog breed was kept as a secret in Germany but by 1920s, good litters began arriving in the United States.
Is Weimaraner The Perfect Choice For You?
The Weimaraner is your perfect choice if you are looking for a dog who is….
- Powerful, strong, and tautly-built
- Totally fearless with a carefree coat
- Excellent at watching strangers and makes an excellent watchdog
- Well behaved and obedient if present in the good hands
If you are not in favor of….
- High levels of exercise
- Exuberant jumping and boisterous attitude
- Separation anxiety
- Possible aggression towards other pets
- Independent thinker who needs a disciplined owner
You can skip this dog and choose something else.
Weimaraner Size And Lifespan
Weimaraner Size
- Height – Male- 25-27 inches, female- 23-25 inches
- Weight – 55-75 lbs (female), 70-90 lbs (male)
Weimaraner Lifespan
The average lifespan of this dog breed is between 10-13 years. This dog breed can live more than the average number of years if given additional care and attention.
Weimaraner Appearance And Coat Color
Appearance
It is a medium gray dog. This dog features fine aristocratic features. This dog ideally gives a picture of balance, alertness, stamina, speed, and grace.
The dog should give the impression that it has the capacity to work with endurance and great speed in the field.
Key points
- They are sleek, large dogs with elegant and noble lines
- They appear “aristocratic,” with long heads, hanging ears, and strong muzzles.
- These dogs have intelligent eyes and gray noses that come in light amber, bluish gray, and light gray.
- The ears are long and folded
- With long necks, muscular legs combined with webbed feet, and moderate long backs, They have docked tails not more than six inches long.
- These dogs combine speed, balance, and grace with ease.
- The teeth appear scissor-like and the nose looks gray.
- Front legs are compact, webbed feet.
- Toenails are amber and gray in color.
Coat
- These dogs have a solid-colored, sleek, smooth, and a short coat ranging between silver-gray and mouse-gray.
- A long coat is considered as a disqualification.
- Longhaired Weimaraners consist of a silky coat with featherings on their legs and tails.
Blue-Weimaraner
The Blue Weimaraner appears almost similar to the gray Weimaraner in behavior and temperament. These dogs have “charcoal gray” color coat.
The coat color ranges from a normal faded blue to a darker, deeper blue.
A Gray Weimaraner can appear much darker than a Blue Weimaraner. As per reports, Blue is more dominant and consistent to Gray, indicating that one parent dog should have a Blue Coat to produce A blue Weimaraner.
Blue Weimaraner and Gray Weimaraner
The well-known traditional Weimaraner is a unique and lovely shade, the Gray Ghost has a variety of shaded within its breed.
Most people describe the Gray Weimaraner as a dog with a diluted chocolate brown color coat.
The coat color varies between sandy beige and brunette.
Weimaraner Temperament
- They are very bold and amiable by nature.
- Being protective of the family they grow up with, they need almost all the love and care you can give.
- These dogs are highly gentle and playful with kids, though their antics can be a bit worrisome for very small kids.
- Supervised play is suggested by vets and Weimaraner dog expert.
- Not being too shy from strangers, they are not averse to meeting new people every now and then.
- When it comes to moving with other pets, this dog breed can react quite aggressively with cats and unknown pets.
- If you are into hunting, jogging, and hiking, this dog can be your daily sidekick.
- Male dogs are sweeter than female ones. Females carry more spunk than male.
- They are smart, sensitive, and eager to please.
How well does a Weimaraner dog behave?
- They are quite an athletic dog breed combining speed, endurance, and stamina. If you are searching for a dog who is always ready to run, then this is the breed you are looking for.
- These dogs are built to run long distances and they will happily run with you without batting an eyelid.
- Weimaraners are excellent swimmers, game-retriever, and hunter.
- She will always need a fenced area so that she can enjoy her sprints and romps without any break.
- In case, if you find your dog restless or destructive, it means she has not got her daily quota of exercise.
- They will communicate their inner feelings to their owner by whining, barking, or stay a bit vocal.
Weimaraner Care
Weimaraners are highly friendly in nature. They are best both indoors and outdoors. These dogs, however, require daily outdoor activities.
While outdoors, these dogs are better when kept safely in an enclosed play area. This will prevent them from wandering off.
Most dog experts will not recommend this dog for urban living.
This tall athletic dog loves their families and will do anything for them from all sorts of perceived dangers, both small or big.
Best Suited for:
These dogs are mostly suited for active families in which one person should be at home to take care of them diligently.
If left uncared for a prolonged period of time, they could suffer from separation anxiety.
Weimaraner Puppy- Daily Care Tips
Step 1:
Take your puppy to your local vet in the first few weeks. They would help you out in getting puppy vaccine shots and provide you with all details regarding neutering and spaying.
The animal breeder she came from might have done this already.
You could clarify all your doubts with regard to puppy’s general care, diet, or grooming.
Step 2:
Make your puppy run freely in and around an enclosed area. A long leash will keep her safe as well as help her get some exercise.
Bear in mind, these breeds are pack dogs and require plenty of family time.
Step 3:
Serve them a diet balanced in fat and protein. Check with your local vet before feeding them food with “low protein.”
Step 4:
If you own a long-haired Weimaraner, brush them at least twice or thrice a week. Clean her ears using a moist cotton ball. Keep her joints, ears, and eyes healthy.
Check for any unpleasant smell or discharge from their ears to protect from ear infections.
Step 5:
Book or participate in advanced or obedience training. Training is necessary for mental stimulation.
Step 6:
Be careful when you introduce your pet ferrets, rabbits, or cats because it can get quite aggressive with these animals if early socialization was not introduced.
Weimaraner Training
Fiercely brilliant and fast-learning They respond exceedingly well to training and are excitingly biddable. The most important lesson is you should remain consistent and patient with your dog.
Your dog will appreciate training including both mental stimulation and physical exercise it provides. They also enjoy dog sports, obedience, and agility.
Highlights
These dogs learn quite fast, and that also includes bad and good behaviors. Use consistent training methods. Puppy training and early socialization are important.
With proper training, it grows strongly into a well-mannered, well-adjusted companion. Put your young dog into kindergarten before he reaches 10 or 12 weeks of age.
Begin training at home so that he will socialize well with friends and families until all puppy shots are completed.
Behavioral training
Behavioral training is strongly advised for Weimaraner because they are known to suffer from aggressive behavior and separation anxiety.
They are eager to please their handler and hence they will learn as quickly as possible.
Weimaraner Food
Weimaraners are excellent eaters. They require moderately present high protein content. If you prefer to feed them kibble, you can add water to this dry food. If the food you serve is enhanced with table scraps or canned food, be pretty careful.
Rich foods can cause stomach upsets or indigestion.
Nutritional requirement of a Weimaraner dog
- As per reports released by National Research Council, an adult dog requires a daily nutritional intake nothing less than 1688 calories.
- Neutered or spayed dogs need lesser calories compared to healthy active dogs.
- A young puppy may require 1233 calories daily.
- A hard-working dog needs 3751 calories due to their energy requirements.
- Your Weimar will not become obese if he gets regular exercise.
Feeding your Weimaraner
Weimaraners are known to eat high-quality dog foods. Some dogs are susceptible to allergies as well. These dogs are not in favor of barley, wheat, corn, or grains.
Measure the exact quantity of food you serve. Most grown-up dogs can tolerate two meals a day. Puppies need three solid meals a day.
Food Allergies You Should Give Importance
They are easily prone to bloat conditions. Bloat issue is mostly connected to dogs having deep chests. These dogs can be fed small meals instead of one large meal. Most common food allergens include chicken, dairy products, and beef.
Avoid foods filled with artificial preservatives, sweeteners, flavors, and colors.
Foods you can feed
Foods Weimaraner can avoid
- Avoid feeding foods with excessive proteins
- Wheat, soy, and corn items can be kept at a minimum
- Keep carbohydrate-based foods under check
How to feed Weimaraner puppies?
- Feed large breed puppy products to promote slow development
- Maintain healthy calcium to phosphorus ratio- 1.2:1
- Switch to adult food when your puppy reaches 10 or 12 months.
Weimaraner Health Problems
They are very healthy breed in general but will get their share of pulls, sprains, scrapes, and cuts. These dogs are good at chewing. This may cause mouth and gum issues. Check whether your Weimaraner dog has the habit of ingesting foreign objects.
Gastric Torsion – The dog suffers from the overstretched condition and twists shut. Contact your vet so that he can offer a solution at the earliest.
These dogs are also susceptible to
- Von Willebrand’s disease
- Canine hip dysplasia
- Distichiasis
- Hemophilia A
- Spinal dysraphism
- Hypertrophic osteodystrophy
- Entropion
Other important health problems present in this breed
- Dwarfism
- Right aortic arch
- Hypothyroidism
- Nictitating membrane problem
- Tricuspid valve dysplasia
- Ununited anconeal process
- Progressive retinal atrophy
Recommended health tests
- Thyroid evaluation
- Ophthalmologist Evaluation
- Hip Evaluation
Weimaraner Old Age Problems
They do suffer from old age health problems like every other dog breed. As with the genetic problems they are more prone to gastric bloat and a few skin problems like skin cancer. As and when they grow old, make it a routine to take your dog to the vet more frequently and keep a check on joint problems and skin lesions. With proper care and quality food, your favorite pooch will have a peaceful old age.
Must Read: How To Take Care Of Your Senior Pets?
Weimaraner Grooming And Shedding
Weimaraner Grooming
The most tedious task in grooming this dog is maintaining the nails short. This is vital for the health and comfort of this breed. There is no need to overemphasize this factor.
When your dog’s nail length gets abnormal, it is not easy to bring it to normal length. The short coat can be brushed to clean “dead hair.”
Clean the ears using expert guidance and their ear is naturally designed to impede air-flow. Weekly brushing is recommended.
How to keep all that hair under check?
Vacuuming will reduce the amount of loose hair trapped in the house. While brushing, you can use the rubber curry comb.
Weimaraner Shedding
Yes, Weimaraner dogs do shed. If you own a short coated Weimaraner, they shed but that much. The shedding results in a condition called “eel stripe.” Patches of new fresh coat will crop up through the dull coat when the shedding is in progress.
The first shed of a Weimaraner with not so common undercoat with the stripe appearing much darker than with normal Weims with single coats. Heaving shedding is also called “blowing coat.” They are not hypoallergenic dogs.
Other reasons for shedding
Medical problems, poor nutrition, and stress can also cause shedding in dogs.
Other reasons for shedding include
- Allergies
- Excessive licking and hot spots
- Lactation or pregnancy
- Adrenal or thyroid problems
- Dietary deficiencies
- Parasites
Top Rated Dog Trainers / Walkers / Breeders In Your Area
Weimaraner Interesting Facts
- Former American President Eisenhower owned a Weimaraner dog named Heidi. Heidi lived with the President in the Presidential palace (White House).
- William Wegman, a popular artist, showcased these breeds in a popular TV show called “Sesame Street.”
- This dog breed is more in demand in the United States than in Germany.
- The breed was so protected in their hometown Germany that only members belonging to the Weimaraner club were allowed to own this breed.
- At any given time, no more than 1500 dogs were given permission to register.
- According to dog experts, these dogs are ranked 21st in the list of world smartest dog.
- New born puppies have blue eyes but as they grow up, it turns into gray-blue or amber.
Weimaraner Dog Names
Male Weimaraner Dog Names
- Hamlet
- Tony
- Rough
- Jones
- Mr. X
- Pixel
- Pointy
- Pendant
- Rocket
- Silver moon
- Garan
- Magic
- Polo
- Rex
Female Weimaraner Dog Names
- Layla
- Rosie
- Dewdrop
- Castle
- Ticket
- Bite
- Amazon
- Bacardi
- Aria
- Misha
- Megsy
- Miley
- Mint
- Peppermint
Recommended Read: Unique Boy Dog Names, Unique Girl Dog names
Weimaraner Price And Breeders
Weimaraner Price
You should not hesitate to pay a hefty price for Weimaraner puppies sold with proper papers. Please be ready to spend between $1400-$7900 USD for this dog breed with first-grade pedigree or top breed lines.
The average cost for a puppy is around $600 to $800 USD.
Weimaraner Breeders
The easiest and safe way is to buy your puppy only from a reputable breeder. The Weimaraner Club of America should be your first source of contact and they can give all the details about responsible breeders there.
For more details, contact:
WCA Breeder Referral
Billy Thompson
513-688-0943
Wcareferral@fuse.net
Top Weimaraner Breeders in America
- Miller’s Kennel
Buncombe, Illinois - Cozy Acres Farm
Waddell, Arizona - Edgefield Kennels
Lake Ariel, Pennsylvania - Lazy Heart Kennel
Glendive, Montana - Midwest Dream Breeders
Mechanicsville, Iowa - Sidel Weimaraners
Leo, Indiana - Big River Kennel
Killen, Alabama - Weimaraners
Watonga, Oklahoma - PM Weimaraners
Carter, Montana - Starwood Kennel,
Hardwick, Massachusetts
