The saying goes, “If you want a good dog, get a male. If you want a great dog, get a female and cross your fingers.”
I’ve had both males and females over the years. The long and short of it:
My males are teddy bears. They are sweet, goofy, loving, and affectionate. All day long, they’re trying to do something to please me. If I say, “Boulder, go get it,” he’ll run off as fast as he can and drop it at my feet before I have time to blink. To get someone else’s take on what it’s like raising boys, please read this excellent article about living with dogs.
Here’s the boy… slacking off as usual.
I mean, seriously, how sweet is this kid?
My females are bitches. They are obstinate and like to bark if they don’t get their way. They’re also much more independent and stubborn than my males. My girls don’t work for me, I work for them. For example, if I say, “Friday, go get it,” she’ll look at me as if to say, “no, YOU get it.”
In typical fashion, here’s one of my girls, quietly looking over kingdom.
Master. Manipulator.
The size factor. My females are about 23″ tall to the shoulders. In normal people speak, they’re petite little things in the world of Weimaraners. My males are about 25-26″ tall. That’s about mid-size. It’s important to note that the extra 2″ in height between males and females actually make a BIG difference. Boys appear and feel much “heftier” than girls. Since they are taller, they’re also able to reach more stuff off the kitchen counter. (When my boy is away, I can actually leave food out in the center of my kitchen island. He’s able to reach the center; my girls cannot.)
Intact males mark. This is different than peeing… they’re actually lifting their leg and spritzing their urine as a calling card over your property: beds, sofas, drapes, coffee tables. This behavior will naturally begin around nine months of age (before your dog is old enough to be neutered). Curbing this behavior is possible but will take some serious work on the part of the diligent owner.
Intact females go into heat. When this happens, the girls need to be locked up in their crates to 1) prevent the males from getting to them, and 2) minimize the amount of dripping discharge they would otherwise leave all over the house. This starts anywhere from 9-15 months for the “first heat,” lasts three weeks, and repeats about every six months. Please also review this fantastic article about living with bitches. Even if you plan to spay your dog, you’ll be going through this cycle at least once because Weimaraners shouldn’t be spayed prior to their first heat cycle.
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In reality, it’s important to note that girls can be loving, and boys can be assholes. It’s not really so much a gender divide as much as it is a specific dog’s personality.
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My best advice is to understand and know what the general differences are between the genders, but be open to either, because when a breeder has puppies, he or she is going to be at the mercy of the mamma dog, who may have a litter of six girls and no boys, or eight boys and one girl. Those who have their heart set on one gender or the other “could” be disappointed. (And don’t worry, breeders will do their best to try to match you with your preferred gender, if you really have one!)
Establish a relationship with a breeder you feel comfortable with, and make sure they temperament test their litters and choose to select puppies on behalf of prospective families. Temperament testing is critical to understand each individual puppy’s personality. There’s no pass or fail… but results DO provide the breeder, and therefore, the prospective owner, with what their puppy’s baseline temperament is so that everyone can “adjust their training program” to best help the puppy grow into the best dog it can be. It’s kind of like going to the gym and signing up with a new personal trainer. Every person is going to have a different starting point, and training programs should suit the individual to maximize end results. When (not if, but when) troubleshooting is needed, the training programs are adjusted in consultation with “the pro” to stay on track. It’s no different with a new puppy. 🙂
Have any further questions?! Please contact me directly; I’m happy to discuss!
– Kim
P.S. One final photo. Evidence that girls are focused and boys are spastic fantastic.
Hello I have a 2 and half yr old male Weimaraner iv has him 7 months, and he wonderful and i’m thinking about getting a Weimaraner puppy a boy , will it be ok because my 2 yr old is not fixed , will I have problems I will get the pup fixed when he’s about 12 months, but i’d like to keep my 2 yr old unfixed . So will it be ok or what is your advice
Thank you Andrea
Robert Forsythe I am retired and had a Weimaraner male as a young adult during college at home with my parents. My grandmother had another litter mate to ours next door. There personalities were like night and day. Ours was like a puppy most of his life but very loving. My grandmothers acted like a gentle old man from the beginning. Very loving, his best friend was our cat. They would lay in the back yard of my grandmothers and groom each other. They were both males and neutered. My grandmothers dog got overweight and had no medical problems but I suspect he died of a heart attack but lived to 11-12 years old. Our Weim lived to about 14 years old and had to be put down because of his hips. It came to he could not walk when he got elderly. Now we got a female, very different dog. But she has come to a understanding with me and obeys me in some ways My daughter is her favorite but she goes crazy every time my daughter is around , barking and jumping and such. I want to get her spayed when she turns one year old. Hoping it will calm her down. Also I am considering getting her a obedience collar. Can you give me any pointers ??
Your description is exactly how we have found our bitches as we have always said that we live in their house not visa versa but we absolutely adore them.
Over the past 13 years we have had 5 bitches but currently only have two and we are now looking to have a dog in the future.
I have been trying without success to find out how the two sexes mix in the same house and the best way to make sure there are no problems with this ?
We have a bitch that is 13 and one that is 2 both have been spade as we do not have the time to breed them as much as we would like to and they have all come to work with us 5 days a week.
Any advice would be appreciated
Many Thanks
Nigel
I had a male weimaraner he made it to 13. They are the most loyal dogs ever! He developed separation anxiety after my divorce. He past last February 2020 from arthritis and hip pain. He loved cold weather but then we moved to Florida. He was back to normal for a little while. If he wasn’t paired with another animal he became bored and found something to entertain himself. When I say smart it’s an understatement. Even causing harm to himself. However, he adored kid’s and that’s where all difficulties stopped. He became a gentle giant. My vet told me my weimaraner was different bc he held no ill temperament except he showed when he was disappointed in you or hurt. He gave me heart attacks bc I hated when the anxiety came. He learned to chase me on trails, bike ride without a leash and I never traveled to different states alone. All he wanted was to be with me. He lol at hunting yet protected me with different barking styles and I always knew if it was a human, animal, or danger. He did get into everything bc of boardem he was my main man and I was blessed bc he not only looked like he could hurt someone he could barely kill a fly. I work and travel, but do not board. His sitters are only allowed to be with him in his environment. Kenneling was definitely a no go for Justice. Any advice?
Haha! This is a great article! Having the wonderful privilege of watching your beautiful Jenni that one summer, I can attest to the differences between females and males when comparing her to our male, Hunter. Jenni is a beautiful slender good sized girl, but Hunter is a giant! They are both wonderful of course and we loved having Jenni as a guest, but she was very obstinate when it came to her schedule…and she was a real stickler (morning dog) to the point of boxing me if I didn’t get up to take her out on HER schedule. Hunter on the other hand, is what I refer to as the “Gentleman” and also a protector along with our Vizsla (also a male), Hefner. You cannot go wrong with either sex on this breed, but an intact female will be extra work and I think that is why I’ve always opted for males with all my dogs (regardless of breed). Plus, generally you can have several male dogs (and maybe 1 or 2 females), but not necessarily several female dogs unless you want to be playing referee a lot. That’s not to say that males don’t get into too, because they do, but you know how “catty” women can be…lol. I’d say the biggest thing you need to be prepared for with the Weimaraner breed (and Vizslas too)…is, do you want a Velcro dog? If you are good with having a shadow the rest of their life, then this is the dog for you! I love my Velcros!