Weimaraner vs. Lab

JerkBait

Banned
Around christmas i am going to get a dog but i have debated much over a weimaraner or a lab. I really want to train it to track wounded deer and maybe fetch some ducks. I have heard so much good about both sides but right now im leanin toward a weimaraner just because everyone has a lab and i havent really thought much of the ones ive seen. What do yall think i should do?????? (imo a weimaraner is alot better lookin) I know many people with labs so i really need weimaraner owners to post but lab owners can give their 2 cents too.
 

hevishot

Banned
lab is 10 times smarter and 10 times better in the duck blind....I'm sure that might make weimy folks mad but I have hunted and worked with both in upland and waterfowl hunting. There just isnt any comparison.
 

hevishot

Banned
yep...many times. I used to "guide" plantation quail hunts and was NEVER impressed with a weimy.....but they are pretty dogs. I have hunted ducks with several that were supposed to be "jam" up and they were mediocure.
 

JerkBait

Banned
well my priority is to have a trackin dog cause im not a big duckhunter just thought that it would be a plus if it could retrieve
 

BAMA HUNTER

Senior Member
Weims are very head strong. They are so smart that sometimes they freak me out...They are very good dogs once u establish that u are the boss.. In my experience labs are much more laid back and easier to handle.. i love the weims and i have been around alot of them...i have a bunch at the house waiting on me to come home right now:bounce: we have a website..kalukennels.com and we have a FAQ section that may help you..i have never personally seen a weim hunt but i have messed around with them with blood for trailing deer and they have an awsome sense of smell..some of the people that buy puppies from us do alot of hunting with our dogs and they say they can out point a pointer and out retrive a retriever. But having said that...i have never herd a bad thing about a lab when it comes to hunting. If you do get a weim if it were me i would get a female...they are my favorite...the male are very dominant...hope this helps
 

Hi-tech Redneck

Senior Member
I own 2 weims right now. 1 male 1 female. growing up i had 2 black labs, at different times. My first lab was the smartest and absolutely loved the water and ducks. My weim male is a close second. He loves anything that flies and is very smart, but more of a problem solving smart. I should have named him McGuyver or Houdini. He can escape his kennel in the house, leads, anything. I will tell you my EXPERIENCE and opinion.
Pros and Cons of weims.
-very agile. more so than my labs. my male is 75 pounds. can run 25 mph for hours on end( i clocked him on my 4wheeler). he can jump in my dads truck with the tailgate up!( mines a 2500 with a little lift, but he can with the tailgate down)
-my male is SUPER hyper active. thats why i got a female because i am a full time student and don't have all day to entertain him. the two together compliment each other. this varies on the dog itself, not the breed. because my female can lounge around all day if you let her. she is very chill and calm where as my male is also on the go. But it depends on the individual. every dog is different.
-my male pointed at things since he was 3 months old. it does not matter what it is. a stick that fell in the yard after a storm, squirrels, birds, anything out of the ordinary that wasn't supposed to be there. weims have more of a pointer instinct.
-that said, he will retrieve but not as readily as my labs. a lab would make a far superior retriever, hence the name. if you wanted strictly a duck dog, get a lab.
Now i have to go to Biology lab so i will cut this short for now. Weims, in general, are a more hyper breed. this is why you see so many weim rescue centers. people do not research them enough before they buy them. Labs, in general, go through a severe puppy chewing stage. My second lab destroyed our house. He dug a hole through the linoleum floor, ate the wall paper off the wall, chewed up the molding, just destroyed the kitchen. Lesson learned was, you MUST get a crate. I think this should go for any puppy of any breed, if you are going to keep it in the house. Will add more later...
 

JerkBait

Banned
thanks, yea add some more.... someone tell me about weims and their nose for tracking and labs for tracking.... i really want a good tracking dog
 

bobman

Senior Member
I've been training dogs for over 30 years, own a bunch of shorthairs, and have trained many many labs and I've never seen a weim that would hold a candle to a lab.

I'm sure there are good ones but your chances of getting a lab with good hunting traits are much better.

You have a much better chance of successfully training a lab most labs require only minimal obedience and retrieve training they also are east to train to blood track.

If your a experienced trainer you could train either dog to track and retrieve , but you really need to research both their lines very carefully, there alot of poor Weims out there and some lab lines as well.

Getting a pup at Chrismas is a very bad idea if you have kids, wait until after the excitement of Christmas is over so the new pup gets the attention he needs.

Pups are a lot of work, the advice to crate train the dog is very good and remember all dogs no matter what the breed are destructive as pups and will be as adults if they do not get plenty of exercise.

IF all you want is a tracking dog small dogs are easier to handle you teach tracking on a tracking harness and a lead and its no fun having a big dog yank you though the woods at night.

my 2 cents
good luck

A drat would be another good choice if you want to hunt ducks and quail ( quails a joke in GA)

http://www.deersearch.org/dogs.htm

read the info on this link it should answer many of your questions, the internet is great
 

Hi-tech Redneck

Senior Member
I agree with bobman, labs require less motivation during training. Basically they are easier to train. Weims tend to have their own thoughts and opinions about things. They tend to want to think for themselves instead of what you want them to do. My advice to you would be to really think about what YOU want out of a DOG. Weims have an excellent nose and so do labs. Therefore I think it would be easy to train both of them to track. Lab's are going to be easier to train and make for a better water/dog retriever. Weims would be superior at pointing.
Keep in mind this is just MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.
I'll tell you that my next dog/dogs will be labs. Why? I am ALOT more interested in duck hunting than when i was younger. Even in Georgia where it doesn't get too cold, those 30 degree mornings in the water are rough on a shorthair. Basically i want a better water dog.
 
Well, I used to make some serious walking around money from folks that thought their lab could out retrieve my weim. On a 100 yard retrieve, he'd be back getting a treat while the lab was still huffing and puffing on the way out. Had to quit betting one supposed trainer because I was afraid he'd go bankrupt proving his labs were better.

The weim is a little thinner skinned than the lab, although mine would break skim ice. I just wouldn't have him out in a freezing blow.

Weim will ground trail better.

Weim was originally bred to track big game (elk actually) and so game tracking is in the blood.

Weim is not a good kennel dog. If you have to kennel a dog, better look elsewhere. The above advice about them eating a house is well taken if they are kept inside.

As noted, you have to much more careful selecting a breeder of weims. While there are some good field/show weims (mine had a bench championship and field degrees), many of the show dogs have had the hunting bred out of them, and have been severely downsized. You want a nice big dog, deep chest, Ignore the hunting tests unless the dog has a least a master hunter rating.



My first weim was so fast, he could run deer down. They don't bark on the trail, so they don't spook deer ---many a time I saw him run right up to (and sometimes past) a deer. He didn't want to catch them, he just liked the race.

If you go with a weim, please go with a reputable breeder. Both parents OFA'd, tails and dew claws professionally removed.
 

bobman

Senior Member
I've done the same thing with my shorthairs they can swim way faster than a lab, but real cold water ducking is not their thing... labs aren't fast but they are big and fat with heavy oily coats a plus for duck hunting a minus for speed, land or water.

You'll never see a skinny shorthaired walrus lying on a iceberg:)


The thread above this one has some GSP/LAbs pups for free that would make a real good choice for what Jerkbait wants, the price is sure good and it would be agood kindhearted thing to adopt one....

heres the link to that thread

http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=152597
 
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HayabusaTygr

Senior Member
Labradors are a lot easier to calm down and "stop working" than Weimaraners are. Every Weim I've ever met act like they're on speed.
 

Hi-tech Redneck

Senior Member
Yeah, I know what you mean.

:p:p:p

see...it depends on the dog. I'll be the first to tell you, i loved my labs. But I love my weims as well. They are two totally different dogs, labs and weims.
Maybe some good advice for you, if you have it narrowed down to a lab or weim, is to contact a breeder and try to get some time where you can interact with the dogs. Go to a weim breeder/s, then go to a lab breeder/s. That should help formulate an idea of which breed will suit you best!:cool:
 
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