Flagger are you around? I have a weimaraner question for ya.

[bluej]

I haven't seen you around here lately Flagger, but I'm hoping now that Thanksgiving is over you are around.

No, we are NOT getting a weimaraner! This is about my sister's dog who just failed out of her second obedience class. The trainer's parting words were 'This dog is not trainable.' My sister is wondering if it's true that the dog isn't trainable or if it's just that particular trainer that can't train the dog (same trainer for both classes, just waited awhile for the dog to 'mature' a bit). There aren't a whole lot of options for trainers where she lives so she doesn't know if she really wants to put in the effort of looking for another and the money if the dog is going fail anyway. Yes, the dog is hyper. She does jump on people when they first enter the house, but not kids. And after she's 'greeted' you she leaves you alone. She seems to ignore all commands and I'm not kidding when I say there seems to be an 'air' about her that she thinks she's the master of the house. My sister thinks she's perhaps too stubborn to train and my BIL thinks she's too dumb to train. Can you recommend any good sites for them to check out to try to figure out their dog? Thanks!

[amp]

Yeah, where are ya? Hope you had a great Thanksgiving with all that family haven't been driven completely crazy!

[JulieL]

Is he on the cruise? I remember a while back him talking about leaving soon for their cruise. Or maybe they did that already??? Anyway Hey there Flagger, where ever you are.:-)

[JulieL]

Jen,
Maybe the mag Dog Fanny would have some good links? Or maybe the Human Society? I'll try to find so, happy holidays!

[psophia17]

I think a while back Flagger said he was going to take a break from the boards...he hasn't been back since that I've noticed...

[crayonblue]

Flagger keeps things interesting around here. Where are you Flagger?

[Marisa6826]

He's on hiatus.

-m

[jd11365]

Well, I'm not Flagger, but I have a Weim...and he's the most neurotic dog ever. He barely finished obedience school himself. I will say they are not dumb by any means, just the opposite...they are too smart for their own good! My dog sounds EXACTLY like your sister's. My dog jumps on people when they first enter the house, but not kids, though he also leaves you alone after he's 'greeted' you. He seems to have the same 'air' about him and thinks he's the master of the house too! I learned it's not the dog, it's the trainer. I was never consistent with Wedgeman (my dog) and we treated him like our "son" (before we had Kayla) instead of a dog. Now we are paying the price...though we still love our little (or, not so little) woofie. :) Also, after he was about 4, he calmed down a bit...I was told they take much longer to mature, and they were right! Your sis can email me if she likes and we can commiserate!

Jamie
Mommy to Kayla
May '03

[bluej]

Thanks for the info Jamie! I'll be sure to tell my sis that there's hope yet for her dog. She just has to hang in there for another 2-3 years! I'm not sure if she'll think that's funny or not!

[bluej]

Thanks Julie, I'll have her check those out!

[lukkykatt]

I grew up with a German Shorthair Pointer, which I have heard are very similar in personality to a Weimaraner. After age 2, our dog did calm down somewhat, fyi.

I would also say that there are very few dogs that are "untrainable". I would advise your sister to talk to her vet to see if he/she knows of a trainer who is familiar with the breed. Also to make sure that their dog is getting lots of exercise.

[jd11365]

I just met another neighbor with a female Weim, and he is just as frustrated. Wedgeman calmed down a bit after being neutered too...which you obviously can't do to a female. We didn't do it until he was 3 and wished we had done it much earlier! I also agree that plenty of exercise is in order. We put up a back fence with a doggy door which has helped TREMENDOUSLY. Before he was at my mercy to take him out...which was not easy since he is absolutely AWFUL on a leash. Now he can run around as he pleases and is much more relaxed because of it, IMO. I was even told these dogs love agility classes and to sign mine up asap...though there were none in my area. Your sis might want to check into that. The dog can get a lot of her energy out that way...

HTH!

Jamie
Mommy to Kayla
May '03

[Marisa6826]

Jen-

Has your sister considered calling a local Weim rescue group? I bet they could recommend a good trainer.

http://www.weimrescue.org/links/index.html

-m

[Tondi G]

Just wanted to chime in here too! I also own a Weimaraner and a German Shorthaired Pointer and they are very ACTIVE dogs! Our Pointers were definetly more trainable than the Weim! Our Weim took almost 9 months to fully housetrain!!!!

Your sister needs to find the right trainer.... all dogs are trainable but some take much more time and persistance than others! One thing to keep in mind is Weims are SPORTING/WORKING dogs... they need to be exercised and have their minds challenged. Does your sister get her dog out for daily LONG walks/Runs???? The exercise alone can be helpful! She should be working with her dog EVERYDAY as well on basics sit, sit stay, down, off. She needs to develop a language that her weim will understand..... down or off for the jumping.... use it every time. She should attempt to get the dog on a leash when people come to their home..... give the dog a little leash but I always stepped down on the leash so when people came in and our dog tried to jump she would get pulled back my her choke and I always gave her the command.... NO JUMP/OFF! Our dog also would just go off and mind her own business once people had been greeted!

Is the dog crate trained???? That could be helpful and that way the dog would have a place to go when she has people coming over that would be less than thrilled to have a big dog jumping on them.

Weimaraners are very smart. they play dumb and would like you to think they are dumb! Our Weim is now 6 and in the last year has finally started to calm down. Your sister might want to look into books by this trainer...

Shelby Marlo's New Art of Dog Training: Balancing Love and Discipline

Good Luck to her.... ultimately she needs to help her dog learn where she stands and where her place in the pack/family is!!!!

~Tondi

[deborah_r]

Weims are notoriously stubborn, smart dogs. I often read this description of them: "not recommended for the first-time dog owner!" A friend of mine had a weim that was very well trained, and he still ran out into the street and got hit by a truck (he survived that incident) Not saying they are all untrainable, but they are a very difficult breed and may require a special dog trainer. Well,really your sister and BIL probably need the special training to know how to handle the dog, as training is really more about training the owners than training the dogs.

[Momof3Labs]

I'm confused - is she sending the dog to the trainer to be trained, or are they going to classes together? IMO, the best way to train a pet is to go to classes together. And in that case, the trainer's job is to teach the owner, and the owner's job is to teach the dog. So, if the dog is failing out, it could be because the trainer is doing a bad job teaching your sister, or it could be that your sister isn't putting in the time needed to train the dog (training is a big committment outside of the 1 hour per week class). I personally believe that there are very few truly untrainable dogs out there.

IME, all trainers are NOT created equal. When I lived in Indianapolis, we went to two different obedience schools over a few years (more advanced training) with fantastic trainers. Then, up here, we took a class at Petsmart to give a new dog a chance to have some one-on-one time. That trainer was horrible - absolutely awful. She was a very nice person, but I could have taught the class better than she did.

I'd suggest that she find a new trainer (get recommendations from other dog owners and vets in the area) and go into the class ready to commit to the hard work that it takes to train a dog. The good news is that the payoff is huge - a well behaved dog is such a joy to be around!

And gotta echo what others have said - not to underestimate the value of plenty of exercise. A tired dog is a much better behaved dog!

[bluej]

Thanks for the advice everyone. They didn't go to classes together. They used the same trainer that trained their Chesapeake Bay Retriever and German Wire Hair (many years ago). And the exercise is sort of what blows their minds. There doesn't seem to be any wearing this dog out. She goes to work several days/week with my BIL and runs freely on the grounds and has a big back yard that the kids (20 and 16) play ball with her. On the days that she doesn't go to work w/ my BIL, my niece jogs with her. They still have their wire hair who is very well behaved and should really be a great example to follow, but she doesn't seem to be picking up on any of that! She's not quite two yet, so maybe it just is a matter of time for her.