Weimaraner
Breed at a glance
- Origin
- Holy Roman Empire
- Weight
- Males
- Height
- Males
Use
The Weimaraner is a versatile hunting dog, and may be used to track , point to, flush or retrieve birds or other game. [ 4 ] Registration is subject to successful completion of a working trial . [ 1 ] In Germany it is not considered to be suitable for keeping as a companion dog . According to the breed club, it "... basically belongs in the hands of hunters due to its development and its characteristics ... It is not a companion dog, but a hunting dog through and through. As such, it needs work in practical hunting in order to preserve its balanced nature"; [ d ] whelps are placed mainly with hunters. [ 3 ]
intro
The Weimaraner [ a ] is a German breed of hunting dog of medium to large size, with history going back at least to the nineteenth century. [ 2 ] It originated in the area of the city of Weimar (then in Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach , now in the state of Thuringia ), for which it is named. [ 3 ] It was recognised as a breed in 1891. It is an all-purpose gun dog , characterised by its speed and stamina, its good nose and eye, and its courage and intelligence; [ 4 ] in Germany it is not considered suitable for keeping as a companion dog . [ 3 ]
History
Many theories of the origin of the Weimaraner have been advanced, but there are few documented historical facts; silver-grey dogs are shown in paintings by Antoon van Dyck in the seventeenth century and by Jean-Baptiste Oudry in the eighteenth. [ 5 ] : 543 [ 3 ] The breed is believed to have originated in the area of the city of Weimar (then in Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach , now in the state of Thuringia ) – the city from which its name derives. [ 5 ] : 543 [ 3 ] It is sometimes claimed that the dogs were kept at the court of Karl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach , in the early nineteenth century. [ 1 ] From 1879 the dogs were considered to be a blue variant of the German Short-haired Pointer , and were eligible for registration in the stud-book of the Kurzhaar Klub . [ 5 ] : 545 They first appeared at a dog show in 1880, when fourteen examples were presented in Berlin . These were of three differing types, from three different kennels: the traditional Thüringer Hund; the Weißenfelser Hund, which was rather more elegant; and the Sanderslebener, which was intermediate between the two. [ 5 ] : 545 The Weimaraner was recognised as a distinct breed in 1891. [ 3 ] A breed standard was drawn up in 1896, and in 1897 a breed association was established in Erfurt with the name Verein zur Reinzucht des silbergrauen Weimaraner-Vorstehhund ; [ b ] this was soon changed to Verein zur Züchtung des Weimaraner Vorstehhundes . [ 5 ] : 545 [ 6 ] [ c ] In the early years of the twentieth century – the time of the Great War – the Weimaraner came close to extinction; it was reconstituted from the few surviving examples of the breed. [ 5 ] : 545 [ 7 ] : 237 It was definitively accepted by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale in 1954. [ 8 ] In the fifteen years from 2007 to 2021, the annual number of new registrations in Germany averaged about 485, with a low of 390 and a high of 607. [ 9 ]
Characteristics
The Weimaraner is of medium to large size: dogs stand some 59 to 70 cm at the withers , bitches about 57 to 65 cm ; weights are in the range 30–40 kg for dogs, 25–35 kg for bitches. [ 1 ] [ 10 ] The coat may be either short or long; a double coat of intermediate length is sometimes seen. [ 1 ] The coat may be mouse-grey, roe-grey or silver-grey in various shades, or of a colour intermediate between these; minor white markings to the feet and chest are tolerated. [ 1 ] The eyes are amber, ranging from pale to dark; the ears are pendent, with rounded tips. [ 1 ] Among the neurological diseases associated with the Weimaraner are cerebellar hypoplasia , hypomyelinogenesis and spinal dysraphism . [ 11 ] : 6 Other diseases or defects to which it has some genetic or statistical predisposition include corneal dystrophy , distichiasis , entropion , eversion of the cartilage of the nictitating membrane , generalised demodicosis , medial canthal pocket syndrome , refractory corneal ulceration and XX sex reversal , [ 12 ] : 153 and also – in dogs only – Weimaraner neutrophil dysfunction , [ 13 ] : 928 pododermatitis and tricuspid dysplasia . [ 12 ] : 153 A 2024 UK study found a median lifespan of 12.8 years for the breed compared to an average of 12.7 for purebreeds and 12 for crossbreeds . [ 14 ]