Other Activites
Being a pet owner rather than a competitive owner that participates in the many areas of competing available to Weimaraners does not mean that you cannot participate in things that will benefit & enrich yours & your dogs life.
Training & socialising is so important for the Weimaraner & for your home & family if you want to stay sane, harmonious & everything in one piece. A bored dog is a destructive dog one that will entertain themselves or escape! If your dog is given all the stimulation that needed both physically & mentally then its unlikely to be destructive in your home.
In the first six months you should get your Weimaraner puppy out & about visiting as many people & different experiences as possible, so trips to the local farm to meet the sheep, horses, cattle, chickens, visits to the beach, on the bus, train, car journeys, local parks, childrens schools, friends with babies (great idea to invite them all round more the merrier but please make sure that toddlers & older children are supervised at all times to avoid injury to either the child or the dog, Do Not Allow children to be rough with your puppy as this can be detrimental for all involved) puppy classes are an absolute must & something I expect my puppy owners to do is attend local training classes to complete their KC Good Citizen Scheme. The more you can do in this period the better & will set your puppy up for life.
In addition to the above I usually take my pups to carnival or social events where they will meet a wide variety of people, band or music days & within listening distance of the local weekend fireworks displays & clay pigeon shoots. You can get discs that will help you with training for different noises these are a great asset - it can be very distressing seeing an adult dog that is terrified of fireworks when a little training as a puppy with a pot of treats & some playtime could have avoided the whole situation.
Trick training allows you to teach tricks that can be of great amusement, stimulate your puppy & adult dog, provide you with a strong bond & can involve the whole family if training is consistant. A great trick a Weimaraner owner I know has in his reportoire is to send his dog to the fridge to get him a beer, if the dog brings the wrong brand he's sent back to get the right one, a very funny party trick but also a great icebreaker for people who are not very often exposed to the joys of dog ownership. A book I would recommend for this is by the American owner of 'Chalcy' whose been seen on various television programs called '101 Dog tricks' you can buy a copy from Amazon or direct from the author Kyra Sundance http://www.amazon.com/101-Dog-Tricks-Activities-Challenge/dp/1592533256 there are other books but I have this one & it is an easy read with clear instructions for you to follow.
Cycling - Most people these days are health conscious & are looking for ways to maintain a healthy weight cycling is great for this & your dog will get very fit sharing your exercise. You can buy a product that attaches to your bike called a 'Springer' it allows you to attach your dog safely to your bike without the risk of being dragged or pulled off its definitely worth investing in this product. With dogs under 18 months please remember that your dogs bones have not set yet & can be worn away so please keep this activity until your dog is older than 18 months. http://www.springerusa.com/ Please remember to watch the paws using this product as its easy to wear away on hard surfaces.
CaniCross - for those interested in running there is a whole host of events that you can enter with training & equipment available that you can use to start you off. Cross country running with your dog is great fun. Please see this website for more information: http://www.cani-cross.co.uk/
