History

The origins of the Weimaraner seem to lie in Germany, even today this information is still uncertain, that’s because the beginnings of their birth has been destroyed in order to keep the origins secret. There is a plausible theory about the origins of the Weimaraner which dates back to the 13th Century. The theory is about Louis IX who, returning from a crusade, brought in France with him the ancestor of the current Weimaraner, also known as “The Grey Hound of St.Louis”. From that moment on, Weimaraner was used for tracking with leash, a typical hunting method of that period, and it received the reward of “Leithund”. Contrary to the other dogs of the pack, the Weim was the only one to live with its owner. Nowadays we can notice the strong affection for the owner and for the family in the contemporary Weimaraner too. 

The name and the selection of the Weimaraner were born around the 18th Century in the German region of the Weimar Republic. The Grand Duke Karl August, also known as “the hunter among the kings and the king among the hunters”, selected this breed to allocate it for hunting in the Thuringian forests. The Grand Duke Karl August was a fan of dogs and hunting and he decided to select a specific breed croossing two type of dogs: the first one with a strong tendency to hunting (like Pointers) and the second one, a dog descending from the Grey Hound of St.Louis’ ancient French thoroughbred. It was this crossbreeding that gave birth to a dog which was very similar to the current Weimaraner; by chance was born the long-hair variety too, saw for the first time during an international exhibition in Vienna in 1934. 

The Weimaraner has been selected as “pure breed” (avoiding crossings with different breeds) for about one hundred years and it’s also registered in the “origins’ book”. That’s the reason why we can say that this dog is most likely the most ancient German pointing dog. 

Weimaraner are also know as “grey ghosts”, that’s because of American soldiers who gave them this name during the WW2 seeing them moving around the territory war. 

General Appearance

Easy to train, adaptable to a wide range of disciplines, dynamic and really passionate about hunting, tenacious in systematic search. Very emphasised sexual dimorphism. 

Excellent sense of smell and very fast in detecting preys. Reliable hunting (pointing) dog and also great for work on water.