Weimaraners are hunting dogs! Even those kept as pets have mostly retained this heritage to some degree or another. Understanding this will go a long way in living peaceably with this breed.
In order to be good hunters, the breed was developed with:
- Strong prey drive – Can translate to chasing other family pets, killing critters or obsessively fetching
- Strong determination – Can translate to stubbornness in training
- Strong work ethic – Can translate to a Weim that will develop it’s own version of “ethic” if not consistently obedience trained
- Physical size and power – Can translate to knocking over people and things
- High energy – Can translate to “hyper” behavior if the Weimaraner is poorly bred or if he’s not exercised
Working Weimaraners are used mostly for upland bird hunting in the US, but they were developed with a strong proclivity towards fur, more so than some of the other bird dog breeds. This means that living together with cats must be supervised and managed.
The breed is highly energetic! If Weims are not used for hunting, there must be an alternative outlet for their energy whether it is as a jogging or hiking companion or as a competitor in various dog sports. The bottom line is that Weimaraners need to be doing things, both mentally and physically!
“A tired Weimaraner is a happy Weimaraner!”
Go back to About Weimaraners.
Ha! My girl has tried swallowing baby bunnies. Weimaraner owners can’t be squeamish about pulling something out of your dogs throat.
My Weimaraner brought me a tiny baby bunny yesterday. It can’t be more than 3 or 4 days old. He gently placed it in a towel I had in my hand. I figured he would take me to where he found it but no…he wanted to play ball. After many hours looking for the nest to no avail I guess I will hand feed it goats milk. I hope he survives. Dexter was so proud of himself! Any suggestions as what to do with this little guy will be greatly appreciated. He’s taken to me feeding him but I’d really like to find someone to take over!
Dexter did it again. He doesn’t hurt the bunnies and carries them so gently in his mouth and gives them up to me. He also lives with 2 cats. The first bunny died after 3 days of me trying to keep it alive. I hope it’s mama finds where I placed him out of Dexters nose!