Hello Shela & Cliff:

I wanted to share an update with you.  As you are probably fully aware, teaching a Weim to obey off leash is the ultimate challenge and yet, with their energy level, nothing tires like a great off leash run. And a tired weimie is a happy weimie. Gatsby is our fifth Weimaraner over the last 30+ years and definitely the most willful, but we have been patient and did not expect him to fully register the training until he was two or three years old!

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Gatsby turned three earlier this year and because we divide our time between two residences we are able to really see the progress he makes with each trip.

For example, we routinely walk in a large (several hundreds of acres) off leash area, but there are roads at the perimeter so it is very important to work to obedience.

As a young dog Gatsby was very interested in everyone and everything, he loves people, he LOVES children, he LOVES other dogs, he wants to love the cat a bit too enthusiastically, he is gregarious.  He still loves all those things, but I clearly remember when he figured out that we are his family and meeting another dog or human on the trail doesn’t change that and that he should come with us not leave with the other family.  That was pleasing.

Then he matured to the place where, if we see people coming, pull off the trail, he sits  to allow people to go by, he will often not even attempt to engage with the passerby –  does not even try to follow them, once they have passed by, he just comes along with us. Yay! This was real progress.

In the place we visit for a few months of the year, we daily walk by a house with a huge yard surrounded by a block wall of varying heights 4’-5’-6’ and Gatsby being a professional jumping weimie (he easily jumps upon things that are 5’+) had always jumped up onto the wall and down into the yard to see the fun dogs there. By the time he turned two, I could actually keep him from running hundreds of yards to jump on the wall and into the yard. Now that he is three, he does not even try to jump into their yard if we pass by quite closely.

One thing we do in this area, due to the plethora of temptations & dangers, from bunnies to chase, to coyotes, to dogs, to horses. to roads, we have had Gatsby drag a line.  In the vein of the training of Don Sullivan, whose DVD you recommended our first year, we initially worked on the off leash walks WITH a 20’ line clipped to his collar, it definitely made a difference in his responsiveness and assisted in the off leash training.

Another off leash training factor is the whistle, we use an REI whistle and trained him to ‘come’ to the whistle blow. It has taken a while for him to realize that means now & not when he is ready, but he definitely knows what the whistle means. Another example of his innate intelligence is that in the middle of our whistle training, it, rather than coming to the sound of the whistle, he would instead stop and search all around to see what fun things I wanted to prevent him from chasing. I had to outsmart him by making sure to blow the whistle often and randomly. He is too observant for his own good. When we walk along a road, he must sit when a car or bike approaches, in time I had to re-train on that as he began to know the routine and would stand on his own, not waiting for release, because he ‘knew’ why he was sitting.

As I said, Gatsby is our fifth Weim and seventh shorthair sporting dog – we love him dearly, but my husband will agree when I say that he (the dog not my husband) is probably the most alert, naturally inquisitive, and at times most headstrong dog we have ever owned!  This was initially discouraging given that our last Weim was darn near “perfect” after being loved and trained for ten years.  We repeatedly reminded ourselves that it takes a couple of years for a Weim’s brain to become “fully wired” and for them to learn how to listen to, respect, and react consistently to their master’s voice.  This certainly appears to be the case with Gatsby who, over the past many months has really matured and is developing into a truly fine companion much valued and loved member of the family.

He still needs his late evening “chomp” on his favorite bone, chewing whilst sitting with Dad who holds the bone seems to satisfy and tire Gatz at some deep level.

As a long-time Weim owner I would offer this simple bit of encouragement to any other owner – especially those who are not experienced with the breed:  Don’t become discouraged.  Every time your dog causes you to become  frustrated, just love them more – show them more affection – give them more training – demand more discipline – in short, just love them more and more and more…. and magically, I can promise you that one day your beloved companion will change – for the better – and all of the pieces will start coming into place and you will suddenly realize that you have been blessed with the opportunity to raise, care-for, and love a truly exceptional animal who will fill your life with joy in a way that nothing else can.

Cheers!     ~Adria