Breeder's Note: The primary comments (black ink) are from Robert PeArt in Portland. He and his fiancee' (Jennifer) live with Bocce (visit Bocce's Web Page). They have worked very hard with Bocce from the moment they decided upon this breed, through the puppy stage, and even now. Cliff and I asked Robert to contribute to our Website because on numerous occasions he and Jennifer have taken time to write in great detail about the responsibilities and joys of being a Weim family. They have even met with people who live in the Portland area so they can better access if they want to truly become a Weim family. We appreciate this couple a great deal. We know you will benefit from their insights and comments. Also Note: Additional comments are added here and there from various contributors.
Weims as pets: Weims were developed to be hunting companions in Germany. With this in mind, the question might be asked. Are Weimaraners ever right for a person who wants them as a pet, companion, or family member?
We are not hunters and we have found Bocce is an absolutely fantastic pet. Weim's have tons of energy. Expect to exercise a Weim for at LEAST 45 mins every day. I don't mean, let him outside for 45 mins...I mean at the park, running full speed chasing a ball for 45 mins. Weims are not your neighbor's black lab who may consider it a daily workout to walk from their bed to the food dish. We can get away with missing 1 day's exercise, but 2...and we're in trouble. So, seriously consider this, because it's a big commitment and not fair to the Weim if you can't be dedicated about getting them exercised. We are just now beginning to see a MILD taper of bocce's energy and he is 1 yr 9 mos old now. I met a 15 yr old Weim the other day. He had slowed down quite a bit, but the owner said that he was full tilt puppy energy until 7! I'm not trying to scare, but this is a very real factor.
Weim housebreaking: Weims are notorious for being difficult to housebreak. This being your first Weimaraner how did that process go for you?
We had about 8 #2's and probably 15 #1's total. One day, we put a jingle bell on a lanyard and hung it around the door knob. I made bocce "ring"it with his nose and paw and then immediately let him outside. We brought him right back in and he did it on his own. (weims are REALLY smart...the pick up both good and bad amazingly fast) I showered him with his positive reinforcement words and treats. From that point on, we never really had any problems. Sometimes, he whacks it so hard that we'll find the bell completely destroyed and laying on the other side of the room.
Crate train. This was hard for me to swallow. I hated the thought of keeping him in that little space all day. We are fortunate enough to work very close to our home so we can go home at lunch and let him out. Now, he loves it. He sees us grab our keys or coat etc to leave, and he just voluntarily goes to his crate. In fact, he freaks out a bit when we leave him in the house free to roam. Weims can have separation issues. If I go out to my car for and return 30 seconds later he greets me like I've been gone for a month. Crate train, it will be great in the long haul and it can save their life, your home, and possibly some treasure item.
Cadence is doing great! I bell trained her for the potty-training thing and she learned to ring it in less than a week. She is potty-trained, and only has an accident when it is my fault. She rings the bell in my mom's house too. And, she is so darn smart that she rings it all the time, runs outside and pretends to pee, and then goes and grabs a stick, or whatever else she is obsessed with at the moment. It is pretty funny. Mandy Rockwell (March 14, 2008)
Potty training - we got a little lax when crating him and you know, it only takes a second around a corner and it sure flows freely. Well, we tried the bell on the door yesterday. At first I was concerned he would only play with it or understand that just dinging it would produce a treat, but either he is real bright or we're great trainers because he chewed on it for a few seconds so I took him outside and no "business". About 20 min later he rang the bell with his nose and I took him outside to do his business and receive a treat. He has not had an accident yet since. We still crate him, but are just more watchful with him when he's out, but he just runs to the door, rings the bell with his nose, waits for us to grab a treat, our jackets and shoes and then we go outside, he gets his treat and his praise with his tail wagging after doing his business. Honestly we lucked out. I never showed him to ring the bell. The first time he rang it I took him outside and since then he just uses the bell. He's only rang it twice as false alarms but he still went outside just didn't do any business.
Dan Barnhart 2/29/2008
Breeder's Note: Our final contributor on the topic of housebreaking your Weimaraner hails from Salt Lake City. If you get to Salt Lake City be sure to stop and visit Roger's wonderful boutique -- http://www.bigrockclothing.com/. While visiting the store, there is a good chance you could spot Melvin (Roger's latest family addition--a Blue Weimaraner from OwyheeStar). If Roger's in the store normally his sidekick is closeby.
Roger was phenomenally successful in his housebreaking process. Therefore, we wanted to ask him to share his personal pointers. For quite sometime he managed to have a perfect record. Well read on and learn what Roger has to share with you about successful housebreaking your Weimaraner puppy.
Early-on I did have a perfect record with housebreaking Melvin , however, to set the record straight, my record is not perfect anymore. He has gone to the bathroom four times in the house. Planning for the arrival and laying out areas was a big part of being initially successful. Also, I made sure I had a plan and followed it. This is how I achieved a nearly perfect housebreaking record:
- I have crates in each main room loaded with toys.
- I have two pens, one at work and one at home to eliminate too much confinement to a crate.
- I have a fully fenced and gated back yard.
- I know that after feeding I have about 10 to 15 minutes to let the dog out to relieve himself.
- Because there is no perfect time measurement ever, the dog is either always with me or I
know what he is doing. He will never relieve inside a crate. But, I cannot leave him in a crate all day.
- My dog only cries or whines for three reasons: food, water, or to relieve himself (big clues).
- To really cover myself, I make sure to leave him in the gated back after eating for 20 minutes. He will run, smell, investigate, relieve himself and hopefully tire out. I actually do this about 4 times at night. In the day, I take him on frequent walks. Overall, I really try not to give the dog a chance to spoil a good routine. I watch him like a hawk.
I hope this information is helpful to others, RogerApril 2nd, 2008Breeder's Note on Housebreaking: Over the last few years with greater frequency, people has reported great success using a bell hanging on the door. They sell these online. We have never used the bell method simply because we have too many Weims. Smiles Just to put this in perspective at least every litter has someone that writes about their success in housebreaking due to the use of a bell. In addition, the second greatest tip is most truly successful people use a crate. Other tips include tying the pup to you. The bottom line is until they go to the door and let you know they have to go, you must keep an eye on them when they are running free. Failure to succeed early-on could lead to years of soiled and wet floors. Weims are very concrete in their thinking and behavior. Once they learn something, that is the way they think it is from there on out. So changing a bad behavior is more difficult than just being ahead of the curve with your training.
Weim Training: People always say you MUST train a Weimaraner. How important is training and how do I know what trainer/training to choose? There are so many out there.
Like everyone Jenn and I believe TRAINING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF WEIM OWNERSHIP. We went to gina and www.unleashyourself.biz. I could sufficiently answer this entire email by simply giving you this website. I HIGHLY encourage you to observe one of her classes. If you don't train with her, train with someone. Make absolutely sure it is positive reinforcement. Weims have a tendancy to shut down if they are chastised. I've spanked bocce 2 times ever and I wish I hadn't. It wasn't hard (at all), but it really frightened him. On one occasion it took him more than a day to "trust" me again. He's just not used to me showing anger...when I did, he panicked. we've also learned that raising our voice or being stern is entirely ineffective. The best and most effective approach is to use gentle happy tones. He responds nearly 95% of the time. It's hilarious to watch other owners at the dog park. They'll say "come" and NOTHING happens, then they'll start yelling and then once the dog finally does come back, they scold them or even spank them. The dog just learned, "man, coming back to dad sucks..." and I just won't do it next time. We just say 'bocce' in a sing-songy way and he'll come flying back to us pretty much every time even if he had been chasing a squirrel.
I have the Tamar Gellar DVD - Celebrate Your Dog & book on CD - The loved Dog. Her focus is all about the positive. I thought that Tamar Gellar's Book on CD was better than the DVD. It provided more information - covering all basic areas. The DVD was not as indepth as the book. I expected a little more from it - however, it did show the basics. it is nice to have a visual for some of the things she covered in the book. For example, the method the uses to teach a dog to stay. It was very beneficial to see what she was doing! The book covered a bit of her background - for a while I wasn't sure I bought the right Book on CD. LOL! The begining of the book lays the groundwork for her approach on training. I like the focus on reward. It is working well for Dash!
Dash has been wonderful! He is a very fun little puppy! He is surprisingly independent. He is curious about everything! I turned on the vacuum and he came running to check it out - no fear of loud noises. He will hear something and run to find out what made the noise.
Ok I get to brag a bit here.....
He will typically sleep 7-8hours at night.
He rides in the car, usually sleeping in his crate.
He loves his crate by my bedside and has gone to bed 2x on his own - when I was riding & he was with my husband.
He has learned to sit by voice command,
Down by hand signal + treat,
Spin either direction by hand signal + treat,
We have started to work on OFF. (loved dog method)
He has also learned to give me his paw and let me touch in between his toes. He gets his feet washed several times a day so asking for a PAW and having him let me wash it is very handy!!!
We are working on potty training. He is pretty young, I watch him very closely and can pick up on his signals if he is going to go....he has regular times I take him out but, I have found that keeping a close eye on him at this stage is best.
Oh, he is also learning DROP IT. Depending on the situation, it has about an 80% immediate response. He found it quite enjoyable to grab a pant leg and tug & growl. Not so much fun for the leg inside the pant leg!!!! Those razor sharp teeth often grab skin & pant leg! Unless he is REALLY excited he will almost immediately drop the mouth full of skin and pant leg. :)
Cathy (March 11, 2008)
I think that bottom line is you have to have 2 things. The right breeder and the right attitude and training for the pup immediately. You have to be the dominant one and he/she needs to know that immediately. If you have those 2 things everything will be great! Did Shela tell you about the Tamar Gellar dvd? We ordered that and it was a great investment! We started with her "loved dog method" immediately. The whole family watched it so we are all on the same page.
Abbie Gipson 2/28/2008
At risk of preaching to the experts, I have found guides that may help other new puppy owners. The Monks of New Skete New York have a couple of books titled "How to Be Your Dogs Best Friend" and "How to Raise a Puppy". These volumes treat dog training in a scientific manner while never losing focus on the fact that you are developing a relationship with your dog. They also give a very good overview of the dog and its roots in pack life as well as developmental periods. I'm sure that you have heard of them, but for us, and several other novices who I know, they have been excellent and full references that may help others.
Gary Patenaude 03/10/2008
Training - to be honest Tamar's book was a good starter. I emailed her about an issue with the DVD and never heard back from her (terrible customer service). I have checked out a couple of more books from the library and with the combined information it has helped us a lot. Ubu is our first dog so we are novices. I am reading Before and After Getting Your Puppy by Ian Dunbar right now and for our learning types his book is better than Tamar's because he gives us specifics to do. Like, filling kongs with all the food so the dog has to work for his food and suggests putting away the food bowl at first. Hand feeding to teach "soft touch". Socialization - introduce pup to 100 people before 3 months old. Suggesting introducing to more men and children so adult dog not antsy or scared of different antics around people.
After reading Tamar's book it helped me think differently about working with the dog, but Ian gives specifics of what I am doing and why. For instance, I hadn't put into words, but I knew I had to work hard with the pup now so I have a balanced dog later. Ian even gives emphasis on ages for the pup to hit while still impressionable and not have to correct the bad behavior later and then teach correct behavior. I am in the middle of Ian's book now and have others to read later.
Would I recommend Tamar's training for the family? Yes, but as supporting information and not the main course. This again may just be our learning style, but for us as beginners it was more helpful to be told do this and this by this age and this is how you do it so the dog will be like this later. Maybe it's obvious to others, but with all our efforts and emotions tied into the dog it's nice to be told what to do and not have to think about figuring out what we should do.
Dan Barnhard 2/29/2008
Breeder's Note on Training: First and foremost we can all agree that training is vital. I think it is important to be prepared and ready to follow some kind of protocol. Most of the books and methods have a similar thread through them. Each of of processes information a little different. I think for some Tamar Gellar's methods are pretty basic. Still we have found many people can easily succeed. Other's are far more astute in their approach. Regardless we are amazed that it seems that no matter the positive approach they all work when executed properly. We cannot really recommend one approach over another. For our own purposes we tend to use the Huntsmith approach. These guys are very gentle and patient to a fault in their hunt training. They are also very successful. In fact, we actually market the Huntsmith materials because we believe in the process. For others we suspect it would be unappealing in its approach sheerly because it is hunt-based. Puppy Development I would work for anyone regardless of whether they were ever going to hunt or not. Still, it seems easier to us to be able to sit down with the family and watch a DVD and all get on the same page with how things are going to be done. In the end, it is not the approach so much as the commitment to train. Failing to train will simply lead to failing with your Weim.
By the way, some of you may need to invest in an actual trainers help. Many people sign up for classes. Some people need intervention in their home environment. Getting a positive behavioralist might make the difference between sucess and failure too. Some people manage to use materials and DVDs and they train on their own. It is still important to socialize your pup in all settings. Please keep in mind that this breed can be a challenge for some who have trained other breeds. They are extremely smart, manipulative, sensitive, and sometimes willful. Please don't take the challenge personally.
The hardest part of adding a Weim to your family was: For everyone who thought their decision through and then carefully planned for the event,...........there are still tough moments.
For Jenn and myself the biggest adjustment was that you suddenly have this four-legged, grey mouth following your everywhere. Let me be more clear....EVERYwhere. They are high energy and want to be with you, around you, on you, over you, and with/around/on/over anything you happen to be doing, eating, reading, folding, solving, painting, fixing, etc... Bocce has no idea that he's not a human. If you are interested in something, then, clearly, he should be interested too. he'll show interest by putting it in his mouth. I think if we could read their minds, we'd see "hey, that looks cool...it'd be cooler in my mouth" cycling through their head at all times.
The best part of adding a Weim to your family was: For most people once they get through the initial shock of having a Weimaraner puppy their life has changed forever. It has been said that people either love Weims or hate them. This is probably more true than we know.
If laughter is life's best medicine, then you will be extremely healthy! We believe the best part is like us you will laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh. Weims are very expressive animals. The joy we got / get from that animal made all the accidents, chewed up shoes, etc well worth it. Invest in the training (time...not just money) and you will have a great pet.
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This page was last updated on: April 3, 2008
Comments from Weim owners
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Is A Weim right for you?
