Weimaraner

The Weimaraner is a German hunting dog of medium to large size, named for the city of Weimar in what is now Thuringia, where it is believed to have originated. It is an all-purpose gundog, valued for speed, stamina, a good nose and eye, courage and intelligence.

History

Many theories about the Weimaraner’s origin have been put forward, but few facts are documented. Silver-gray dogs appear in paintings by Antoon van Dyck in the seventeenth century and Jean-Baptiste Oudry in the eighteenth. The dogs are sometimes said to have been kept at the court of Karl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, in the early nineteenth century.

From 1879 they were treated as a blue variety of the German Short-haired Pointer and could be entered in that breed’s stud book. Fourteen were shown in Berlin in 1880, the first time the dogs appeared at a show; they came from three kennels and were of three differing types. The Weimaraner was recognised as a breed of its own in 1891. A standard followed in 1896, and a breed association was founded in Erfurt in 1897.

Around the time of the First World War the breed came close to extinction and was rebuilt from the few dogs that survived. The Fédération Cynologique Internationale definitively accepted it in 1954. In Germany about 485 puppies a year were registered between 2007 and 2021.

Appearance

Males stand about 59–70 cm at the withers and weigh 30–40 kg; females stand about 57–65 cm and weigh 25–35 kg. The coat may be short or long, and a double coat of medium length is sometimes seen. It is mouse-gray, roe-gray or silver-gray, or a shade between these, and small white markings on the feet and chest are tolerated. The eyes are amber, from pale to dark, and the ears hang down with rounded tips.

Temperament

The Weimaraner is a versatile hunting dog that may be used to track, point, flush or retrieve birds and other game. In Germany it is not considered suitable as a companion dog. The breed club there holds that it is a hunting dog through and through and needs real hunting work to keep its balanced nature, so puppies are placed mainly with hunters, and registration depends on passing a working trial.

Care and health

A 2024 UK study found a median lifespan of 12.8 years. Neurological diseases associated with the breed include cerebellar hypoplasia, hypomyelinogenesis and spinal dysraphism. It is also predisposed to several eye conditions, among them corneal dystrophy, distichiasis and entropion, and to generalized demodicosis. Males may be affected by Weimaraner neutrophil dysfunction, pododermatitis and tricuspid dysplasia.

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