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| Name: |
Lance
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Age: |
Five years old
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| Gender: |
Male |
Breed: |
Weimaraner |
| Home: |
Athens, Georgia, USA
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Lance
lives to retrieve!! He will retrieve a stick or a kong toy
until he drops from exhaustion if we'll keep throwing it!! He's a
real sweet dog and likes to be near us all the time. He's our family
protector, keeping would-be thieves at bay while we are at work.
I grew up with various Weimaraners. When my husband and I bought our
first house, the first thing I wanted was a dog - and I knew I wanted
a weim! We found a breeder in Chattanooga (we lived in Commerce,
GA)...so we made the long drive and when we got there...here was this
gorgeous wild pup....running hilly nilly everywhere....it was like he
was saying....catch me if you can!! Well, we were hooked in two
minutes! So home he came. The first night my husband slept on the
floor in a sleeping bag and Lance slept with his neck across my
husbands neck! They were so cute all snuggled together. After five
days of sleeping like this we decided Lance was ready to sleep by
himself. And he did really well. He was very easy to housebreak... I
think he only had three accidents in the house. When he wants out he
goes to the door and bumps the knob with his nose. As a puppy he was
so cute as he had this wonderful pink pigskin belly!!
Lance, as are most weims, is a very high energy dog!! They don't do
well in crates or in kennels. They want to be part of the
family...they want to be around you...or ON you!! They are really
over-grown lap dogs! ;) We trained Lance to a underground fencing
system and he wears a collar with a receiver on it. We trained him at
seven months and he was very bright and learned quickly. It's critical to
give a full two to three weeks of training before leaving the dog
outside alone. We had Lance neutered at six months...even though he
was well-bred and registered...we were not interested in showing or
breeding. Although he is a good looking weim...he is a bit over
standards in height.
We took Lance to obedience training classes and he was a very quick
learner and very eager to please. Weims have a natural instinct for
hunting...and can be wonderful dogs for sport hunting of ducks and
birds. They are natural pointers (as you see in his picture). The
breed is originally from Germany and were used in hunting big game
there...such as bear. We laughed at this when Lance was young because
he was such a wimp when confronted by other dogs. But as he's gotten
older...he's become more aggressive...standing his ground when
challenged by dogs coming in our yard.
Weims love people...and especially children! We have a 2.5-year-old
daughter and when she and some kids get to running and playing in the
yard..he's right in the middle of them! We do have to watch him
though as he is clumsy and doesn't pay attention to his movements
around her and has knocked her down a lot. We don't allow him to
carry sticks in his mouth around her as he tends to sling them around
and could put out an eye!
Lance's favorite activity is to retrieve. I think he would love to
compete in either obstacle courses or hunting trials, but we haven't
pursued it. He loves water as well....when we throw sticks into the
water he jumps in and retrieves them. As a puppy we took him sailing
with us...but now he has outgrown our boat and it is hazardous for
him on the boat. Overall Weims are a wonderful dog for an active
family who are outdoor oriented. They are not good for people who are
away from home for long hours or who travel and have to kennel their
dogs. The few times we've kenneled Lance he's come home skinny,
stressed out and scared. If left alone too long he can be destructive -
mainly out of boredom chewing up any and everything in site!!
We keep our garage "Lance proofed"!! Our motto is ... make
Lance successful... keep things out of his reach!
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