Help with wacky weim!

[RoyalStarEstates]

I have an 8 month old Weim (actually, closer to 9 months, she turns 9 months on the 12th), who would MUCH rather run around like a crazy space cadet than find birds. HELP!

Any advice would be appreciated!

(Also - I have to admit, at the sake of sounding totally incompetent - I really didn't do much training with my first two girls (now 7 and 5) as they were just naturals at pointing and retrieving. I'm sure they wouldn't win any competitions, but they do a decent job. So, I'm pretty much brand new to actually training for hunting, and this girl REALLY needs it, she's a spaz! LOL)

Thanks!

Lanie
And The Zoo
Royal Star Estates
royalstarestates.webs.com

[CherrystoneWeims]

Hi Lanie! Good to see you here.

Just keep exposing your pup to birds. If you can run her with another pup who is absollutely bird crazy sometime that will help. Just keep tossing the birds out for her from a johnny house also.

Some dogs take longer for the light bulb to come on. Some dogs never have that light bulb come on.........

Where is your pup from?

[h20fwlkillr]

I've seen weims take as long as 3yo for them to finally "get it". I agree with Cherrystone, lots of birds.

[RoyalStarEstates]

She (Eve) usually goes out with Brindy and Akina - and Akina is just GAGA over birds! In fact, there was a blackbird up on the roof of our shed today, and Akina just sat out in the yard for probably an hour, stock still, staring at that little blackbird as if her life depended on it. LOL

Eve is from Midwest Dream kennels in Iowa. Her dam is CH R&R Midwest Dream Instar and her sire is BISS CH Jewel's Heartland Flyer JH NSD NRD V (from Jewel Weims)

I guess I'm just used to them "getting it" at a younger age, because that's been my experience so far with my Weims and fosters. Is Eve more typical of the breed, in that they need more maturity before they're really interested, or is she more of an exception?

[ohiohuntinweim]

My dog was "crazed " for about 18 months then she settled down. She just turned 3 and almost all the lights are on, they mature slower at times. Patience and birds.

[TheShadow]

get em on birds. i use to know someone that bought a weim in hopes of using it in the fields but things did not work out and he just kept it as a pet. but you can not blame the dog, it didn't really come from hunting lines. it was a spaz yet lazy at the same time. i remember he was stubborn as can be and refused to cooperate with him. he was frustrated beyond words. he did take the dog to a trainer who in turn said the dog just doesn't "have it". then he went to another trainer and the guy said the same thing. he tried another year of training on his own but...

i guess you just have to stick to a training program and make them want to catch the bird.

[zzweims]

3 years for the lightbulb to come on!!??? Y'all are way too forgiving. I'd be very worried if they weren't pointing and chasing birds by 3 months.

What does this pup do when the other dogs point? Does she show interest? Could she be intimidated by the other dogs? Do you run them seperately or together? How often has she had the chance to find birds? Could she have been frightened by birds? Is she not interested at all or could she be blinking? Was she pointing and chasing birds while still with her breeder? There is not enough information here to offer real help, but by this age she should definately be showing an interest.

I wouldn't worry about the space cadet thing. Actually, her desire to run, rather than hunt, is not necessarily bad. She may settle down and start hunting. I'd be more concerned if she did neither.

Aline
http://sitekreator.com/zzfarms

[h20fwlkillr]

3 years for the lightbulb to come on!!??? Y'all are way too forgiving. I'd be very worried if they weren't pointing and chasing birds by 3 months.

While it isn't the norm, it does happen. Seen several weims that took 2-3 years to get it. They were well worth the wait. I think most would be proud to hunt behind them. I've also seen some pups that were bird crazy as all get out, but when the new wore off, they could care less about hunting or birds, clear into adulthood. While I like to see strong desire out of a pup, it doesn't bother me much until they hit a year old and still could care less.