From: bds@mbunix.mitre.org (Smith)
Subject: Re: Weimaraners
Organization: The MITRE Corporation, Bedford, MA
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 18:08:29 GMT

In article <104338@netnews.upenn.edu> sagnella@a.chem.upenn.edu (Diane E. Sagnella) writes:
>Hi,
>
>I would like some information on Weimaraners (sp?).  I think they
>are beautiful animals and am thinking about getting one.  I need
>to know if they tend to be destructive, how much room they need,
>if they are loyal, smart... that kind of thing.  Do they need
>a lot of attention (how much?)?

We have a 1 year old Weimaraner and a 3 week old puppy still with his
litter and anxiously waiting for us to take him home.  They are fairly
large (males run to 80 pounds), extremely strong, and absolutely
beautiful.  They are also very pack oriented, and do not like being
left alone.  Ours gets mildly upset if my wife leaves the room, making
him choose whether to go with her or stay with me (he inevitably
chooses her, then visits me often).  So yes, they need a lot of
attention, and will not be happy left in a kennel all the time.  This
is not to say they can't be left alone--ours is left alone (crated)
all day M-F while we work.  But at night and on weekends he's a
fulltime job.

Weims are known for their intelligence (one breeder told me that any
Weim can open any door in your house -- we've found this to be an
understatement).  There are all sorts of stories along this line, but
the more I tell them, the more I sound like I'm bragging.

Weims were bred in the early 1800's as all purpose hunting dogs.
There's some bloodhound and some pointer in them.  They have great
noses, soft mouths (slobber and all), and excellent endurance.

>The dog ate 1couch, 3 chairs, 2 doors, window sills,
>baseboards, oriental rugs as well as our weights, a dresser and
>telephone lines. 

Jasper buried a bone in the cushion of our couch one day by digging
through the material.  He has mellowed as he's gotten older, but we
take no chances anymore.

>We have a fairly large house but no yard.  There is a big field not even
>1/2 a block away where we exercised him.  I have never had such problems
>with a pet.  Anyway, I am inclined to believe that this dog was an
>exception and that we *can* have a dog but we don't want to go through
>the heart break again.  What do you think?

If you want a Weimaraner, expect to work a lot both exercising him and
training him.  The exercise part is not much of a problem since they
were bred to hunt and run all day.  They are much faster and stronger
than you are, though (Jasper ran off one day, and my wife went after
him in the truck--when he saw her, he ran home in front of the
truck--she was going over 20 mph and he was hardly breathing), so you
must train them well (a feat we're still working on).  It is my
opinion that Weimaraners are NOT dogs for people who want a perfect
little dog that never does anything wrong and needs no special effort
on the part of the owners.  If you're willing to put in the effort,
though, they're magnificant.

Barry Smith
bds@mbunix.mitre.org

PS - If you're looking for one, expect to work some to find a breeder
since they're not very common.  Feel free to contact me if you want
some more information.

Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs