Barrett Weimaraners

Breeders and Owners of Weimaraners for Sport, Hunting, and Companionship

Preparing For Your Weimaraner Puppy

Preparing For Your Weimaraner Puppy

For those of you who are getting a Barrett puppy, CONGRATS!!!!

Your puppy comes home to you no earlier than eight weeks of age with the following:

  1. Documentation/paperwork:
    1. Purchase Agreement (to be executed by all parties)
      1. This agreement includes a health guarantee, vaccination record and worming schedule
    2. Copy of AKC Registration (original is submitted by Barrett Weimaraners)
  2. More paperwork for performance dogs:
    1. WCA Membership application with sponsor signature (submitted by Barrett Weimaraners)
    2. NAVHDA Membership application (submitted by Barrett Weimaraners)
    3. Copy WCA 2020 Futurity nomination form (submitted by Barrett Weimaraners)
  3. Training materials:
    1. Socialization/exposure checklist
    2. eBook copy of “Your New Weimaraner Puppy: How to Survive the First Six Months” Manual (written by the folks at Just Weimaraners)
  4. Homecoming goodie bag and other items of importance:
    1. Collar, treats, toys, and other little surprises
  5. Support information:
    1. Continued resources, such as behavior and training articles, health, safety and nutrition articles, list of additional resources and helpful links, etc.
    2. Lifetime of support – I am also only a phone call or email away and will answer ANY question you may have about your puppy, at ANY time. Even if it’s 8, 12 or 16 years from now.

While you’re waiting for your puppy to come home, here’s some homework reading and action items for you:

Weimaraner Ways Book. My favorite Weimaraner book of all time is Weimaraner Ways, by Virginia Alexander (who also happens to be Friday’s breeder). For our breed, it’s the most comprehensive book out there. If  you don’t have this book yet, please consider buying a copy from Just Weimaraners, Amazon, or eBay. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Just Weimaraners website, please head over and take a peek (and sign up for the periodic newsletter!). This site was launched by my mentor and friend, Anne Taguchi, and is an incredible resource for our breed. If you look hard enough, you’ll even find a couple of articles written by yours truly. You may also notice that our very own Miss Friday and Miss Britta are the supermodels for many of the articles.

Puppy Development Series. In just eight short weeks, puppies go from being helpless little potatoes to agile little monsters. This series of Puppy Development articles (listed below) is intended to provide Barrett puppy owners with a summary of their puppy’s developmental progress between birth and eight weeks of age. After eight weeks of age, the articles include resources related to Weimaraner behavior, health, nutrition, and safety… [click here to continue reading this article].

What to Feed your Weimaraner Puppy. With so much dog food on the market, it can be overwhelming to figure out what to feed your new Weimaraner puppy. Luckily, if you’re getting your puppy from us, you can get a recommendation/head start… [click here to continue reading this article].

Consider Buying Pet Insurance. Many people won’t ever need or use pet insurance but when you do need it, you may REALLY need it! … [click here to continue reading this article].

Fencing Recommendations. The best Weimaraner homes include a large yard in an enclosed/fenced area so that dogs have room to stretch their legs, run, potty, and otherwise get some exercise in. The purpose of this article is to help you figure out if your fencing is adequate, and if not, what kind of fencing you should plan to put up… [click here to continue reading this article].

How to Ship or Fly a Weimaraner Puppy. Let’s talk about flying your Weimaraner! Barrett Weimaraners fly all the time. LadyBug (2014 Torque x Friday) is probably our Frequent Flyer winner; she goes back and forth between California and Massachusetts all the time for dog shows, field trials, and breeding. LunaBot (2015 Bo x xMika) was also flown to Michigan and back to California for breeding. Blaise Pascal has also been to TX, MA, CA, WA, and AZ via airline cargo. So, how do you successfully get your dog on a flight to go somewhere? … [click here to continue reading this article].

(Optional) Name Your Puppy. If your puppy has career goals and aspirations (like showing or field work or agility or competitive obedience), it would be wise to give it a nice registered name, in addition to coming up with what you’re actually going to “call” your puppy.

Choose a Veterinarian. If you don’t already have a veterinarian you trust, please read this article, written by  Anne Taguchi and Meredith Wadsworth. Make a short list of potential candidates. (If you’re in Southern CA, you can start with our recommended list of veterinarians, here.) Then, take a look at the Weimaraner Club of America’s Vaccination Protocol. Print out the protocol, and take it with you when you go talk to your potential new vet. Ask your vet if they’d be willing to follow this protocol with your new puppy. IF THEY SAY NO, OR TRY TO CONVINCE YOU TO FOLLOW A DIFFERENT PROTOCOL, OR IF THEY TRY TO TELL YOU IT’S OKAY TO VACCINATE DIFFERENTLY, PLEASE WALK AWAY AND FIND A NEW VET.

Homework: Start interviewing vets now, and make an appointment for your puppy’s first visit, which should be when your puppy is 12 weeks old. Also – LOCATE THE NEAREST 24-HOUR EMERGENCY VET TO YOUR HOME. Keep this information someplace handy. Suggestion: Store this information as a contact in your cell phone. When it’s an emergency, you will want to figure out where to go, FAST, without Googling where the nearest facility is.

Consider a Trainer. Especially if this is your first puppy, consider enrolling in basic puppy obedience classes.

Homework: Within the next few weeks, please research a few trainers in your area. You’ll also want to start scheduling your first basic puppy obedience class for the week after your puppy turns 12 weeks old (and have his/her second round of shots). Here are some that we have Barrett experiences with:

Jump Start Dog Sports, Yorba Linda, CA. I’ve taken a few conformation and obedience classes here with my dogs, and highly recommend the knowledge and expertise at this full-service facility. (Friday and LunaBelle have been here.)

Wags and Wiggles, Tustin and Rancho Santa Margarita, CA. We haven’t trained our dogs at this facility, but we have sent them here for daycare and weekend boarding when we’re out of town. (Britta and Wally been here.)

Penny Scott-Fox, Pasadena, CA. Jasper/Orange Boy from our 2013 litter and his parents have been enrolled in a few of Penny’s classes. Penny comes highly recommended from Jasper’s family. (Jasper, Phoenix and Twister have been  here.)

Load Up the Shopping Cart. Hope you’re saving your pennies because here is a complete shopping list for your new arrival.

Homework: Collect these items at your next convenience. If you have a question about what specific item to buy, please shoot me a message. Reminder: Your puppy will be going home with a collar, so you’ll just need a leash!

Print Out the Socialization Checklist. You’ll get a copy of this with your puppy packet, but for you eager beavers, here’s a link to the checklist so you can see what it looks like.

Cheers! – Kim

Last updated: July 2020