Slobbery kisses?

“Aww”-provoking companionship?

What about an ecstatic welcome home every day?

Heck yeah!

It’s hard to resist those smiley faces, wagging tails, and puppy dog eyes staring at you, especially when it wants something. But these are just a few highlights–amid an endless list of benefits–of having a dog.

For more than 18,000 years, dogs have been humans’ best friends. Energetic, playful, and silly, they love us unconditionally.

But do you think owning a dog is easy?

Wrong!

It’s a big commitment that should be taken seriously. That’s why taking your time to research is a crucial step toward becoming a dog owner.

So, what’s there significant to know about the Weimaraner breed?

Sorry, are you hearing that name for the first time?

The name might sound Greek, but I’m pretty sure you know its face.

The Weimaraner is a cute, athletic large-size sporting dog with a uniform shimmering, sleek, short, steel gray coat. They are known for oversized floppy ears and soulful eyes and are the tallest in the gundog group.

This distinct breed of dogs has a lot of stories that can’t be discussed in the introduction alone. So, continue reading to find out more!

History of the Weimaraner

Weimaraners are a large-size breed of sporting dog that also take the name gun dogs in the USA and Hunt Point Retrievers in the UK. These dogs will make excellent hunting companions if chosen from their working line.

While you may have realized that most sporting dogs came into existence several hundred years ago, the Weimaraner is a reasonably new breed; it first appeared in the early 19th century. This breed acquired the name Weimaraner from the fact that it originated in Weimar, Germany, sometime in the 1800s.

The Weimaraner is believed to come from stock similar to the German Short-Haired Pointer, bred by the Nobles of Weimar. Some also argue that the Grand Duke of Weimar, Karl August, single-handedly created this breed.

Really?

Yes!

Many accounts of the breed’s development mention the Grand Duke of Weimar was an avid sportsman who sought to create a perfect hunting dog with courage, intelligence, stamina, speed, and good scenting ability.

So, the Duke bred a Bloodhound with various German and French hunting dogs, including the English Pointer, the Great blue Dane, the German Short-haired Pointer, and the silver-gray Huehnerhund (chicken dog). The result was the Weimaraner, meaning the Weimar Pointer, because it points at the game with its snout.

Nobles of Weimer restricted ownership of the Weimaraner to the membership of the German Weimaraner Club, which was founded in 1897. This club strictly supervised the growth and development of the breed. So much that they reserved the breed for themselves for many years, keeping its numbers low and the quality of breeding high. Accessing the entire organization was difficult; only club members could purchase a puppy.

Soon in the 1920s, the rules were relaxed. After that, an American sportsman and dog breeder named Howard Knight imported a pair of the Weimaraner. Unfortunately, the female proved sterile, making breeding impossible. However, Howard still kept and trained the dogs as a sign of goodwill and later founded the Weimaraner Club of America (WCA) in 1929.

In 1938, four more Weimaraners were sent to Knight. It wasn’t until 1943 that the breed eventually received wide recognition in the US by the American Kennel Club (AKC) after performing well in various obedience competitions.

Weimaraners’ popularity rose quickly, thanks to a boost by several well-known figures like President Eisenhower. Today, they are one of the unique dog breeds. They are seen in more competitions in America than they ever saw in Germany.

Purpose Behind the Breed Weimaraner

Originally, Weimaraners were used by the German aristocracy for hunting large game such as mountain lions, wolves, bears, and deer. However, as Germany’s forests shrank and the popularity of large game hunting began to decrease, the Weimaraner became an all-purpose hunting dog; they were put to hunt smaller animals like birds, rabbits, and foxes.

Today, Weimaraners may be suitable for anyone who wants a large, active dog for hunting, hiking, and other outdoor activities. They were bred to have a lot of energy and stamina; therefore, you must be ready to provide them with lots of exercises and mental stimulation to prevent destructive behavior. Nonetheless, they make great companions indoors.

Characteristics of Weimaraners

 A male Weimaraner is 26” tall and weighs 75-85 lbs. while a female one is 24” tall and weighs 70-80 lbs.
 They can live for 10-13 yrs.
 They have a low tendency to drool, bark, snore, and dig
 They are very energetic; they require more than 40-minute exercise per day
 They have less intense grooming and moderate social/attention needs
 They are friendly, curious, intelligent, and playful and prefer being with their owners rather than staying in kennels

Why Do Weimaraners Have Light Eyes?

The Weimaraner dog has an incredibly unusual eye color. As newborn puppies (between the first 8-14 days), their eyes remain closed. Once their eyes open, they reveal a uniform light shade of blue. After 3-4 weeks, their eye color will become more visible in the iris with a distinctive stripe pattern.

At three months, the eyes of these puppies start showing a deep turquoise shade of blue, which will progress to gray, green, light amber, or blue-gray as they mature. This gradual change in the shade of their eyes ceases at six months to one year, after which they start turning darker.

So, what’s the science behind this change?

A study by the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine reveals that a genetic mutation, or the duplication of the DNA sequence, “ALX4 is responsible for the different shades of blue eyes (heterochromia). Apart from eye color, this sequence is also used to determine the development of skin, hair, and craniofacial characteristics.

So, as these Weimaraners grow older, they produce more melanin in the iris, which will determine the final color of their eyes. The more the melanin, the darker the shade, and the less the melanin, the lighter their eye’s color will be.

Why Do Some Weimaraners Have Docked Tails and Others Undocked Tails?

First things first; what is docking?

It’s as simple as tail amputation!

I can hear you mumbling, “Whoa, you mean it was that easy?”

Yeah.

In a leman’s language, docking is to remove a portion of the tail from a puppy. It’s done in certain breeds of dogs, and Weimaraners are one of them.

But isn’t that ruthless? How can you butcher an innocent puppy’s tail like a spring onion?

It turns out there is a reason behind it!

While some dock for aesthetic reasons, the immediate plan was to prevent injury and performance inhibition.

Is that so?

Yes!

Naturally, Weimaraners are born with long tails. And since they were initially raised to be hunting dogs, their long tails would quickly get in their way during hunting.

Therefore, it was a common practice to shorten their tails for hunting purposes.

The Weimaraner Club of America (WCA) also supported tail docking with the justification that it will produce long-term health benefits and maintain the Weimaraner breed’s integrity.

However, times have now changed. Tail docking is illegal in most parts of the continent, including the UK, Australia, and some places in Europe. But the AKC still considers tail docking a requirement, and long tails are penalized. Therefore, most pure breed Weimaraners have their tails docked in the US.

How Prevalent are Weimaraners?

According to statistics, more than 10,000 Weimaraners are born annually in North America alone. They are ranked 30th among the 155 breeds and varieties of dogs registered by the AKC. These figures show that Weimaraners are pretty much famous!

Do you think you can welcome these lovable furballs into your home?

You don’t need to tell me now. But I can affirm that once you get one Weimaraner, you cannot stop getting more and more.

You can call it “the Weimi addiction.” I won’t mind:-)