Take it to the Max!
Created | Updated Jan 13, 2009
Star of stage and screen
Inspired by other doggy entries on here (not dogging, you filthy perv...) I've decided to write a Guide Entry about Weimaraners. The hootoo advice is to write about something you know, and whilst I am in no way an expert on this breed, I do have a number of books, and am a member of various online groups, so I think I should be able to pull together a few facts about this stunning-looking breed. We were all glued to the telly during Crufts - I was trying to get Max excited by the agility section, as having seen him leap over brooks, and commando-crawl under fallen tree trunks, I reckon he'd be good at that. But then, the same fellow won't even jump into the boot of the car without some livercake bribery, so I admire the amount of training that's gone into the agility and obedience dogs. It was never our intention to show Max, and since he's going to be neutered soon that will rule him out from proper show dog contests. But I do love all the other fun sections, like the freestyle heelwork to music.
Stalag Max
Fed up of the garden being turned into a muddy slide, peppered with craters, and with Max returning after a sojourn to behind the shed with his breath smelling of cat poo, we've built him his own little run. This gives him a secure space of his own to be in when we're not around, complete with a sheltered kennel, and stops him eating what he shouldn't oughtta. On his first stint there, we gave him a special rawhide chew - these things are supposed to last for days. When we came home, it was nowhere to be found. Could he have eaten it? Can't be buried in the concrete! But it is so nice to open the front door and NOT be confronted with a barrage of barking from him in his crate, or dreading the vision of unloveliness that is the garden after he's been left there.
Walking the woods
Weims were bred to hunt in forests, and Max loves nothing more that a romp through the woods. I try to take him early on Saturday and Sunday mornings to nearby Hillsborough Forest, a gorgeous oasis of ancient woodland with plenty of little pathways through the trees were I can let him off the leash, safe in the knowledge that he's not going to be distracted by the sight of joggers or cyclists. The other day, in Belvoir Forest, a green gem nestling in suburban Belfast, we even saw red squirrels! The Forest Service Northern Ireland have just recently put some dog poo bins in some of their forests most used by dog walkers. This should in theory leave the paths clear of any fouling for all walkers, as long as the dog owners are responsible about bagging and removing their dog's doings. The problems with poo bins, of course, is that other users of the forest think it's OK to pile all sorts of other rubbish at around the bin. You just can't win can you?
