Weimaraner
Male Weimaraner with docked tail
Common nicknames	Raner Weim "Grey Ghost"
Origin	Germany
Traits Height Males 59–70 cm (23–28 in)[1] Females 57–65 cm (22–26 in)[1] Weight Males 30–40 kg (66–88 lb)[1] Females 25–35 kg (55–77 lb)[1] Life span 11–14 years[2]
Kennel club standards VDH standard Fédération Cynologique Internationale standard
Dog (domestic dog)

The Weimaraner (/ˈwaɪmərɑːnər/ WY-mər-ah-nər) is a large dog that was originally bred as a hunting dog in the early 19th century.^[3] Early Weimaraners were used by royalty for hunting large game such as boar, bear, and deer. As the popularity of hunting large game began to decline, Weimaraners were used for hunting smaller animals like fowl, rabbits, and foxes.

The name comes from the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Karl August, whose court, located in the city of Weimar (now in the state of Thuringia in modern-day Germany), enjoyed hunting. The Weimaraner is an all-purpose gun dog, and possesses traits such as speed, stamina, great sense of smell, great eyes, courage, and intelligence.^[4] The breed is sometimes referred to as the "grey ghost" of the dog world because of its ghostly coat and eye color along with its stealthy hunting style.^[4]

History

Leithund, major contributor to the Weimaraner^[1]

The Weimaraner was kept in the Weimar court in the 19th century and carried a good deal of Leithound ancestry.^[1] Two theories propose that they descended from the Chien-gris,^[5] or from the St. Hubert hound, whose descendant is the bloodhound.^[6] In the beginning, Germany's Grand Duke Karl August used the Weimaraner to hunt big game like wolves, bears, and boar, but as Europe's number of big game animals decreased, the Weimaraner turned into a point-and-retrieve hunter of small game.^[7] The breed arrived to America in the late 1920s, and its popularity increased in the 1950s,^[7] largely because of celebrities like Grace Kelly, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Dick Clark. The famous artist and photographer William Wegman increased the breed's popularity even more with his world-famous Weimaraner portraits and video segments.

Description

Short-haired Weimaraner

Appearance

The Weimaraner is athletic in appearance. Traditionally, the tail is docked. However, dogs need the tail wag to keep the health of their s glands. In countries where docking is still carried out, the docked tail should measure approximately 6 inches in the adult dog, according to the American Kennel Club breed standard. Tail docking is illegal in several countries, where the breed is shown with an entire tail. The British Kennel Club breed standard describes a tail reaching to the hocks and carried below the level of the back when relaxed, and the German breed club standard calls for a full tail that is strong and well coated and can be carried above the line of the back when the dog is working. Weimaraners possess webbed paws, making them great water dogs.

The eyes of the Weimaraner may be light amber, grey, or blue-grey, and the ears are long and velvety.

Coat and color

Long-haired Weimaraner

This breed's short coat and unusual eyes give it a distinctive regal appearance. The coat is extremely low-maintenance, short, hard, and smooth to the touch, and may range from charcoal-blue to mouse-grey to silver-grey or even blue-grey. Where the fur is thin or non-existent, inside the ears or on the lips for example, the skin should be pinkish rather than white or black. The Weimaraner does not have an undercoat, so extreme cold should be avoided. Although the coat is short, this breed does shed.

In November 2009 and on January 1, 2010, the United Kennel Club (UKC) removed the disqualification from Blue and Longhair Weimaraners. A black coat remains an automatic disqualification, though a small white marking in the chest area only is permitted. Dogs with blue coats are disqualified from conformation/show competition,^[8] but are recognized as purebred Weimaraners by the AKC. There is another incidental variety, described as having the "mark of the hound", where the dog is the usual grey colour but with faint tan markings (similar to Doberman Pinschers). Weimaraners can have any of several unique physical characteristics such as small lobes on the inside of the ear, known as "Harrasburg Horns", and very light-grey patches between the ears, known as "Grafmar's Caps".^[9]

A long-haired variety is recognized by most kennel clubs around the world except the American Kennel Club. The long-haired Weimaraner has a silky coat with an undocked, feathered tail. The gene is recessive, so breeding will produce some long-haired puppies only if both parents carry the trait.

Size

According to the Fédération Cynologique Internationale standard, the male Weimaraner stands 59 to 70 cm (23 to 28 in) at the withers. Females are 57 to 65 cm (22 to 26 in). Males normally weigh about 30–40 kg (66–88 lb). Females are generally 25–35 kg (55–77 lb).^[1] A Weimaraner should give the appearance of a muscular, athletic dog.

• 
  Short-haired male
• 
  Female Weimaraner, short-haired
• 
  Female Weimaraner, long-haired
• 
  Weimaraner with uncropped tail
• 
  Weimaraner
• 
  Short-haired male Weimaraner
• 
  Blue male weimaraner with short hair and docked tail
• 
  A 10-year-old male Weimaraner
• 
• 
  Weimaraner playing
• 
  Grand Duke Karl August of Weimar

Temperament

Weimaraner portrait

Weimaraner ascending spread jump

The Weimaraner is an energetic hunting dog, prized for its physical endurance and stamina, with a strong, instinctive prey-drive. It may tolerate cats but usually does not, tending to follow the urge to hunt—no matter how long it has known a particular cat—and is likely to chase and kill any small animal that enters the garden.^[10] A Weimaraner requires frequent exercise and will appreciate games and play. An active owner is more likely to provide the vigorous exercise and games required. A Weimaraner requires appropriate training to learn how to be calm and control its behavior.^[11]

Health

According to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, Weimaraners enjoy low rates of dysplasia. The breed is ranked 102nd of 153 total breeds and has a very high test rate and a very high percentage of excellent rating among those dogs tested.^[14] It is generally recommended to acquire Weimaraners only from breeders who have their dogs' hips tested using OFA or PennHIP methods.

As a deep-chested dog, the Weimaraner is prone to bloat or gastric torsion, a very serious condition that can cause painful and rapid death when left untreated. It occurs when the stomach twists itself, thereby pinching off blood vessels and the routes of food traveling in or out. Symptoms include signs of general distress, discomfort, no bowel movement or sounds, and a swollen stomach. Immediate medical attention is imperative when bloat occurs, and surgery is the only option, even if it is caught early enough.

One way to help prevent bloat is to spread out the Weimaraner's feedings to at least twice daily, and to avoid any vigorous exercise an hour before or after meals. It is also recommended that the dog's feeding dish not be placed on a raised platform, to discourage it from gobbling its food too quickly and keep air from entering the stomach. Raised food bowls have been found to more than double the risk of bloat in large dogs.^[15]

Skin allergies are common among Weimaraners. A vet should be consulted if a dog starts to lose hair, itch constantly, or develop rashes. Parasites can cause an allergic reaction in addition to the normal irritation resulting from bites.

Other health issues include:

• Cryptorchidism^[16]
• Distichiasis^[16]
• Elbow dysplasia^[17]
• Entropion^[18]
• Pituitary dwarfism^[16][18]
• Hypertrophic osteodystrophy^[18]
• Hypomyelinogenesis^[18]
• Hypothyroidism^[16]
• Progressive retinal atrophy
• Renal dysplasia^[18]
• Von Willebrands Disease^[16]

See also

• Dogs portal
• List of dog breeds
• William Wegman (photographer), known for his many photographs of the breed

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Weimaraner.

• Weimaraner at Curlie
• The Weimaraner Pedigree database