6d • Breed of the Week
Weimaraner
My apologies on being late on delivering this post. Yesterday was a busy day and I just plum forgot that it was Friday. I hope you enjoy.
The Weimaraner, or Weimar Pointer, appeared in the 19th Century in Germany and their availability was firmly controlled by the Nobels of Weimar. These nobles were devoted sportsman who also hunted big game. They needed a dog that was excellent at tracking, had speed, was courageous and durable. They implemented a breeding program to develop these specific desired traits.
Initially the Weimaraner was bred to take down bear and deer but was later shifted to a “fur and feathers” dog and are now one of the Hunt, Point, Retrieve breeds.
In 1928, a man named Howard Knight was keen on acquiring a foundation stock of the breed in the New England states. He applied for a membership in the German Club for the breed and the club sent him two sterilized dogs despite his promise to maintain the purity of the breed. It wasn’t until 10 years later that he was sent 3 females and a puppy. Other enthusiasts joined him and in 1942 the Weimaraner Club of America was formed and in turn a breed standard was formed and the breed was recognized by the AKC in 1943 and began participating in field trials in 1948.
Due to the wartime in Europe in the 1940s and the German’s not wanting to lose valuable quality dogs the Weimaraner was sent to the United States. The Weimaraner was a status symbol and with their popularity booming this did also lead to poor breeding practices that resulted in less than ideal temperaments and ugly dogs. Thankfully there were committed breed enthusiasts that would breed and maintain the high quality standards for the Weimaraner.
The Weimaraner today comes in two different coat colors but only one is recognized for the show ring and for hunting. The options are silver-grey and blue-grey with the blue-grey variety having black noses and lips. Other than coat color the two look identical but are bred for entirely different purposes: the silver-grey is bred for work and the blue-grey is almost exclusively bred for companionship. The blue-grey option is an automatic disqualification for the show ring as well.
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Weimaraner
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