Any puppies we breed can come back at around 5 months of age for initial assessment and training. Why 5 months ? , well they have had time to enjoy some puppy life and it would be about the time your local class would enroll you as a pupil. So before you develop any bad habits we like to show you what is possible with the breed and hopefully send you into the world enthusiastically to develop your dog’s potential. Plus if you come back at 5 months you are then part of monthly lessons with us until your charge is both sensible in the basic commands, heel, sit, stay, recall, and can be further educated using the hand and whistle signals to allow you complete control over what happens next. When we have established this level normally by about 11 months, you can decide for yourself if you would like to become involved in more specialist training for fieldwork, agility, fly ball etc, etc .
I remember thinking after my initial training and subsequent learning experience with our first dog that it was me that held him back. I tried championship obedience, despite my inexperience he was constantly penalised for normal Weimaraner traits, like retrieving his dumbell at his own pace and not that as designated by the KC edit. Weimaraners do things like that ! I was invited to work him in the field and we both thoroughly enjoyed the experience and it formed a lifelong passion for me and the Weimaraners we own. We were surprising capable in the field, this was due to the dog’s natural ability and instinct. Over the years I have learned many things with my Weimaraners , knowing when to get involved and when not to intervene, the fieldcraft that enables us to find hidden game, good use of the prevailing conditions.
All these experiences form part of my life with this breed. A few years ago we kept a dog who would initially not respond to any of my traditional methods of training. This meant a total re-examination of what to do to get results. This dog was a total pain and did nothing to please anyone but himself, he was destructive, noisy, willful and just disobedient. But he was won around ( see picture left ). He is now one of the most loving dogs you could wish to own and is totally besotted with my wife, yet still loyal and faithful to me. One of the noticeable things in the ‘Ryanstock’ household is there is less formal discipline than we used to impose. We used to insist on dogs waiting to be let out, sitting for this and that and the formal things that now seem to come much easier. We have four generations all living inside the bungalow and yet it just seems that now they instinctively know what is required. It is a much more tranquil place and the dogs are very easy going and relaxed
The purpose of all this is just to say that whichever method of training works for you , then providing it does no harm to the dog, fine. You cannot be expected to know everything about training and there will be difficult problems to solve. Do not give up on your dog and do not constantly blame them. Examine yourself, check that you have the ability to teach what you are trying to achieve. Be patient but insistent, Weimaraners like to work for you but will exploit any weakness in your ability given the chance.
As a general rule I find that two weeks is long enough to teach a Weimaraner a specific command. If he or she has not grasped what is required in two weeks then, you are probably not giving the command correctly or the dog does not understand what is required. They are extremely intelligent. Never be afraid to admit you need help and go out and seek it !
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