Any Weimaraner owners here?

libbyann · June 2011

DH and I are looking into adopting a 1-2 year old Weimaraner for me to have as a running buddy. I run nearly daily and have really been wanting a dog that can keep pace with me for longish distances. From my research Weims are a pretty good endurance running breed as long as you work them up to the distance slowly (which I of course would!)

I grew up with labs and would love to have a lab, but a lot of them have genetic hip issues and don't make fantastic running partners. I've been reading up on Weimaraners to see if I feel like one would make a good fit for our family and they sound like really fun, incredibly smart dogs! What are your thoughts on the breed in general? I don't mind a high energy dog, but I really want a dog that will be a) good with my two mini dachshunds and b) be good with Will.

We're also looking at Vizslas, if anyone has thoughts on those as well (they're much harder to find at rescues/humane societies than Weims, and we really want to rescue).

bobcatsteph · June 2011

I would also look into a Rhodesian Ridgeback..they're from Africa so they are good with the heat and they are known to be good marathon training dogs. Plus, they are as active/non-active as your family is...they aren't super hyper like a lab or Vizsla.

There's a great RR rescue in Seguin.

ETA: Here's the link to the RR rescue. FYI, they usually have a lot of rescue puppies that they will send info about via e-mail..they just don't put them on their website because they go so fast.

JayandJack · June 2011

My opinions are kinda skewed since I'm not longer friends with her but my MOH has/had one. That thing was a terror! She was super super high energy. She never continued with the training they'd taken together which was her fault. Don't get me wrong. I love dogs, I love big dogs but I couldn't be around that one. I literally had to stop going over to her house because I would get jumped on, bit or nipped at/on and pushed out of the way. It wouldn't be my first choice for a dog around young children. As for exercise...she run marathons and trained with her dog so it was not for lack of exercise that this one behaved that way. Yes, I know she didn't do the extra work and her dog might have been the worse case scenario but it made me gun shy on that breed around kids.

I will add that I grew up with German Sheppard, Labs and Golden Retrievers so larger dogs and their attitudes are not new to me.

labbielover07 · June 2011

Rolo is a great running partner for DH

Labs can get hip problems, but that happens more when owners let their dogs get too fat. Labs are great work out buddies. Rolo is 65 pounds and nice and lean because we exercise him and keep him on a healthy diet (no free food, fed only at certain times with a certain amount of food, treats are limited, no table food).

I've never owned a Weim or a Vizsla, but I know both breads are friendly and high energy (need exercise daily). Any dog that isn't exercised or stimulated can be destructive. Especially dogs in their younger years.

If you have any questions about adopting a lab, let me know... we have tons of great dogs with the rescue

Orzapalooza · June 2011

We do! Lots of pics of my 5 year old Weimaraner femal and our 4 year old German Shorthaired Pointer in my blog below. She is super smart (so much she can be a huge bizzzotch). We got her in Colorado from an awesome breeder called FoxFire Weimaraners. My husband would not get a rescue because he feels that you dont know what situation the dog was in before.

When we got her, someone told us a young female Weimaraner was the most hyper dog we could have picked. They were right, but we love her and she is sooo good now. She still jumps 6 feet in the air to say hi when people arrive at our house. Endurance... Sophie is kind of lazy now, we have a big yard but we hardly walk them. Last time we went for a walk, it was around the block 0.9 mile and she layed down half way through and we had to practically drag her home.

I also love Vizslas, we were looking at them before we got Colby our GSP. I saw an 8 year old Vizsla at the dog park by our house (in Bee Cave) and she was much smaller than our Weimaraner. She will probably be around 10 lbs less full grown. Good luck!!

bobcatsteph · June 2011

MrsRosie:
bobcatsteph:
I would also look into a Rhodesian Ridgeback..they're from Africa so they are good with the heat and they are known to be good marathon training dogs. Plus, they are as active/non-active as your family is...they aren't super hyper like a lab or Vizsla.

There's a great RR rescue in Seguin.

ETA: Here's the link to the RR rescue. FYI, they usually have a lot of rescue puppies that they will send info about via e-mail..they just don't put them on their website because they go so fast.

Kona was attacked by a RR at a dog park when we lived in Colorado. Right or wrong, owner's fault or dog's fault, ever since then I have always had a negative opinion of them when it comes to being around other dogs or children. Obviously this is just one opinion/experience. I know there is a Nestie on the board who's dog was killed by a GSD. Anyone who's been around my GSD knows he's a big spazzy lickfest, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't attack a smaller animal that came into his yard.

Oh wow, that's horrible. I'm sorry that ruined your opinion of RRs..I'm sure I'd feel the same way.

Jess.O · June 2011

My dad has one. He's a big goofball but he's good with kids and other dogs. They also have a cocker spaniel and they play together. We've taken our dog over there (he doesn't like dogs messing with him and even though he's little he'll snap if a dog tries to play with him), Bogey was excited and bounded over to him. Mickey (my dog) didn't like that so he snapped at him. Bogey just went the other way.

He's about 10 now and was recently diagnosed with some sort of bone cancer that started in his hips. I don't think that's necessarily something that the whole breed has. Before he got sick, my dad would take him running through the neighborhood.

Overall, my opinion of them is that they're nice family pets but they're huge and they are goofy.

JayandJack · June 2011

MrsRosie:
JayandJack:

My opinions are kinda skewed since I'm not longer friends with her but my MOH has/had one. That thing was a terror! She was super super high energy. She never continued with the training they'd taken together which was her fault. Don't get me wrong. I love dogs, I love big dogs but I couldn't be around that one. I literally had to stop going over to her house because I would get jumped on, bit or nipped at/on and pushed out of the way. It wouldn't be my first choice for a dog around young children. As for exercise...she run marathons and trained with her dog so it was not for lack of exercise that this one behaved that way. Yes, I know she didn't do the extra work and her dog might have been the worse case scenario but it made me gun shy on that breed around kids.

I will add that I grew up with German Sheppard, Labs and Golden Retrievers so larger dogs and their attitudes are not new to me.

My sister and BIL work their butts off to train all their weims, and I agree that this breed needs a ton of training and excercise. I have never been concerned having A around her three dogs, but then again they are hardcore trained for obedience, and bird/deer hunting. Her purebred weim is pretty needy. He'll drive you up the wall in the 30 minutes before it's time for his food to be set down...then he'll scarf it like he's never been fed. The two weim/lab mixes were always more laid back.

IMO that's the difference between a good owner and a bad owner. Good owners train and train and train their dogs. She did not and they developed such bad habbits. Dexter, my GSD, is a sweet heart and wouldn't hurt a fly but he growls and barks like he's going to attack. I'm very careful when we have him off leash and let others know that he's not picking fights when he growls like he does. Props to your sister for training and exercising their dogs the way they are suppose to be. I agree there are bad and good dogs within every breed but IMO it's mostly the owners fault for letting them develop bad habits.

mcgee · June 2011

We considered adopting a weimaraner puppy because they're beautiful dogs. I called a friend of mine (former nestie) who had a weim for a while. Her ex took the dog in the divorce. Her advice: don't get a weim. She said that they are VERY smart, they can dig themselves out of just about any fenced yard, they're CRAZY hyper, and that you have to be committed to intense obedience training with them because a regular basic obedience course is not nearly enough. She said they have the potential to be wonderful dogs, but that she personally would not get another one until her child was much older and she had the time to really devote herself to properly training it. She also gently suggested that since we have two young children, a large hyper dog was probably not the best idea, and that a weim would likely knock Alex down a lot.

We ended up getting a golden retriever puppy, and from the looks of her so far, we think Princess Zelda Butter Shine (name courtesy of Meredith, naturally) is an English Creme Golden, rather than a regular golden. Picture a golden retriever but the color of a yellow lab. Goldens do tend to be more suspectible to hip issues. We've been told to limit her to short walks until she's a year old, and then work on jogging short distances. She has all of the puppy energy you'd expect from a large breed puppy, but she'll outgrow that in time.

Based on everything I've read and heard about weims, I'd probably pass on the breed for now and go with a lab or a golden or a mix with one of those breeds in it.

libbyann · June 2011

Thank you guys so much for the input! I really appreciate it! Rosie, I'll probably send you a FB msg later to talk to your sister...it's definitely not something we're going to rush out and do tomorrow, but probably will get a dog within the next 3-4 months.

labbie - Good to know about Rolo and labs! A lab is probably my first preference because I grew up with them and know their personalities. My reservation with them comes from our last lab we had growing up - she had horrible hip problems (hip dysplasia) and was not overweight. She had to be kept on Rimadyl, which eventually made her liver shut down - it was just a sad, sad ending! My dad suggested looking into a lab mix since they tend not to have genetic issues like the purebreds do...does the rescue have mixes? You can email/FB msg me this if you want to, but is there a way to foster to own or anything like that with HOTLR?

mcgee · June 2011

Libby,

From the Humane Society of Williamson County website, dogs currently available:

libbyann · June 2011

So cute mcgee! We might be making a trip there soon

libbyann · June 2011

MrsRosie:
I just want to throw out there that A gets knocked over by Kona weekly. He shakes it off, scolds him, and moves on. We look at it as really early hockey training.

Yeah, we're not concerned with him being knocked over. I don't want aggressive behavior toward him. I understand that with a large dog, there's bound to be some bumping into!

labbielover07 · June 2011

Yes! You first have to apply online. Then we do a phone interview and some meet and greets with the dogs we think would fit best with your family. When we do the interviews, we like to find out if a family has other pets, small or older children, are active, ready for a dog, etc. At the meet and greets, we like to have the entire family present to see how everyone interacts together. When you foster a dog, you have first dibs on adopting the dog. All of our dogs are purebred labs that are rescued from shelters all over the Austin and surrounding areas. Everyone in the lab rescue family is very supportive to all foster families. We have crates for our dogs that would go to a foster home. All dogs are spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and heart worm negative before being adopted. We have fostered three different dogs. You can foster for as long as you like to get to know your dog. We had our first foster for 5 months while she was going through heart worm treatment and some surgeries. We loved her but knew we couldn't afford the expense of two dogs. If for any reason while fostering or even after adopting it does not work out, we always take our dogs back no questions asked. I can't say enough good things about the rescue.

MrsMillerTime · June 2011

I *think* mrslaquinta has a weim & a vizsla. You might try to drop her a line.

heybabe · June 2011

Chiming in late, but I really wanted to respond. We had a vizsla until about a year ago. My husband (a hunter & a runner) wanted a dog that could accompany him doing both and it was the perfect fit until....we had kids. We got him as a pup and he was very, very smart, super-sweet, extremely obedient, an amazing hunter (says DH) and could run for hours. SUCH a people dog - he had to be literally touching you at all times. Even if it was just a paw on your foot.

In our experience, there were two related issues that made it not work out. 1) a five mile run barely took the edge off. Seriously. This dog had energy for days. Bred to hunt so had lots & lots of stamina. I guess I'm saying a 2-3 mile jog really didn't cut it. 2) The breed tends to get VERY attached to their owner. Since we got him before we had kids, I think he felt threatened by them and got really, really jealous. Combine that with my DH having less time to take him for 5+ mile runs/hunt post-kids (bear in mind, he was still getting to run, just 2-3x/week, not 6-7).

One day the dog was just walking past and our (at that time) just-turned-3 yr old approached him. Didn't run up to him, didn't harrass him, wasn't being loud, just walked up to him and the dog arched his back, the hair on his neck/back stood up, he snarled and growled in that really deep, gutteral growl that says "back off, I mean business." I grabbed DS & pulled him away. Luckily that was it, but it truly scared the crap out of me. I'm not sure what would have happened if I hadn't grabbed DS.

I just wanted to share, not b/c all dogs of any certain breed act the same and there are certainly vizslas who are great pets, I just wanted you to be aware that there are some things typical to the breed - endless energy & possessiveness. I just wouldn't want you to go into it unprepared for the amount of energy they have. I have heard females still have a lot of energy, but perhaps a softer demeanor.

In case you're curious, he now lives on a ranch near Victoria with a hunting guide. How perfect is that? A friend of a friend is a big hunter/vizsla person and knew of this hunting guide whose vizsla just died. He arranged a meeting and a trial hunt & this guy went bananas over him. He begged us to let him pay for him, but we were just so happy he was going to a good home. He gets to run to his heart's content & hunt all the time. He's in doggy paradise. My DH did shed a tear though. It was his favorite dog ever. But he wasn't about to chance something awful happening.

Sorry this is sooo long! Feel free to ask me any other questions about vizslas.

AustinMimi · June 2011

A very good friend has a Weimaraner and she is such a sweet dog. She is a rescue and is older, though. She likes other dogs, but cannot be around children. That friend's aunt and uncle have been showing Weimaraners for probably twenty years now and my friend says they were hit or miss as to whether they liked kids or other dogs. Some did, some didn't - just depended on the personality. My friend says that they are excellent running companions, though!

MrsH07 · June 2011

My FIL grew up with Weimereiners and Labs. The only benefit to a weimereiner is that they dont shed as much and they have twice the energy. My FIL's sister just got one and he is 6 months old now and an absolute terror. Plus, they are tall dogs, so they get into everything. They are very sweet dogs though!

KittyFX · June 2011

Weimaraners are so beautiful!!

I have a friend with RRs who loves them to pieces but I don't really know about their propensity to attack.

What about a grayhound? I always thought it would be cool to adopt an ex racing dog.

YellowUmbrella · June 2011

MrsRosie:
KittyFX:

What about a grayhound? I always thought it would be cool to adopt an ex racing dog.

Can't remember the OP, but I think Libby said she has a smaller dog? It's not advisable to adopt former racing dogs if you have other small animals/pets in the house. At least, that's what I was told by a greyhound rescue in CO. They said I would not qualify b/c I had a cat which, apparently, is too similar to the small...whatever it is (rabbit?)...the dogs are trained to chase in the race.

I hadn't chimed in since I don't know much about weims or visla's (waaayyyyyy too high energy for me!) but there is someone on the Pets board who fosters greyhounds and has cats. As long as they can pass a "cat test" (and she said that most have) they should be fine! They aren't always very good running partners from what I understand, though.

libbyann · June 2011

Thank you guys so much for the input...I seriously appreciate it! I briefly looked into Greyhounds, but I really want a more outgoing dog - one that's not going to be so skittish. I know that there are exceptions to every breed, but all the Greyhounds I've been around have been more timid and shy around new people. I have two stranger-fearing dogs right now and really want a dog that I can take to the dog park, Will's future sports activities, etc.

A little update: DH and I talked tonight and he really wants to look at the kill shelters/humane societies in Texas before going through a rescue (like HOTLR). It's nothing against the rescues - we know they're fantastic organizations!! But both of us really want to help a dog that otherwise wouldn't have any other options. So I'm opening my mind to include more than just Weims, Vizslas, and Labs! We're hoping to go look at some dogs in the next few weeks - our only requirements are that the dog is good with Will and our other dogs and is up for daily runs with me! I talked to TLAC on the phone tonight and they have some Pitt/Lab mixes we're going to look at if they're still there in a few weeks and the Pflugerville Shelter has some gorgeous lab mix puppies...not so sure I really want a puppy, but man, they're adorable!

labbielover07 · June 2011

libbyann:
Thank you guys so much for the input...I seriously appreciate it! I briefly looked into Greyhounds, but I really want a more outgoing dog - one that's not going to be so skittish. I know that there are exceptions to every breed, but all the Greyhounds I've been around have been more timid and shy around new people. I have two stranger-fearing dogs right now and really want a dog that I can take to the dog park, Will's future sports activities, etc.
A little update: DH and I talked tonight and he really wants to look at the kill shelters/humane societies in Texas before going through a rescue (like HOTLR). It's nothing against the rescues - we know they're fantastic organizations!! But both of us really want to help a dog that otherwise wouldn't have any other options. So I'm opening my mind to include more than just Weims, Vizslas, and Labs! We're hoping to go look at some dogs in the next few weeks - our only requirements are that the dog is good with Will and our other dogs and is up for daily runs with me! I talked to TLAC on the phone tonight and they have some Pitt/Lab mixes we're going to look at if they're still there in a few weeks and the Pflugerville Shelter has some gorgeous lab mix puppies...not so sure I really want a puppy, but man, they're adorable!

Puppies are lots of work! But so adorable. When you go to the shelters, take a look at the sweet black dogs. They seem to be the last that are picked up and harder to find forever homes for. Glad you are going to look at some shelters... no matter what you decide (shelter, rescue,) you are giving a homeless dog a new start.

mrslaquinta · June 2011

We have a Vizsla that we have had since he was a puppy (8 weeks, I think), and we had a Weimaraner rescue for about a year that we ended up having to "re-home". As you know, the breeds are very similar, both very high-energy with the tendency to become destructive without enough exercise, attention, etc. Our Vizsla, while still crazy at times, is just hyper - nothing worse than that. He gets VERY excited when new people come in the house, even when he is well-exercised, but he is not destructive or rough with the girls, nor has he ever been. He just jumps (our neighbors call him Tigger because he has got a serious vertical) and runs around for a few minutes, but if you ignore him, he stops and goes back to his chair or wherever he was hanging out. But, my husband runs him at least 3 miles, usually 5-6 times a week. He is very affectionate, just like Heybabe was saying, but we haven't had any issues at all with him being overprotective of DH (and he definitely identifies him as his owner), and he has never showed any signs of aggression toward anyone - he is just NOT an alpha at all, which is what we really looked for. Now, if he does not get enough exercise, then he can be seriously annoying, and walks with me and running in the yard are just not enough (and we have a big back yard - about half an acre).

The Weim, on the other hand, just did not work with our family, unfortunately. We were very diligent with his training, he got the same exercise as the Vizsla, and he just had a totally different disposition. He was very destructive, he was always jumping up and breaking stuff around the house, he literally would dig out of our back yard every. single. day., and he was just not as gentle with the girls as he needed to be. We got him as a rescue when he was a year and a half old, and apparently he previously belonged to a deployed soldier whose wife worked out of the house all day, didn't run, and just couldn't keep up with him. I don't know any more about his background than that, but as much as we tried, we just couldn't correct the behavioral issues, so we ended up having to find another home for him. He is apparently doing well now, his new owner is single, works from home, and doesn't have any other dogs or kids, so whether it is that she just doesn't mind the behavior, that she has been able to spend more time and money training him than we were, or that he is just really benefitting from the one-on-one attention, I don't know.

Anyway, all that is just to say that I think the individual dog is just as, if not more important than the breed. Our Vizsla's personality is such that I would NEVER worry about him around our kids, whereas we just never reached that point with the Weimaraner. Good luck with your decision, and feel free to ask any specific questions you may have!

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