…and in truth the breeder told me “they need a lot of exercise” and I just sat nodding as if I knew what he meant. I didn’t. I really, really didn’t.
I had owned dogs before. Active dogs, even. I thought I knew what “a lot” meant.
But the Weimaranar definition of “a lot” of exercise and my own definition of “a lot” of exercise were worlds apart. Here is what nobody ever explained to me: you don’t just need “a lot” of exercise, you need the right kind of exercise. My first Weimaranar, for example, Duke, showed me how important this was by returning home after a thirty-five minute walk to a hole in the drywall he had ate through.
Not just chewed through; actually eaten through. This had happened after I had already walked him for forty-five minutes that day. I thought I had done my job.
Duke, of course, had other ideas. The truth about Weimaranars is that they were bred to be hunting dogs all day long. Not just for an hour.
Not just for a morning session. All day. That innate programming doesn’t simply disappear when you live in a dog-proofed house with a six-foot high fence.
Their minds and bodies are wired for continuous activity, problem-solving in the field, and working in tandem with a human partner. Leave those outlets unfulfilled and they will find their own source of entertainment. And you definitely won’t like what they choose for decor in your house.
How much exercise does a Weimaranar really need?
I’ll give you concrete numbers, but you should recognize this is only where you start, never where you end up: on average a healthy adult Weimaranar needs at least two hours of physical activity per day. Many need more. I generally have met very few Weims that need less.
However, here is where I will take a defensive stance: those two hours need to be more than just leash walked around the neighborhood. I honestly believe that verbal and mental fatigue are far more important with this breed than physical fatigue. An hour long training session with many commands, new challenges, and nose work will fatigue a Weimaranar more than being physically walked for two hours.
I have proven this over time with three of my own Weimaranars and test it with new ones regularly; it is always true. They are hungry for their brains, so feed them. When you can, feed their brains and they will slow their body down.
That said, the need to run is absolutely imperative. Not jog. Run.
The kind of run that you get back from knowing your ears are flying backwards and you look like a big gray cheetah. If you do not have safe, off-leash zones to run them in, then you will need to get creative. Long lines in large pastures, flirt poles in the backyard, or if you are really blessed having land for them to do exactly what they were bred to do.
Breaking up the daycare: what really works
A session in the morning that brings their heart rate up from 45 minutes to an hour. Running alongside a bicycle, fetch with a Ball Launch, swimming, hiking on trails. Throughout the day, you can intersperse this with mental work such as; puzzle feeders, training sessions, nose games where you hide food around the yard or house, and end the day with another 30-45 minutes of activity that can be lower impact if the morning activity was high impact.
Now, I am not entirely sure about this but I have noticed that the Weims I am willing to acknowledge I have owned as a group settle into a routine by the age of three where they are able to put up with a little less if the exercise the do get is very high quality exercise.
Duke (who is now seven) seems to be very content with 90 minutes of mixed activity, but those first three years?
It seems every single day demanded every ounce of time, energy, and dedication. There really is no shortcut through the puppy and adolescent stages; anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is either dishonest or has not ever owned a Weimaranar.
Swimming
Swimming is an especially noteworthy topic. Weimaranars are often natural swimmers and water work can be extraordinarily efficient exercise. Twenty minutes of swimming can be compared to an hour of running in terms of energy expended. When Duke found lakes, everything about our life changed.
I could actually sit on the sofa in the evening without thinking I had failed him.
Variety and stimulation
One thing that I did not expect though was just how much variety they need. Same walk, same park, same situation; they quickly became bored.
And a bored Weim was just a creative Weim, back around to my drywall. Changing up routes. Finding new paths.
Allowing them to explore something new. The instinct to hunt makes them particularly fixated on forging new ground and stimulation in that way is actually very satisfying to them and they need it.
Age considerations
Age is, of course, very relevant.
Weimaranar pups should not be doing structured high-impact work including running around their first autumn until their growth plates have shut and that occurs around 18 months. But they can still be active, the activity just needs to be play, walking, and leisure based rather than structured running. Geriatric Weimaranars, and I mean genuinely old (past 10 or 11 years old), may taper off and need only an hour but it’s really subjective.
All I can say is that my girl is 9 years old and still seems to want her full exercise package.
Weather
Weather is not really a valid excuse in this breed. Cold is fine to an extent when they are moving but they just do not have the package to sit outside in winter for hours so that is cruel.
It is hotter that is the greater concern; their energetic activity and composition of athletic muscle means that when you are not looking they will push themselves this far beyond safety that you have to plan their summer sessions for early morning or late evening therefore becoming subject to no more excuses about the weather.
The real question
The only real pressure points in the Weimaranar exercise debate are: can you maintain this level of activity every single day for going on fifteen years, and will you be able to do it when you are fifty, busy, and sick?
My realistic little tip is if you are planning to bring a Weimaranar into your life then one two week period where you wake an hour earlier than usual each day and do something active with them outside every day whatever the weather and whatever your gender, mental state, sickness level, or level of tiredness and if you can’t then you will find it awfully hard sustained for two further, and longer, I would imagine.