Breed Page
No public dogs on record yet for this breed.
The Weimaraner was developed in Germany in the early 1800s by noblemen at the court of Weimar, who wanted an all-purpose hunting dog capable of big game work and later general gun dog duties. Early ancestry likely included pointer, hound, and possibly Bloodhound contributions, though records from that period are incomplete. The breed was tightly controlled by the Weimaraner Club of Germany for decades - puppies were only released to approved members and breeding was closely managed, which kept the gene pool narrow from the outset. The first dogs came to the United States in the late 1920s and the breed became briefly fashionable in the mid-20th century before settling into a more stable niche as a working gun dog. The worldwide population is modest and shows the marks of its tightly controlled foundation.
Gastric dilatation-volvulus (bloat) is a major concern given the deep chest and high energy. Hip dysplasia, hypertrophic osteodystrophy, hypothyroidism, and hemophilia A occur in the breed. Immune-mediated hemolytic anemia and vaccine-related immune reactions have been reported at elevated rates, and some lines carry DNA-testable health variants.
VGL has reported Weimaraners carrying an average of around 4.79 alleles across the 33 STR loci, with an effective allele count near 2.93. Both numbers are on the lower end, reflecting the breed's narrow founder base and long history of controlled breeding. Rare alleles are especially valuable in a breed this constrained and deserve active preservation in breeding decisions. VGL testing has reported Weimaraners with modest expected heterozygosity around 0.62, consistent with the breed's tightly controlled 19th-century foundation and continued narrow global population. Individual IR values likely vary considerably. Breeders have real room to improve the breed's overall genetic position by deliberately pairing less related dogs.
A 3D genetic map of enrolled Weimaraner dogs in the BetterBred database, based on allele-sharing distance across 33 STR loci. This is not a complete picture of the breed — it reflects only dogs whose owners have enrolled them. Drag to rotate · scroll to zoom · hover for dog names (public profiles only).
Historical founders — oldest 25% of enrolled dogs
Current gene pool — most recent 50% of enrolled dogs
Building plot… this may take a minute for larger breeds.
The Canine Diversity Test from UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory is the foundation of BetterBred’s breed management tools. Testing your dog adds to the breed database and gives you access to the full suite of breeding analysis tools.