Having a Weimaraner in Your Life is a Great & Fulfilling Experience

 People have asked us many questions about Weimaraners, including, why we keep our puppies longer than the commercial breeders that they speak to and should we spay or neuter our dog, below we hope to answer those questions and many more. We are adding to this piece regularly, so stay tuned.

Having a dog in your family that is every bit a family member as anyone else, who protects you and is a fun and exciting companion, is what living with a Weimaraner is all about.

 First, we do not breed for profit, so it is not necessary to find a home within the first 8 weeks to maximize our profit. Weimaraner puppies (as with all dogs) reach a much better level of emotional stability from 12 to 16 weeks. While we are not members of The Weimaraner Club, for our own reasons both our male and female were purchased from club members, so they are.

Second, Weimaraners are long-lived dogs. As with all longer living mammals they mature slowly. A one-year-old Weimaraner is still in all senses a puppy. A healthy dog that has not been neutered or spayed should live 13 to 15 years, these days, maybe even longer. Weimaraners are prone to suffer some, from separation anxiety. This stems from the strong loyalty instinct breed into them by the Germans who knew that they needed to have this trait in a dog with the speed and endurance to easily range twenty kilometers,  during a hunt, in the deep forests in Germany. You can see how otherwise, they might have needed a new Weimaraner on a somewhat regular basis.

 At 8 weeks old they are still so very dependent on their instinctual family structure, it seriously shocks them to be separated. Sometimes they carry this with them their entire lives. By the time they are 12 to 16 weeks old they are ready to explore and experiment on their own. They adapt very rapidly to the change in their living conditions and immediately begin to bond and/or imprint with their new "pack' members. We have been doing this for years with Dobermans and now with Weimaraners and we have had such a positive response from the people we have placed our puppies with that we wish that all breeders would do this. It wreaks havoc on any young mammal to be ripped away from their family structure at an insecure young age, keeping them a bit longer seems to minimize this, making for a calmer more secure adult. Weimaraners are emotionally sensitive dogs and we have found that this works in their favor. We guarantee our pups and we have never had a dog returned.

 While I am an American first and foremost, my grandparents were German and I have dual citizenship. The men that I have spoken with in Germany told me that in the old days the nobles would keep the puppies until they were at least six months old. This way they could be graded (conformation doesn’t truly appear until six months or so) and sold or placed properly. Of course the Germans only allowed about half of the litter to survive in order to keep the breed strong, but keeping the puppies longer on their estates, also allowed for them to mature enough to do well in placements. Anyone who has had a litter of puppies running around their property and who appreciates the special beauty in them, understands the difficulty in giving them away. That’s why the nobles had so many dogs.

 We have heard old wives tales and some breeders opinions about getting a dog so young that he suckles from you etc……………  Nonsense. To understand K9’s is to understand that they do not think of you as their parent. After a short maturation period, they look to you as a pack member, hopefully for your sake the Alpha. While many people like to say that they are the dog’s Mommy or Daddy etc, the dog doesn’t have the ability to think that way. They have the instinct of   "the pack" built into them.  For you to learn how that functions, is to better understand and successfully train your best friend. This is for any dog, not just a Weimaraner. Actually many of the concepts that we are discussing here is about all dogs, Weimaraners are just a more intense version of the dog where understanding the dog, makes a big difference in being successful. 

 
Today, with the animal population situation in many areas, it would be socially irresponsible to allow a male or female Weimaraner to range. Since we do not believe or recommend in surgically altering our dogs, it is absolutely necessary to make sure that you have a good strong fence or retaining system. Neutering or spaying a Weimaraner will shorten their lives, wreak havoc on their bones and create a myriad of other health and emotional problems. So please don't try to fix nature. the results are never positive. To Neuter or Not Click Here

While some dogs will be stopped by the electronic fences, a Weimaraner moving at some speed will run right through them. These also do not protect your dog from roaming strays. Although we are willing to bet that Pedigree Weimaraner owners are not contributing to the pet population problems in the cities, and it would be unfair for their dogs to pay such a high price for the lack of consideration of others, we still believe that it is not normally possible to have A Weimaraner in today's world, in most areas, without a well fenced yard and an effective plan to keep your dog from breeding.

 Being successful with a Breed with instincts as strong as a Weimaraner is to understand who he is, how and why they were created, and the men who created them.  Suffice to say that a Weimaraner needs a special person or family to make a special commitment to be successful. I tell people that the dog does not think that he is any different than any other family member and you need to love him, want him and treat him as a child or family member. While loving everyone, they will usually attach themselves to one person specifically and over time it will be obvious to everyone who that person is. Needless to say, these dogs are not for everyone, but to understand one and share some time in life with one, is an experience that I certainly would not have wanted to miss. If you are willing to bring a new best friend or family member into your home and understand that is what is necessary to be successful with a Weimaraner, then you will enjoy one of the best dogs and experiences with an animal that you have ever had.