Weimaraner

Other names/Nicknames:
  • Gray Ghost
  • Weimar Pointer
Country/Date of origin:
  • Germany
  • Early 19th century
Height:
  • Females:  23 to 25 inches
  • Males:  25 to 27 inches
Weight:
  • 70 to 86 pounds
Personality:
  • A one-family dog that is not friendly to strangers.
  • Intelligent and assertive.  A combination that makes for difficulty in training.
  • Can be rambunctious.
  • Bubbles with energy and cannot stand to be confined.
  • Can be very destructive if not given enough exercise.
History:

The Weimaraner is an all-around hunter that was bred by aristocratic sportsmen in the Weimar region of Germany.  The breed was jealously guarded and no dogs were sold outside the close-knit circle of nobility in the Weimar court.  It was most likely created by crossing a Bloodhound type dog with German Shorthaired Pointers to get hunters with a better nose and a larger size.  This enabled them to hunt larger game such as wild boar.  In 1929, an American named Howard Knight got a pair of dogs ostensibly for breeding purposes, but the Germans had secretly neutered them.  These were later replaced with fertile dogs and the breed, amidst a great public relations campaign, flourished in the United States.  The short-haired variety was admitted to the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1943, but the long-haired variety is still unrecognized here.

Body Type:
  • A heavy, muscular, hunting pointer.
  • Long, hanging ears are rounded at tips and not altered.
  • Tail is docked to about six-inches long.
Coat:
  • The short, sleek, gray coat is the hallmark of the breed.
  • The gray color is slightly lighter on the head and ears.
  • The nose is also gray, and the eyes are a light amber or blue-gray, giving the dog the nickname of gray ghost.
  • Minimal grooming.
Health and Wellness:
  • Hip dysplasia.
  • Autoimmune thyroid disease.
  • Gastric dilatation and volvulus syndrome (GDV, also commonly called bloat).
  • Tricuspid dysplasia.
  • Hemophilia.
  • Spinal dysraphism.
  • Immunodeficient dwarfism.
  • Cryptorchidism.
  • Metabolic bone disease.
  • Demodicosis.
  • Muzzle pyoderma.
  • Mast cell tumor.
  • Oropharyngeal neoplasia.
What you should know:
  • There is a long-haired version of the Weimaraner but it is not recognized by the AKC.  Consequently, it is not often seen in the United States.
  • Popular with hunters who favor an all-around dog.
  • The Weimaraner can point, retrieve, and track.  It will also face big game that other softer pointers will refuse.
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