Weimaraners

[kipchik]

Has anyone got any experience with these dogs in a family home,thanx!!!!!!!!!!!

[lankeela]

Surprisingly, yes. They are very loving loyal dogs, but are also rather protective of their owners/property and can be unpredictable with other dogs. The lady I work for had one for ten years (lost her last November) and she would come to work with us in the van. She would lay quietly for most of the time and you would forget she was there, ignoring dogs/people then suddenly another dog would go past (no particular breed/colour) and she would fly out at it and be back at the van before you realised what she had done.

They are also rather strong willed and need a firm hand from a young age if they are not to take over your life!

My boss has now got a Rottie puppy she is a different temperament altogether, loving everyone and everything, yet she has had no different training/socialising to the Wei.

Speak to some breeders and ask their advice, and then think long and hard if one would suit the purposes for which you want it, i.e. if you want a dog to mix with others and be sociable, maybe you need to think again. Of course other people may tell you a different story, but while we had her many, many other Wei owners agreed that they were unpredictable and quite a handful.

Hope this helps.

[Clanad]

May I also offer, with some experience, that these hunting dogs are extremely intelligent and require challenges to keep them interested. Probably even more important is that, since they are bred for roaming during the hunt, they are very muscular and have to run. Unless you live somewhere that can provide daily exercise in the form of flat out running, they will become bored and somewhat hard to manage. Given these aspects of their ownership, they make excellent companions and are one of the world's finest hunting dogs, especially of upland game birds...

[kipchik]

Ok thanks,this is the thing,we have sort of aquired one a 5 month old bitch,the breeder was gonna let her loose cos in his words 'will never be able to sell a 5 month old' he was actually gonna let her loose or the other option have her put down,we do like a challenge but we have a rott indoors and we need them to get on,at 5 months old is she still young enough to adapt?

[lankeela]

Good luck, you will probably find they are ok until the Wei reaches maturity, then she will try to dominate. If the Rott is a male he may tolerate this, but a Rottie female will stand her ground.

Agree with Clanad, exercise is probably the best weapon you have in your armoury.

[orange-gnome]

Yes, at 5 months they are definitely still adaptable.
The best thing you can do at the moment is take her to obedience classes to teach her a few things while she is still young also you will have the benefit of having a trainer there to give you advice on anything happening in the home. They certainly do need a firm owner, someone who is not going to let the dog dominate them, but when well trained and given lots of exercise they can become loving and affectionate dogs.
I have a friend who has a male weimeraner, he is 2 yrs old and went to training classes, now he is a really lovely soppy dog who wouldnt hurt a fly, he is great with the kids too! Enjoy her but be firm, don't let her walk all over you.

Also you might want to come and join us at
www.orangedog.forumup.com
its a dog forum where we have 2 trainers as members and they are on most days to ask advice!

[kipchik]

Brilliant,i'm at home 99% of the time so exercise and training is a definate,our rott is a bitch(in more ways than one sometimes) but i do have determination on my side and i'm gonna go all out on this and hopefully she'll turn out as soft as our rotts have,thanx for the very pleasant advice,,,lol,,

[clair3934]

I have an 18 month male Weim he is lovely but yes they are very strong willed and do need a strong hand but if you are prepared for the hard work then there is nothing stopping you. they can be very unpredictable and can be a bit funny with certain breeds of dog, mine hates border collies, they suffer with separtation anxiety but they will get over it quickly if you train them well, they have a lot of energy and need two or three walks a day. Good luck with her they can be a very dominearing dog but stunning to look at and watch I always have people saying to me that my boy is lovely looking I think its the eyes that do it!

[lankeela]

Thanks clair, just what I was trying to say! Shame some breeders do not tell puppy buyers the pitfalls before selling them a puppy. The only one that suffers is the poor dog, when often genuine people who want a family pet get a totally unsuitable breed for their purposes.

[clair3934]

To true Lankeela I did a lot of research and talking to breeders and the breeder of my boy before getting him but it helps that i've had other dogs, but still reading and talking about it is no comparisson to owning and dealing with them day in day out but its a very worthy challange especially when you get a wonderfull dog at the end of it all :-)

[kipchik]

On the off-chance that this is read,we've now had her a few days,she is as sweet as the sun,worships the kids,great with the dog,but poor thing has never had a collar and lead on before keeps going into a deathroll so we are having a real hard time with the exercise,she's booked in at obedience class starting in a fortnight,

[clair3934]

keep practicing with the collar and lead she'l get there in the end and good job getting her in to training classes. I will say this though she is only 5 months old so she will worship the ground you walk on at the moment and you have only had her a few days so she hasn't really found her paws yet you may find that as the hormones kick in that she starts to push her luck a bit and start ignoring your commands good luck though! :-)

[kipchik]

Cheers clair,since i posted that last message we got her to the end of the road,following the rott,hopefully now she'll start enjoying going out,as for pushing her luck with me,,,,,,,,i dare her!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol,

[lankeela]

You could try leaving a collar on her with a very short bit of lead (or string LOL) attached. This will get her used to wearing a collar and you can catch hold of the 'lead' every so often and walk around with her. She will then not bother when you want to attach a proper lead. Hopefully!

[kipchik]

Great,will try anything at this stage,really want to get her out and about ASAP!!Cheers!!