Reference
The Weimaraner glossary
Plain definitions of the breed, buying, training, health and sport words you meet when reading about Weimaraners. Health terms are definitions only: for anything about your own dog, ask your vet, and see our health section for where to find help.
A to Z
- Assured Breeder
- Blue
- Body condition score (BCS)
- Breed standard
- Canicross
- Capturing
- CCD (canine cognitive dysfunction)
- CHIC number
- Co-ownership
- Coefficient of inbreeding (COI)
- Cooperative care
- Counter-conditioning
- Desensitisation
- Desexing
- Dewclaws
- Dilute
- Distichiasis
- Dock diving
- Docking
- Dysplasia (hip and elbow)
- Elbow grade
- Endorsements
- Entropion
- Factor XI deficiency
- Fast CAT
- FCI
- Field trial
- Force-free
- Gastropexy
- Gay tail
- GDV (gastric dilatation-volvulus)
- Gonadectomy
- Grey Ghost
- Hip score
- HOD (hypertrophic osteodystrophy)
- Hunt test
- HUU clear, carrier or affected
- Hypothyroidism
- Limited register
- Long line
- Long-haired Weimaraner
- Lucy's Law
- Luring
- Main register
- Management
- Marker
- Mouse grey
- NAVHDA
- Pedigree
- PennHIP
- Place
- Point
- Puppy farm
- Quartering
- Rally
- Reactivity
- Recall cue
- Resource guarding
- Retrieve
- Roe
- Scent work
- Separation-related behaviour
- Settle
- Shaping
- Show quality
- Steady to shot
- Take-back clause
- Threshold
- Titre test
- Trigger
- Trigger stacking
- Undershot
- Versatile hunting dog
- von Willebrand disease (vWD)
- Vorstehhund
- Withers
Breed and standard
- Mouse grey
The darker end of the Weimaraner's grey. The FCI standard allows silver, roe or mouse grey and shades of these, and the AKC standard asks for mouse-grey to silver-grey.
- Roe
One of the three greys the FCI standard names for the Weimaraner, alongside silver and mouse grey. The standard allows shades of all three.
- Long-haired Weimaraner
The long-coated variety, with a soft topcoat and feathering on the ears, legs and tail. The FCI and Royal Kennel Club standards accept it; the AKC standard disqualifies a distinctly long coat.
- Grey Ghost
The breed's nickname. The Royal Kennel Club links it to the silver-grey coat, and the AKC says it also comes from a quiet, catlike hunting style.
- Vorstehhund
German for pointing dog: a hunting dog that shows the hunter where game is by holding a tense, still stance. The FCI standard's history calls the breed the Weimaraner Pointing Dog.
- Versatile hunting dog
A gundog bred to do every job in the hunt: search, point, track and retrieve, in field, wood and water. The FCI standard describes the Weimaraner as one, working before and after the shot.
- Dilute
A recessive gene variant that lightens a dog's coat pigment. The Weimaraner Club of America describes the breed's grey coat colour as a dilute.
- Blue
A grey with a distinctly blue or charcoal cast rather than the warm silver to mouse grey of the standards. The AKC standard disqualifies a distinctly blue coat, and the FCI standard lists blue colouring as a disqualifying fault.
- Breed standard
The written description of a breed's ideal appearance, temperament and structure, published by a kennel club or the FCI. Show judges assess dogs against it, and breeders use it as a guide.
- FCI
The Fédération Cynologique Internationale, the federation of national kennel clubs that publishes breed standards for its members. The Weimaraner is its standard No. 99, in Group 7, pointing dogs.
- Withers
The highest point of the shoulders, just behind the neck. Breed standards give a dog's height measured at the withers.
- Undershot
A bite in which the lower front teeth sit in front of the upper ones. The Weimaraner standards ask for a scissor bite, and the AKC standard lists a badly undershot or overshot bite as a major fault.
- Gay tail
A show term for a tail carried above the level of the back. The FCI standard describes the Weimaraner's tail hanging down at rest and carried level or higher when alert or working.
- Docking
Shortening a puppy's tail. The law differs by country: in England it is banned except for certified working dogs, and the FCI standard allows a docked tail only where the law permits it.
- Dewclaws
The small extra claws on the inside of the leg, above the paw. The AKC standard says they should be removed, and the FCI standard describes hind feet without dewclaws.
- Point
The still, intense stance a pointing dog takes to show the hunter where game is hiding. It is the skill that gives the pointing breeds their name.
- Quartering
Searching ground in a pattern, crossing back and forth ahead of the handler, so the dog's nose covers the field for scent of game.
- Retrieve
Bringing game, or a dummy in training, back to the handler. In the Weimaraner it covers land and water work.
- Steady to shot
Describes a trained gundog that holds its position when a bird flushes and a gun is fired, and moves only when sent.
Buying and registration
- Main register
In Australia, the register for pedigree dogs that may be shown and bred from, with their puppies registered as purebred. Main register papers are blue.
- Limited register
A registration that records a purebred dog but stops its puppies being registered, chosen by the breeder. In Australia limited papers are orange; in the US the AKC's limited registration works the same way.
- Endorsements
Restrictions a breeder can place on a Royal Kennel Club registration: R means puppies bred from the dog cannot be registered, and X means no export pedigree. Neither stops the dog being bred or sent abroad.
- Pedigree
The written record of a dog's ancestry, usually three generations or more. In the UK the word is also used for a purebred dog registered with a kennel club.
- Coefficient of inbreeding (COI)
The probability that a puppy inherits two copies of a gene variant from an ancestor common to both parents. The Royal Kennel Club calls it a measure of risk, not a direct measure of health.
- CHIC number
A number from the US Canine Health Information Center, issued once a dog's results for every test its breed club requires are public. It shows the tests were done, not that the results were normal.
- Hip score
A grading of hip X-rays for signs of dysplasia. The BVA/KC scheme scores each hip and adds them, and lower is better; OFA grades hips in seven categories from excellent to severe.
- Elbow grade
A grading of elbow X-rays for signs of elbow dysplasia, given by schemes such as BVA/KC and OFA. OFA gives no grade to a normal elbow; grades describe abnormal changes.
- PennHIP
A hip screening method, now run by Antech Imaging Services, that measures how loose the hip joint is as a distraction index. A lower index means a tighter hip.
- HUU clear, carrier or affected
Results of the DNA test for hyperuricosuria, an inherited condition that can lead to bladder or kidney stones. A carrier has one copy of the variant; the Weimaraner Club of America requires the test for a CHIC number.
- Puppy farm
An intensive breeding operation that keeps dogs in poor conditions and fails their physical and mental needs, also called a puppy mill or puppy factory.
- Lucy's Law
The law in England, in force since 6 April 2020, that bans the sale of puppies and kittens under six months by anyone but the breeder. Buyers must go direct to the breeder or adopt from a rescue.
- Assured Breeder
A breeder who belonged to the Royal Kennel Club's Assured Breeders scheme. The club closed the scheme on 31 December 2024, so the label is out of date.
- Take-back clause
A promise in a puppy contract that the breeder will take the dog back, or help rehome it, at any age. The Weimaraner Club of America's code of ethics asks its breeders to do this.
- Co-ownership
An arrangement in which the breeder and the buyer are both named as the dog's owners, usually with conditions about breeding or showing set out in a written contract.
- Show quality
A breeder's opinion that a puppy is likely to match the breed standard closely enough to be shown. It is a prediction, and on its own it says nothing about health or temperament.
Training and behaviour
- Force-free
Training that teaches with rewards and avoids pain, fear and intimidation. WeimLife follows this approach, in line with the AVSAB position on humane training and the Pet Professional Guild's principles.
- Marker
A signal, such as a click or a short word like "yes", that tells the dog the exact moment it got something right, followed by a reward.
- Luring
Guiding a dog into a position or movement by letting it follow a treat or toy in your hand. The lure is faded out once the dog understands.
- Capturing
Marking and rewarding a behaviour the dog offers on its own, such as lying down, so it happens more often.
- Shaping
Building a behaviour in small steps, rewarding each attempt that comes a little closer to the finished skill.
- Management
Arranging the dog's surroundings so an unwanted behaviour cannot happen or be practised while you teach something else, for example gates, a long line or putting food away.
- Desensitisation
Very gradual exposure to something a dog finds worrying, at a level where it stays relaxed, increased only as it copes. It is usually paired with counter-conditioning.
- Counter-conditioning
Changing how a dog feels about a trigger by pairing it with something good, such as food, so that worry is replaced by a pleasant expectation.
- Trigger
Anything that sets off a strong reaction in a dog, such as another dog, a bicycle, a noise or being handled.
- Threshold
The point at which a dog becomes too worried or excited to think or learn. Training happens below it, for example at a distance from the trigger where the dog can still take food.
- Trigger stacking
Several stressful events close together adding up, so a dog reacts strongly to something it would usually cope with. Rest and fewer triggers let the stress settle.
- Reactivity
Barking, lunging or other strong reactions to triggers such as dogs or people, often driven by fear or frustration. A qualified behaviourist can help when it is frequent or intense.
- Long line
A light lead, much longer than a normal one, attached to a harness. It gives a dog room to sniff and run while recall is still being taught.
- Recall cue
The word or whistle that means "come back to me now". It is taught with high-value rewards and kept for moments the dog can succeed.
- Settle
A taught behaviour of lying down and relaxing on cue, so an energetic dog learns that calm is rewarding too.
- Place
A cue to go to a particular bed or mat and stay there until released, useful at mealtimes or when visitors arrive.
- Resource guarding
Protecting something a dog values, such as food, toys or a resting spot, from people or other animals. It ranges from moving away with an item to growling or biting; a qualified behaviourist can help.
Behaviour that happens when a dog is left alone, often a sign of distress, such as barking, chewing or toileting indoors. The RSPCA notes that many dogs show no obvious signs.
- Cooperative care
Teaching a dog to take part willingly in handling, grooming and vet checks, often with a signal the dog gives to say it is ready to continue.
Health
- GDV (gastric dilatation-volvulus)
A rapidly progressive, life-threatening condition in which the stomach swells and can rotate, also called bloat. It is an emergency: if you are worried, call a vet straight away.
- Gastropexy
Surgery that fixes the stomach to the body wall to help stop it rotating in GDV. It does not stop the stomach swelling; whether a preventive one suits your dog is a question for your vet.
- Body condition score (BCS)
A nine-point scale published by WSAVA for assessing body fat by sight and touch, on which 4 and 5 are ideal. Your vet can show you how to score your own dog.
- HOD (hypertrophic osteodystrophy)
A developmental disorder of the long bones in young, growing dogs, usually of large or giant breeds. A puppy that is lame, in pain or unwell needs a vet.
- Dysplasia (hip and elbow)
Abnormal development of a joint, so the parts fit poorly and can wear into arthritis. Screening schemes assess the hips and elbows of breeding dogs from X-rays.
- Entropion
An eyelid whose edge turns in, so the lashes and fur rub the surface of the eye. The FCI standard lists it as a disqualifying fault.
- Distichiasis
Extra or misplaced eyelashes growing from the edge of the eyelid, which can rub the eye. Whether it needs treatment is for a vet or veterinary eye specialist to judge.
- von Willebrand disease (vWD)
An inherited bleeding disorder that makes it hard for blood to clot, caused by a problem with von Willebrand factor, a clotting protein.
- Factor XI deficiency
An inherited shortage of factor XI, one of the proteins the blood needs to clot. The Merck Veterinary Manual lists Weimaraners among the dog breeds in which it has been described.
- Hypothyroidism
A condition in which the thyroid gland does not make enough of the hormone thyroxine, which controls metabolism. OFA names autoimmune thyroiditis as its most common cause in dogs.
- CCD (canine cognitive dysfunction)
A degenerative process in the ageing dog's brain that affects memory, learning and behaviour, sometimes compared with dementia. Changes in an older dog are worth raising with your vet.
- Desexing
Surgery that stops a dog breeding: a bitch is spayed (the womb and ovaries are removed) and a dog is castrated (the testicles are removed). Whether and when is a decision to make with your vet.
- Gonadectomy
The veterinary term for surgically removing the ovaries or testes, the operation behind most desexing.
- Titre test
A blood test that measures antibodies to a particular disease. WSAVA supports its use to check a dog's response to core vaccines; your vet can tell you whether it is useful for yours.
Sport and work
- Canicross
Running cross-country with your dog in front, the dog in a harness joined by a bungee line to a belt round your waist. The Royal Kennel Club recognises it as an activity.
- Scent work
A sport based on detection-dog work, in which dogs search for hidden target odours, such as essential oils, and tell the handler where they are.
- Rally
A sport in which dog and handler move through a course of numbered signs, each telling them which exercise to do next, with the dog working at the handler's side.
- Fast CAT
An AKC coursing ability test: a timed dash in which each dog runs alone, chasing a lure.
- Dock diving
A sport in which a dog runs along a dock and leaps into a pool after a thrown toy, scored on distance. The AKC recognises titles earned with North America Diving Dogs.
The North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association, which tests versatile hunting dogs against a standard, whatever their breed, and promotes their breeding and use.
- Hunt test
A non-competitive, pass or fail test of a gundog's hunting skills, in which each dog is judged against a standard rather than against the other dogs.
- Field trial
A competitive event in which hunting dogs work in the field and are placed against each other by judges.
Missing a word, or think a definition is wrong? Our corrections page explains how to tell us. For short answers to common questions, see Weimaraner quick answers.