# Just adopted a weimeraner



## bowhunter3 (Oct 18, 2007)

Few questions.

1st he seems to have a dominance problem, if he has a bone or a toy he growls at everyone even showing his teeth and posturing us especially my kids. How do I break him of that? He seems to be a good dog and well trained, but I can't have him biting my kids. The reason I got him was because his previous owner went out of town and was having some neighborhood kids take care of him, they are still out of town, but when the kids would go in to feed him and take him out he would growl and try and bite them. So the owner called me up and said if I can get him out I could take him to the pound or keep him, I decided to keep him, he was very friendly to me once I was able to calm him down. I think he must have seperation anxioty or something.

2nd how good of bird dogs are they? Are they easy to work with, he is about 1.5 to 2 years old.\

Any advice would be great thanks!


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

> if he has a bone or a toy he growls at everyone even showing his teeth and posturing us especially my kids. How do I break him of that?


Right now it sounds like he's in charge. He's the Alpha male and if you cross him yer gonna pay. That crap CAN NOT STAND!

Step one: Get him a nut-ectomy asap.

Step two: You need to show him you are the alpha male and that you do not tolerate any aggression at all. If he so much as bares his teeth at you or your kids you need to pounce on him and get in his asss. Be careful though, if you don't know what you're doing you could get eaten.


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## DEVIANT (Sep 11, 2007)

Congrats on the "Grey Ghost" new member of your pack! I agree with Tex. You need to make it perfectly clear in his mind of who is "The Boss" of the pack and where he fits in the food chain! Watch the "dog whisperer", he goes over some of the "pack" and alpha member stuff

My brother breeds Weimeraners in Washington state. He does not hunt with them, he just has them as pets since he and his wife cannot have kids. He has offered me one in the past, but at that time I did not want to add another pet. Since his male died and he is contemplating giving up the breeding thing. Either way, his were very high strung. I know that they are a hunting breed, I just never hunted with one. I suggest reading some books and see how he does with hunting and if he is "birdy". I picked up a GWP a few months ago and he was already 9 months old. The previous owner started his bird training, but never really went all out. Now I am trying to play catch up. Stubborn SOB if I do not keep it up daily.

http://www.versatiledogs.com/breeds/weim.html
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/weimar.html
http://www.weimaranerhunters.com/


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## DDGuy (Nov 4, 2007)

bowhunter3 said:


> 1st he seems to have a dominance problem, if he has a bone or a toy he growls at everyone even showing his teeth and posturing us especially my kids. How do I break him of that? He seems to be a good dog and well trained, but I can't have him biting my kids.


He would have to be the worlds greatest hunting dog for me to even think about messing with him. Even if you get him submitting to you, life's too short to have to watch out the window everytime your kids are out there alone with him. You've already failed the first test by not instantly showing him the Wrath of God at the first hint of agression displayed towards you and your family, and don't think that he didn't take note of that.

It doesn't cost any more to feed a good dog than one you can't trust around your family. Do yourself a favor and choose option B. Take him to the pound.


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

DDGuy said:


> bowhunter3 said:
> 
> 
> > 1st he seems to have a dominance problem, if he has a bone or a toy he growls at everyone even showing his teeth and posturing us especially my kids. How do I break him of that? He seems to be a good dog and well trained, but I can't have him biting my kids.
> ...


Unless you're pro trainer and know exacly what you're doing this wisdom would be wisely taken.


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## threshershark (Sep 7, 2007)

Just one comment about silvers as bird dogs -- I've been around one that was very good, the rest have been very head strong and marginal hunting dogs. Quite a bit depends on the blood line, they have been bred selectively for looks and coloration rather than field abilities. Put him on birds and see how he does, my guess is he won't blow your socks off.


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

threshershark said:


> Just one comment about silvers as bird dogs -- I've been around one that was very good, the rest have been very head strong and marginal hunting dogs. Quite a bit depends on the blood line, they have been bred selectively for looks and coloration rather than field abilities. Put him on birds and see how he does, my guess is he won't blow your socks off.


The question on weather or not the're good bird dogs can be answerd by this question: Why don't you see very many of them? :?


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## ZEKESMAN (Sep 14, 2007)

Why dont we see many DD's or wire hairs? I love labs and they are the #1 registered dog A.K.C but 70% of them arn't worth feeding being popular doesnt make a dog good. but I agree the dog should have had the wrath of god rained down upon him the first time and every time would have made for a short problem.


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## Loke (Sep 7, 2007)

I think the question was meant to mean "why don't we see many of them in the field, or in trials?" We also see too many Labs decorating the back yards at too many houses. Not enough dogs are getting the attention they need to become good dogs in the field. 
Had the dog in question been at my house, he would have found his place in the pack to be lower than the cat.


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## snobiller22 (Sep 25, 2007)

bowhunter3 said:


> It doesn't cost any more to feed a good dog than one you can't trust around your family. Do yourself a favor and choose option B. Take him to the pound.





TEX-O-BOB said:


> Unless you're pro trainer and know exacly what you're doing this wisdom would be wisely taken.


Personally i think that you should give the dog a chance and see what happens. The reason the dog is like this is mainly because of how he has been trained and raised. I know that you had nothing to do with how he was raised, but you can sure change how he is going to be trained from here on. I have a Wimi and she is very stuburn, and isn't the biggest fan of children climbing on her. You have to remember these dogs have come from germany and were bred for being a watch dog/gaurd dog, so naturally they have lines in them somewhere that tell them to be aggressive. From the research i have done, most of that has been "bred out of them" but who knows because i hear alot of them being stuburn and aggressive. From reading posts on this forum and talking to other trainers of different breeds, all the "PROFESSIONAL TRAINERS" say the same thing "No room in my life for an aggressive dog " thats because if they were to take the time to train them to not be that way, they wouldn't make very much money, or the client wouldn't be able to pay them enough because it would take a lot of time. I think thats not the way to go about it, if you have the time and the patience, you should give the dog a chance and TRAIN it to be non-aggressive. If that doesn't work then you have at least tried, then maybe it's time to put it down.



threshershark said:


> Just one comment about silvers as bird dogs -- I've been around one that was very good, the rest have been very head strong and marginal hunting dogs. Quite a bit depends on the blood line, they have been bred selectively for looks and coloration rather than field abilities. Put him on birds and see how he does, my guess is he won't blow your socks off.


[/quote]

When we picked up our Wimi that is all i hear, "Good luck on getting her to hunt for you" and "I heard that they aren't the best of hunters." Well being that it's my first one i can't speak for the rest of them, but DANG she is by far the best upland dog that i have hunted around, and i hunt around 7 GSP (what a worthless dog) :mrgreen:. She was so instinctivly birdy, and knew what she was doing from her first hunt. I have had alot of trouble with her being stubborn at home, but that's mostly because she is a high energy dog. She gets in the field and you can't beat her.

JUST MY OPINION


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

Tell me, is it "Weime" or Why Me!


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## bowhunter3 (Oct 18, 2007)

Guys thanks for the advice. I did beat the **** out of him when he growled the first time at me and my kids. Just didn't feel that it was important to tell all of you. I posted on here as soon as I left him and went back to work, told the wife to put him in his kennel and I would work with him when I got home. Well we have had him all weekend now and he is such a great dog. He is good with the kids, although I have not and will never leave him a lone with them. He is very melow in the house. He marked his teritory at first but fixed that problem with a good whacking. THe only annoying thing about him is he wants you to constantly pet him, he will force his nose onto your hands and make you pet him, which isn't a bad thing it just gets a little old. He is a very good watch dog, as someone mentioned. I do believe he will make a good bird dog, he has great instincs. I think he will be just fine, but thanks all for the advice.


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## flint (Sep 13, 2007)

I have a weimeraner and a brittany. My son has two English setters. The weimeraner has the best nose by far, but has very little interest in birds. He is a very smart dog and although he acts protective, he is extremely gentle with children. He loves playing fetch on land or in water and your arm will wear out long before he gets tired.


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

bowhunter3 said:


> He is very melow in the house. He marked his teritory at first but fixed that problem with a good whacking. THe only annoying thing about him is he wants you to constantly pet him, he will force his nose onto your hands and make you pet him, which isn't a bad thing it just gets a little old.


Sounds like you have the makings of a good family member on your hands. I've been around a couple Weims in the field and they did well I thought. Of course, I'm no field trial pro or anything and only have a lab mutt but I sure liked the two Weims I was around. They were friendly, energetic and responded well to "the boss". My Lab does the same thing with the attention deal and the marking. I just taught him to wait (with a little whacking involved) and now he's housebroken... or apartment broken I guess I should say. About the attention thing with the nose, he gets a pat on the head and then knows now that when I say ENOUGH or tell him to lay down, thats time to knock it off..... 8) That might wind up helping you... not too sure. I'd just train him to learn that when you are through, then he is too and bugging you more isn't going to be rewarded. Good luck with your dog.... I hope it all works out well for you.


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## bowhunter3 (Oct 18, 2007)

Tex why the hate for weimaraners. I have done some research on them and they are supposed to be very good hunting dogs. I will try him out, he sure has the nose for it, and he already knows how to point that is just instict telling him to do that. I am glad I kept him though, to update everyone he has become a very good dog. I was just home with him and my kids were laying on him and he just sat there and never moved except for the ocasional lick. As for the hunting goes hopefully he does well. I am normally more of a duck and goose hunter but I love hunting pheasants and upland game, jsut don't do it as much, maybe this dog will get me out there more. If I can find land to do it on


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## bwhntr (Sep 12, 2007)

TEX-O-BOB said:


> The question on weather or not the're good bird dogs can be answerd by this question: Why don't you see very many of them? :?


The funny thing about that is I think I know of about as many Weim owners as I do Ugly dog owners! :mrgreen: Hmmm...I wonder why?


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

bwhntr said:


> TEX-O-BOB said:
> 
> 
> > The question on weather or not the're good bird dogs can be answerd by this question: Why don't you see very many of them? :?
> ...


You don't get out much do ya?

Bowhunter3, I don't hate any dog. I'm just funnin with ya. I'm a GWP ownwer and a very bias one at that. So ya gots to take me with a grain of salt. :wink: I've met some nice "Why Mes" :mrgreen: And I've met some that were as dumb as a pair of pliars. But I guess that can be said about any breed. Exept the GWP of course! :wink: :lol:


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## bowhunter3 (Oct 18, 2007)

Tex I like GWP's they are good dogs, my wife just cant stand the way they look. :roll:


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## silverkitten73 (Sep 20, 2007)

Altough I agree in part with Tex's comments - get that **** dog away from your children and wife ASAP! If you have little children and one of them crossed his path and you were out of the room or at work - a dog the size of a weim could kill your child or wife in seconds. If it didn't kill them it would bite fingers, nose, eyeballs, etc off in seconds. I had one bite completely through my finger in a flash before. 

As far as hunting ability Weims are fine. Don't look at most of them to hunt like a GSP, or EP - but they can get the work done. I have seen some ok ones - Kim Sampson has the best I have seen - but I haven't hunted behind her weim before.

Weim's are one of the smartest - bullheaded breed of dog that I have ever owned. I had a female that would try to open my back door. Would bark non-stop (even with the bark collar on full blast) in the middle of the night - just so she could sleep inside. 

Weims are not the best kennel dog. Although they can handle it - they prefer to be with their pack inside a nice warm home. 

I would just send the dog off to the humane society or that agency that will take them to petsmart and adopt them out. I wouldn't mess with it dude!


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

silverkitten73 said:


> Altough I agree in part with Tex's comments - get that **** dog away from your children and wife ASAP! If you have little children and one of them crossed his path and you were out of the room or at work - a dog the size of a weim could kill your child or wife in seconds. If it didn't kill them it would bite fingers, nose, eyeballs, etc off in seconds. I had one bite completely through my finger in a flash before.
> 
> As far as hunting ability Weims are fine. Don't look at most of them to hunt like a GSP, or EP - but they can get the work done. I have seen some ok ones - Kim Sampson has the best I have seen - but I haven't hunted behind her weim before.
> 
> ...


Why are you so quick to get rid of him silverkitten? To say he could kill the wife....come on that is absurd. Could bite, but almost every dog that I have ever been around that acted like this would snap at most. Show it who is dominate, give it a chance to change. If it won't change and you fear it hurting your children, then I agree get rid of it. I think it could be fixed with a little work is all. Good luck.


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## silverkitten73 (Sep 20, 2007)

Jahan - apparaantley you haven't found yourself in the middle of an aggressive dog or a two large dog dog fight before. Until you have those same experiences - let me assure you it would be nothing for a dog the size of a weim to kill a small child. 

Geez how fast could a biting dog inflict serious nerve damage to an arm or severe damage to a persons face - in a split second.

I have owned alpha dogs before - which this dog sounds like it is - and rarely can you train them to the point that they will never snap again. I had an alpha female jack russel terrier that was asleep and my son who was one year old softly touched it. The dog whipped around and bit him on the face. 

That is why I am so fast to pass judgement. Dogs like this should not be around children, wives, the elderly, and other dogs....


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

I agree with you for the most part, I was just pointing out the exaggeration of possibly killing the wife. I actually have jumped into the middle of a fight between my black lab and a wolf mix. That wolf dog was very aggressive when it came to food and that is why the dogs got in a fight in the first place. The dog snapped at me once and I beat the crap out of it and held it down until it quit fighting me. I never had a problem after that. I completely agree that if there is a possibility of harm to a child then he should get rid of it, but he has only had it a couple days and I think it is to early to make that call yet.


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## bowhunter3 (Oct 18, 2007)

Didn't you guys read my post where I said the dog was just fine, and a very lovable dog now. My kids lay on it, it is the biggest lap dog you have ever seen. Doesn't show any aggression any more. Of course I wouldn't keep it if I thought it would harm my wife or kids, and I never let any dog alone with my kids, that is just stupid. He will become a very good dog, I took him out the other day and he caught a rabbit I thought that was pretty cool. As long as I take him out and let him just run a lot he is very well behaved in the house. I don't know who said they don't kennel well, but they are right, read up on them and you would have known that they need to be with people and don't do well unless they are with there family. My dog sleeps in our bedroom on his bed and does just fine. I completly enjoy having this dog, thanks for all your comments.


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## Texscala (Sep 8, 2007)

I would look into getting your dog into a simple odediendce class. This will not help him hunt but it will socialize him. You can have your kids attend the classes with you and they will learn how to and how not to work with the dog. 

I had my 10 week old French Britt go through the classes with my wife (used to be terrified of dogs) and they are now best friends.....Until I get a gun out and the dog knows we are going after some birds.


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## smackaquacker (Jan 3, 2008)

A dog that has such aggresion issues will more than likely be great with the people he lives with. But he will become extremely protective. I think where you will need to worry is other children, people that come into your home. This is also a liability - who wants to get sued because there dog bit the neighbor boy?


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## bowhunter3 (Oct 18, 2007)

My wife babysits 2 boys every day and he was great with them the minute they came into the house. I am telling you guys, he doesn't have an aggression issue. He never bit us, all he did is growl and yes that is scary with a dog, but he was in a new place, and I don't know what happened to him at his old place to make him do that. But he is great end of story, nothing aggressive with him. I am going to get him snipped here in a little while, and that will really calm him down.


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

bowhunter3 said:


> My wife babysits 2 boys every day and he was great with them the minute they came into the house. I am telling you guys, he doesn't have an aggression issue. He never bit us, all he did is growl and yes that is scary with a dog, but he was in a new place, and I don't know what happened to him at his old place to make him do that. But he is great end of story, nothing aggressive with him. I am going to get him snipped here in a little while, and that will really calm him down.


That is cool that he is great. I guess I misunderstood your original post making it sound worse than it really is. It seems like there are a lot of people out there that will get rid of a dog in an instance rather than work with them and I was just hoping this wasn't one of those cases. Sounds like you have a great dog.


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## bowhunter3 (Oct 18, 2007)

jahan said:


> bowhunter3 said:
> 
> 
> > My wife babysits 2 boys every day and he was great with them the minute they came into the house. I am telling you guys, he doesn't have an aggression issue. He never bit us, all he did is growl and yes that is scary with a dog, but he was in a new place, and I don't know what happened to him at his old place to make him do that. But he is great end of story, nothing aggressive with him. I am going to get him snipped here in a little while, and that will really calm him down.
> ...


Yeah its hard to tell the story right in words. When I went to get him at the original owners house he was so scared he was shaking, and yes he was growling, but I believe it was because he was so scared. Someone had to do something to him to make him like that, because I have seen him at his old owners house and he was a great dog for them as well. I took him home, after I calmed him down, and he was very good. My wife gave him a bone and he loved it, but when we went near him he became very protective of it and growled at us and showed his teeth. I yelled at him and gave him a few hard shots to the nose and he was fine after that. He did it a couple more times the following days, but after correcting him, and showing him who the boss was he never has done it again. And like I said has become a great dog. He never tried to bite us, never even thought he was I just think he was trying to see where he was with the new family. I had a lab, and I think that was a problem as well, but unfortunaltly for us he ran off and never came back, so we lost my lab who I loved, but in the end we gained this great family dog who I think will become a perfect addition to our family. He is very protective which my wife loves, any time strangers come to the house, well actually when any one comes he will bark like crazy when they knock, and as soon as he sniffs them and sees they are ok, he just welcomes them in and is just fine with them. Anyways, there has been a lot of good responses to this post, and I am greatfull, but all is well. I will keep all informed on his hunting abilities, we are going to take him out in Feb. for some pheasant hunting at my friends ranch should be fun, hopefully I can get my digital working by then so I can take picts. and post them.


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## deadicatedweim (Dec 18, 2007)

Good choice on giving the dog a chance. My dog has a little more attitude then your average dog but as long as I remind her who the boss is she is a great dog. My dog loves the water and I pretty much hunt her year round. She blows labs out of the water on retrieves since she has such a good nose. I get off work late alot and head out to the marsh and join my buddies and I always send her into the really thick stuff and she brings back the birds the labs counldnt find. Like your dog she also has caught a few rabbits on dove or chukar hunts but I have taught her not to since I dont think its such a good idea to have a west desert rabbit in your mouth. anyways enough rambling


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## flyfitch (Sep 22, 2007)

I have trained many shorthairs and springers. Never a wiemer but I can tell you what has worked for my dogs and hopefully it will work for a wiemer. My shorthair can occasionally growl and show his teeth also. He will never go to far, he just tries me sometimes to see if he can get away with it. He never does it to my wife or children, only me. I think you have a great dog. I believe you said he is 1 1/2 or 2 years old which is still plenty young to train. Since my current shorthair was born about 5 years ago, I would get him out to a field at least once a week. You don't have to drive far, just go to a field by your house. It does not have to hold birds. Just use it to train him. I have not worked with my dog as much this last year and have noticed a relaxation in his behavior. Hence the growling. I have found that just getting out to a field without a leash and letting him run for a while works wonders. He enjoys responding to commands in the field and he brings this great attitude home with him and it reminds him that I am in charge, not by beeting him (although I am guilty of that) but by having fun and rewarding him when he listens. It is amazing how much they will calm down and listen when you spend a lot of time with them in the field. (Once a week) If you want this dog to become an upland dog, then I encourage you to first teach him simple commands (come, stay, heel) in your home by rewarding him heavily when he obeys, not by beeting him when he doesn't. I am not one of those crazy animal lovers that does not believe in violence, but I KNOW that yelling and hitting your dog only cunfuses and frustrates him and he will become scared and will not listen because he is to worried about getting hit. I have tried both ways. Trust me, rewards with treats works much better. Once he has learned these commands, then use a shock collar only after he knows the command and blatently ignores it. He will remember the command quickly and should respond. Then get him out to the field where he can run like crazy. While in the field, you need to relax and let him be. Don't shout commands at the top of your lungs. It does nothing. If he is far away, there is a difference between yelling and talking loud. Say your commands like you do in your home, but just a bit louder if neccessary. When he does not respond, give him just enough juice on the collar until he does respond. Remember to say the command while shocking him so he knows why he is being punished. But like I said, let him run and have fun. Don't be constantly commanding him. A good idea is to train him to a whistle. It can be easy and very rewarding. You can spend all the time in the world to try to get him to become a trial dog, or you can train him to use a whistle for the simple commands. The whistle works great when in the field and is quite simple to train. Only after he knows his commands, for example "come" or "here" then you bring in the whistle. At your home, when you tell him to come and he comes to you, blow the whistle in two short bursts while he is coming. Continue to do this for about 15 minutes at a time. He will coincide the whistle bursts with the voice command and before long you will not need the voice command, only the whistle. Let him relax for a few hours or even the rest of the day before working with him again. A dogs attention span is sayed to be about like a 2 year old child. You will notice when he becomes lazy or noncoherent and then you will become frustrated. This is when it is time to stop for the day. I would recommend using the whistle for at least the "come" command. It will make hunting in the field less frustrating and more enjoyable. But remember, don't be costantly commanding him. Let him have a little room to play and I think he will surprise you with his ability to let instinct take over. Have fun with your dog. I think he will be a great addition to the family with some attention and discipline.


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