At first, I would like to make a brief introduction. Weimaraner is classified as the oldest German dog breed from Group VII with the beginning of organized breeding two centuries ago. It is a versatile hunting dog that has been used to create many breeds of dogs, German short-haired and sharp-pointed pointers.
It is also the only German breed of hunting dogs that have resisted and in their blood do not have the blood of the English pointer and thus preserve the original genetic potential. It was originally spread only in Germany, in the Weimar area, but eventually, it spread first to the rest of Germany and then to the rest of Europe and the world.
For a long time, this breed was resistant and the owners could only be hunters, which is also one of the reasons that greatly preserved all the hunting characteristics that distinguish it.
However, Weimaraner, a medium-sized dog of gray color, strong and muscular, remarkable, is paying tremendous beauty in recent times, and more and more often, there are specimens that are not used in hunting and who have lost much of their inherited hunting qualities over time.
There are such dogs everywhere in the world, and most of them are in America, which has a very developed exhibition value and which does not consider much about the characteristics that characterize the breed, but the cultivation is purely based on beauty.
There are not many such dogs grown in Europe and as such achieves remarkable results at exhibitions all over Europe and the world.
Fortunately, there are still a number of true Weimaraners, versatile hunting dogs used for hunting, greater than the number of exhibits on the territory of Europe, and especially Germany.
The American exhibition type, to call it so, that is, the individuals that are primarily beautiful and not used for hunting, despite their numbers are not interesting, and should not be for the survival of the race despite the undeniable beauty they possess.
Exhibition type of Weimaraner
I will try to briefly describe the exhibition type of Weimaraner in more detail.
The beauty that Weimaraner undoubtedly possesses has attracted the attention of a large number of non-hunter lovers and whose character traits are not crucial.
For a long time, such dog lovers could not get into the possession of these dogs, but by spreading the breed of certain individuals they were sold to non-hunting people, and there were also a number of dogs exported to America.
In America, we started breeding Weimaraners for people who were not hunters. Because of this, the cultivation has led to the neglect of the breeding traits of these dogs inbreeding, and the breeding is based exclusively on the beauty of the dogs.
Apart from the appearance, they are selected by the individuals that have as calm a character as possible, with no urge to guard, without sharpness on the predators, without a hunting instinct, or it is present to a very small extent.
In this way, a gray dog was created, very beautiful, mainly very large, which very often deviates a bit from the valid standard. These deviations are primarily observed at the height of dogs, which often exceeds the standard prescribed 70cm for males and 65cm for females.
Another thing that is at first glance is the depth of the chest, which is mostly overweight in this type of dog. The length of the neck portion of these dogs that gives rise to grace in the course of movement and walking is also overemphasized.
In addition to appearance, character selection was also used. They searched for as calm as possible dogs, so a dog that would calmly spend time in the house, lying all day, in his place and waiting for the eventual departure in a light walk or going to the exhibition.
Everything else that a Weimaraner needs and has, hunting instinct, sharpness, the instinct for keeping, and so on. is placed aside. All the qualities of this breed are reduced.
All I have said is essentially ruinous for the race itself and its survival, which in time, loses its innate traits more and more. Such cultivation has led to the creation of a special race, which resembles a true Weimaraner in appearance.
A Real type of Weimaraner
On the other hand, from the very beginning of the breed until today, the Weimaraner is real and selectable to be a versatile assistant in hunting, and out-of-hunting, and not a quiet home waist without energy.
In Europe as well as in America, there are a considerable number of dogs that are grown primarily for hunting and who have hunting qualities in the first place.
Of course, in raising such dogs, care must be taken of the breed standard, so that these dogs can also be found with exceptional exteriors.
Such individuals, who have all the innate properties of Weimaraner, are versatile in hunting and at the same time, remarkable exteriors are valuable for the survival of the breed in the form it was created more than 100 years ago.
The largest number of such dogs is in Germany, which is the home country of this wonderful breed.
In addition to Germany, a significant number of such dogs are located in the Czech Republic as well as in all other European countries where proper care is taken.
Weimaraner is above all a versatile breed of hunting dogs that should be used in all hunts, from quail to wild boar, to work on blood traps, hunting predators, wetland hunting, as well as dog guard, official dog, etc.
Rulebook on the cultivation of Weimaraners
Dogs of this kind from the very beginning of the breed until nowadays are breeding in Germany, which has a very precise breeding rulebook describing everything that a dog needs to master in order for that individual to be suitable for breeding.
To be more precise, the rulebook defines which innate traits the dog should have an adequately demonstrate how the dog would be suitable for breeding.
In exams, spring, and autumn examinations, all the innate traits of the dog should be checked and a clear picture of the sorts that are suitable for breeding, which should not be used in breeding, are made.
Such controlled cultivation officially began in 1897 with the establishment of the Weimaraner Club and the writing of the breeding rules which very precisely defines this.
Most of these are examined in Germany, but also in other countries where care is taken and where the desire is to get as good and versatile a hunting dog as possible.
In relation to the time when the rulebook was written, there was a significant change in the structure of the game that is available to hunters. Over the years, the number of wild pigs and other big game has increased considerably, and therefore the interest in this type of hunting.
At the same time, the number of feathered game and rabbit is in a slight decrease in number, but also in the decline of hunter’s interest in this type of hunting.
Because of this, Weimaraner has been used much more in the hunting of large game and predators, and less and less in the fields of hunting small game, pheasant, quail, rabbit. Certainly, this can also affect the development of breed in a special direction.
However, the understanding of the importance of the versatility of this breed has placed an emphasis on examining dogs in order to check the innate traits necessary for field work and hunting for small game.
The spring breeding exam itself got the importance of not losing these inborn properties. Because it is very important that the dog beside the properties necessary for hunting big game has the right quality for working in the field.
Of course, a large number of dogs tested on the exams and showing satisfactory quality for working in the field are then hunted almost exclusively by a large game. Of course, as much as the care was taken, the original work in the field of these dogs was in a slight decline.
In addition to working in the field and hunting for a large game, what is very important for breed Weimaraner is that these dogs must also be very sharp on predators like foxes, jackals, raccoons, … Hunting the big game itself the sharpness of dogs is at an enviable level.
In addition to hunting qualities, Weimaraner has properties that are not related to hunting. One of these features is the urge to guard and defend everything that is the property of the “pack” or family in which the dog is located.
That is why we can say that the Weimaraner is apart from the fact that the versatile hunting dog is also a dog for defense, unwavering and distrustful to all foreigners.
All that I mentioned above is the characteristics that have been cultivated for more than two centuries by strict breeding, and are perfected by cultivation primarily in the country of origin, but also in a large number of other countries, above all in Europe.
It can also be said that there are virtually no dogs in the country of origin, which do not meet the above criteria to a greater or lesser extent.
All of the above has led to the fact that the Weimaraner from the motherland is an absolutely versatile hunting dog that definitely lately neglected hunting small game.
Weimaraners in America
In contrast to the Weimaraners raised, in the country of origin, a large number of hunting dogs are also grown in the United States. Here I refer to dogs that are grown for hunting and I do not count on a large number of exhibition dogs.
However, unlike Europe in America, Weimaraners are mostly used for hunting in the fields of small game.
By raising such dogs, there were selecting faster and more willingly searching the terrain, and not much attention was paid to the sharpness and work on the blood trail.
Therefore, it is practically possible to say that a good Weimaraner hunting dog from America is, in fact, running and marking machine and to a large extent can be an excellent dog for FT competitions.
A large number of dogs have achieved notable results in FT competitions. Unfortunately, such dogs are mostly not used and can not be used for hunting big game and for working on the blood trail.
Therefore, it can be said that such dogs are gray dogs, but they are not Weimaraners because, over time, these dogs have lost their peculiarities to the predators as well as the protective instinct.
In this way, they have become practically ideal dogs for hunting in the field on small game and as such can be used everywhere. A dog that possesses such features is a gray dog, but not a Weimaraner that has been created and perfected for more than 100 years.
Three types of Weimaraners
In conversation with several breeders of Weimaraner, both from Germany and America, who have been cultivating for more than 20 years, there has been a common conclusion that, in fact, there are three types of Weimaraners.
- The first type is the Weimaraner as described by the standard, which is largely cultivated primarily in Germany and then in Europe. This type of Weimaraner is a versatile, hunky, habitable dog, strong character, sharp, very resistant, good guard, …
- The second type is Weimaraner from America, a hunting dog that is mostly a dog of calmer character and great energy and drives and searches drive that is exclusively suitable for hunting small game in the field. These are very usable hunting dogs, suitable for competitions, but lacking sharpness, the drive for storage, are generally not used for hunting large game and predator.
- The third type is spread all over the world, which we can find almost exclusively with non-hunters. That third type will freely call the eye type. Weimaraner’s exhibition type is a dog that has largely lost all hunting qualities that have been adorned for more than 100 years. It’s like I said a dog of calm character, ready to spend most of the day calmly, without the urge to keep it, without sharpness, one word all but the hunting dog it should be.
In front of these three types of dogs, the future of breeding and the dependence of which dogs are used in breeding will depend on the future of the same breed.
Using the exhibition type in the future will lead to the otherwise hunting dog stops being used in hunting and becomes a sole pet.
This is certainly not good, because all efforts to create the race and its advancement would be thrown into the water. I consider that such dogs are not interesting for breeding and should not be used in it.
I also hope that you will agree that the ruin of the exhibition type Weimaraner is disastrous for the race with one of the first two types of Weimaraners. Such mixing would definitely not bring anything to the exhibition type, but not to the dogs that are classified in the first two types.
Even if they used the best-hunting dogs with dog show dogs in the breeding, a large number of genes would be scattered in vain and be ruined for further breeding of this, above all, hunting breed.
After such a cross, the hunting dog would get absolutely nothing, since such a dog is already in the standard both externally and characteristically.
What Weimaraners Should Never Eat?
At the same time, the qualities that the exhibition dog would receive would be insufficient for the offspring to be true hunting dogs.
Mostly they would be dogs that have poorer hunting qualities compared to the hunter’s parents. Using such individuals and later crossings, there would be a possibility that the hunting impulse characteristics would be significantly reduced in the next generations in a large number of dogs.
It would be disastrous for the breed and the ultimate result would again be an exhibition type, which I initially said was absolutely not interesting for breeding.
In addition to the exhibitions, which are very developed in America, Weimaraner is largely used in hunting, primarily hunting birds, pheasants, wild duck, partridges, … This is the second type I listed, which is a large number of gray Dogs (Weimaraners) are used almost exclusively in hunting.
These dogs are definitely used to participate in exhibitions, but surely the hunting qualities necessary for hunting in the field for FT competitions are taken first.
I am thinking, and I saw that it was shared by great thinkers of the race, such as Nadja Fraizer from Germany, in order to get the perfect Weimaraner dog that he might miss in order to become an even more ideal hunting dog by steaming the mating of typical individuals from Germany and America.
I am talking exclusively about the connection of the Weimaraner hunting type from America and the European, above all German Weimaraner.
The combination of speed, energy, and instinct for marking in American dogs, their search radius with solid character, sharpness, the urge to guard German and European dogs (these dogs also have a good drive for marking) would lead to Weimaraner what it is today it becomes even better and more versatile hunting dog.
What is very important is that these individuals will transfer their properties to their offspring and there would be no loss of properties, but the innate properties would be enhanced.
Conclusion
In the end, I would like to point out that only a happy and satisfied dog can give a healthy and living offspring with well-conceived innate qualities.
In order for either dog to pay enough attention and to give him as much hunting as possible on both big and small game. I was lucky enough to sell some of my dogs to the USA exclusively to hunters, which I am very proud of.
About Kennel Chasseur D’argent
By exchanging experiences with the current owners of these dogs, I can say that everything I put into practice already yields satisfactory results, which means that the future of Weimaraner as a hunting dog is very bright.
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