When raising a weimaraner we want to be careful about not creating an overbearing dominant adult dog. With the weimaraners they have such a keen sense of intelligence and will put it to good (and bad) use. You can never lose site of this because they will quickly try to take the upper hand.
Glad to hear that many of my puppy parents have not heard their weimaraner's growl. I had a vet years ago tell me that when pups play and they get mad and growl and fight it was ok because it was natural, so I use to allow it. Then through the years I thought no way, so now when I have puppies start to growl I always pick up the one pinning down the other pup and say no no no! play nice! (3-5 weeks old) I am sure they have no idea what my words mean but they get the idea. Now as the pups get older, and still in my care, (6-8 weeks) rather than beat each other up they play with their toys and turn into pine cone hurling jumping bean style entertainers. They find at an early age they need to find other means of entertainment rather than dominate each other.
With the weimaraner, however, they do see their humans as their own, and will protect you. So for those that have seen the dominant side you must not lose the fact that with a weimaraner you ALWAYS have to let them know you run the house. You dominate them, because as many of you that have experienced the wise calm and intelligent side just as many have discovered the dominant over-protective-boyfriend side. If they become too possessive over something, take it away. For instance, I had a puppy parent report that they allowed their dog to sleep in bed with them and one day he decided that it was for men only and didnt want wifey to sleep there. So we agreed the bed needed to be off limits (to the dog!). They learn fast if they get a reaction.
The best way is to teach the weimaraner good manners right from the beginning. As pups they should be taught all 4 paws should be on the ground when being pet. Do not allow this cute bundle of joy to stand on your leg as you pet their head, this is ensuring them that you allow their feet to be on you and as they get older they WILL jump on you. Keeping 4 paws on the ground from the get go will teach them to respect you and your space. This is going to be your most important task as a new weimaraner owner. these guys are smart so dont let them out smart you. I am sure if I set my mind to it I could have these pups performing the Nutcracker for Christmas.
You will find something that these guys dont lack is personality, so let them be a great form of entertainment and a great addition to your family, but just as kids they need to know you are their boss and master. So if you do hear them growl remind them to be nice. You need to be firm and sound like you mean business. If you allow it once it will happen again, even if you dont see it for a while. decide what your house rules are going to be from the beginning, before new bundle of joy comes home, and stick to your rules! It is much easier to establish rules and boundaries from the beginning rather than attempt to break bad habits down the road. If you let them do it just this one time, you will forever be trying to reverse it.
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