Longhair Weimaraner Hunting Temperament II

Hunting Temperament II

Photo courtesy: Deborah Andrews | Johann Elias Ridinger (1698-1767).
-German blackline etcher -The hunter's dog follows a game track.
This is an important Ridinger engraving from the 18th century depicting the Leithund. The color of these dogs was gray, reddish, black and as we see from this piece they were also flecked or spotted in color. The black color stems from the famous black dogs from the St.Hubertus Abby on the Ardennes, France.

Dr. Schmidt comments, "I was even more surprised by the similarity of temperament, disposition and general behavior when I studied old paintings than I had been when viewing medieval works of art. Today's Weimaraner is still intensely devoted and sensitive. It cannot be handled roughly. Because of its complete dependency, it is easily guided and trained especially in retrieving. Therefore, sensitive hunters can achieve the highest accomplishments with these dogs."

The intimate contact between man and the Weimaraner creates a wolf-like protective instinct regarding the master, his family and property. Specific watchdog characteristics should not be encouraged and are considered undesirable. Their high threshold to stimulation, inner tranquility and tempered nature combined with endurance and endless ability to concentrate gives the breed its century old nurtured inheritance.

The Weimaraner is an outstanding performer when tracking sick or injured game and even on the difficult scent of deer. Here its passion is best revealed, displaying impressive endurance in both tracking and scenting. It is noteworthy that in old pictures, the Leit dog always walks to the "right" and not on the left as it does today. The leading leash is never found between the dog's legs. It is emphasized by many hunting dog handlers today that the leash inbetween the legs will keep the dog's nose to the ground. In contrast, an old record recommends: "The dog shall never ride on the leash in order to avoid the command: "Seil aus! -- Line out!" Dr. Schmidt comments, to correct this position, he has never needed any tricks to get the dog's nose to the ground!

Dam from Frau Wordtmann's study opens her mouth as an invitation to play. The Jagdgebrauchshund (hunting working dog) because of its useful purpose has lost few of its original traits. Today, we still utilize its many wolf-like abilitities: pack drive, search, pursuit, point, chase, capture, kill, defend and retrieve. The use and value of the hunting dog was imcomparably high before the invention of guns. The Greek historian Zenophon (430-455) records that the art of dog handling was a key to good hunting. The dog handler was the actual hunter.

Bitches in heat were protected from undesirable mating by side straps of wide leather belts in which spikes were sewn to better "preserve the race." Bitches were only to be mated with quality dogs. This indicated the first evidence of purposeful breeding attempts. Without keeping records, dog handlers of the hunt loving French kings had conducted centuries of extraordinary breeding work before the time of gun powder. They had no constraints in time or hunting areas and an unbelievable number of varieties were present in their hunting dogs.