Roger Caras, “The Voice of Westminster” died on February 21, 2001 at the age of 72. Below is an excerpt from his book “The Roger Caras Dog Book”. The Westminster dog show won’t be quite the same without him and he will be sorely missed.
The Weimaraner is an all-purpose hunting dog developed in Germany from the Bloodhound. He is a large, assertive, intelligent animal of unmistakable quality. He is also a dog who requires special qualities in his master.
The Weimaraner makes a better watchdog than almost any other breed of sporting dog because he is aggressive and quite fearless. He is a dog of great character, and he spends much of his time telling everyone about it. If allowed to have the upper hand, there is no worse pest than this breed. He should not be a person's first dog.
This is a breed that simply must be given a full course of obedience training at the professional level. If the owner is competent, that is fine; if not, then the cost of taking your Weimaraner to a top obedience school should be considered a part of the acquisition price. An untrained Weimaraner is going to walk all over his owner, his family, and their friends. While not dangerous, he can be pushy and extremely unpleasant to have around. Conversely, a well-trained Weimaraner is one of the most splendid looking and gentlemanly of all breeds, sporting or otherwise.
The Germans were almost neurotic in the severity with which they governed the breeding of Weimaraners. Poor specimens were destroyed, and good specimens were only bred after the most careful consideration. Predictably, when the breed became known here around 1929, it caught on. Equally predictable was the slippage in breeding standards. Weimaraners bred in this country today range from the really excellent to the utterly hopeless. Retail all-breed puppy outlets often feature these dogs, but they should never be obtained from this source. Be suspicious of the inexpensive Weimaraner; only the finest show stock and field-trial stock should be accepted, and only after a visit with the breeder and a chance to see and meet the puppy's parents.
The only real problem with the Weimaraner as a breed is that he is often more intelligent than the person who owns him. When this happens, it is not the happiest of man-dog relationships. The owner should always be in command. Any person smart enough and strong willed enough to properly select, train, and manage a Weimaraner is in for an unparalleled dog-owning experience. The owner who overrates him self or under-rates his Weimaraner is in for an ordeal.
Reprinted from "The Roger Caras Dog Book" 2nd edition, copyright 1992
