Description:
Tika was left in the backyard when her owners started having some family troubles. The neighbor couldn't stand to see this sweet little girl tied up outside in the hot Florida sun all day, and persuaded the owner to give her up. Tika is in our care now, and we hope to find her a furever home soon. She is happy and playful, and gets along well with dogs and children. She can walk on the leash, but is also happy going for a run on the leash. We know you will fall in love with her as soon as you meet her!

Here is what Tika's foster family has to say about her:

• Appearance: The grey coat is extremely low maintenance; short, hard, and smooth to the touch. Where the fur is thin or non-existent, inside the ears or on the lips, for example, the skin is a pinkish tone. Her breed does not have an undercoat, so extreme cold should be avoided. Her breed does shed.

• Energy Level: Tika has high-energy and often wear me out. She requires appropriate training to learn how to calm herself and to help her to learn to control her behavior. 

• Food: Tika is fed twice daily using 1 ½ cups Merrick grain free Real Duck + Sweet Potato recipe (70% poultry, 30% fresh produce). Her morning bowls includes 1 uncooked egg and 2 tablespoons plain yogurt daily. Every four days a teaspoon of virgin olive oil is added to the mix.

 

• Adaptability: Highly intelligent and extremely adaptable. Training is key.

• Behaviors: Weimaraners are not an independent breed and love to be with their owner never leaving them alone. Tika shows signs of separation anxiety. The causes of separation anxiety are not always known but there are precluding factors including, genetics, litter rearing, dominance, submission, boredom, and stress. Tika destroys property when she is left alone. Good training can curb some of the separation anxiety.

• Human Social Skills: Tika is generally good with children, but may not be appropriate for smaller children due to her tendency to knock them down in the course of play. She may knock over elderly people or children by accident. Early training to sit through positive reinforcement is critical to prevent jumping in the future.

• Animal Social Skills: Tika loves to play and interact with every dog in the neighborhood. However, It should never be forgotten that she is a hunting dog and therefore has a strong, instinctive prey drive. She may sometimes tolerate cats but usually not.

• Obedience: Tika responds to sit, heel and up.

• Training: Tika is housetrained so long as she's not excited. Tika can be trained and it's advised that she be trained.

• Personality Quirks: Tika requires extensive exercise. No walk is too far, and she appreciates games and play. She needs an active owner to provide the vigorous exercising, games, and running that she requires. 

• Ideal Home: Tika has more energy than she knows what to do with. Tika needs both human and other dog companionship. She needs an active owner.

According to www.dogbreedinfo.com, the breed is several centuries old. A Weimaraner appeared in a Van Dyck painting of the early 1600's. There are various theories as to its origin. Some feel it is the result of albinism that overtook some ancient German pointing dogs. Others feel it is descended from the German hound, the Braken. And still others feel it is the fruit of crossings overseen by Grand Duke Karl August of Weimar between a regular pointer and a certain yellow pointer. The Weimaraner is a pointer and an all-around personal hunting dog. He was originally used to hunt, track and bring down big game. As big game became scarce, he was adapted to smaller game and upland birds. He also has a reputation as a fine water retriever, though he may need to be taught to swim. Weimaraners have been used as rescue dogs, service dogs for the disabled, and as police dogs in England and Germany. The breed was first imported to the United States in 1929 by Howard Knight who founded the U.S. breed club. Sesame Street often plays skits with this breed dressed up in human clothes. Some of its talents include: hunting, tracking, retrieving, pointing, watchdogging, guarding, police work, search & rescue, and agility. Happy, loving cheerful, affectionate and very rambunctious. Intelligent, but can be highly opinionated and willful, therefore this breed should have firm, experienced training from the start. Quick to learn, but resistant to repetitive training. Reserved with strangers and sometimes combative with other dogs. Socialize them well at an early age. Protective on his own territory. Very brave and loyal, it has a strong prey instinct. Do not trust with small non-canine animals. This is definitely not a herding or farm dog. The Weimaraner needs to live indoors as a member of the family. He needs attention and companionship. If relegated to a kennel life or if left alone too much, he can become very destructive and restless. He is a natural protector. Weimaraners are often kind to children, but are not recommended for very young ones because they are energetic enough to accidentally knock a child down. Because this breed is so full of energy, the first thing they need to learn is sit, then praise only when sitting. This will prevent jumping in the future, as they are strong dogs and will knock over elderly or children by accident. This breed especially should not be hit to discipline, they become wary easily. Once they have a fear of someone/something, they look to avoid and training is all but impossible. They are so eager to please, and motivated by reward (food or praise) Once a trick is learned, the dog will leap to repeat for praise. Although they are often mistaken as dumb, because they have such focus, if the trick or owners request isn't their focus at the time, it will not occur! Spend a lot of time with short leash walk, next to you. If left to run ahead they will pull like a train. A loose prong collar, making sure the chain section is in the front, and only pull forward and down, with a quick release when walking. Do not use choke or prong to train, they become hopeless very quick and all is lost from this point. This breed likes to bark. Very hardy, with a good sense of smell, and a passionate worker, the Weimaraner can be used for all kinds of hunting. They have a life expectancy of 10-12 years.