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ORIGIN: Germany. 

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE OFFICIAL VALID STANDARD: 19.03.2015. 

UTILIZATION: According to his the hunting purpose as a versatile hunting dog, the Weimaraner must possess all the talents required of him, and be able to be used for all works in field, wood and water, in a performance oriented manner, before and after the shot. 

FCI-CLASSIFICATION: Group 7 Pointing Dogs. Section 1.1 Continental Pointing Dogs, Type "Braque”. With working trial. 

BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY: There are numerous theories regarding the origin of the Weimaraner Pointing Dog. Only so much is certain: That the Weimaraner, which at that time still contained a great deal of liam hound blood (« Leithund ») was already kept at the Weimar court in the first third of the 19th century. In the middle of the 19th century, before pure breeding was started, breeding was mainly in the hands of professional hunters and gamekeepers in central Germany, mostly in the regions round Weimar and in Thuringia. As the days of the lima hounds passed, the dogs were crossed with the « Hühnerhund » and breeding was continued with this cross. From about 1890 on, the breed was produced according to a plan and regarded as suitable for registration in a stud book. Apart from the shorthaired Weimaraner, a longhaired variety occurred, if only singly, since the turn of the 20th century. Since being admitted to the studbook, the Weimaraner has been pure bred, remaining mostly free from crosses with any other breeds, in particular, Pointers. Therefore the Weimaraner is likely to be the oldest German « pointing » breed, which has been pure bred since 1900.

GENERAL APPEARANCE: Medium to large size hunting dog. Functional working type, pleasing in shape, sinewy and very muscular. Difference in type between dogs and bitches easily distinguished. 

IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS: Length of body to height at withers approximately 12 : 11. Proportions of the head; from tip of nose to stop slightly longer than from stop to occiput. Forequarter distance from elbow to mid-pastern and distance from elbow to point of withers about equal. 

BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT: Versatile, easily trained steady and passionate hunting dog. Persevering in systematic search, yet not too lively. Remarkable ability to pick up scent. Ready to seize game and other prey; he is a good watchdog, without aggressiveness however. Reliable pointing dog and worker in water. Remarkable inclination to work after the shot.

CRANIAL REGION: Skull: In balance with size of body and facial region. Broader in dogs than bitches, yet in both, the relationship between width of cranial region to total length of head must be in good proportion. Median groove on forehead. Slightly to moderately protruding occipital bone. Zygomatic arches easily traceable behind the eyes. Stop: Extremely slight. 

FACIAL REGION: Nose: Nose leather large, protruding over the under jaw. Dark flesh colour, merging gradually into gray towards the rear. Muzzle: Long and, specially in the male, powerful, appearing almost angular. Region of canines and carnassial teeth equally strong. Bridge of nose straight, often slightly arched, never with a concave curve. Moderately deep, flesh coloured, as are the gums. Slight labial corner. Jaws/Teeth: Jaws strong; teeth complete, regular and strong. Top and bottom incisors closely touching scissor bite. Cheeks: Muscular, clearly defined. Eyes: Amber colour, dark to pale, with intelligent expression. Skyblue in puppies. Round, set barely slanting. Lids well fitting. Ears: Lobular, broad and fairly long, just reaching to corner of mouth. Set on high and narrow, forming a rounded off point at tip. In alterness, turned slightly forward, folded. 

NECK: Good carriage. Upper line arched upwards in profile. Muscular, nearly round, not too short, clean. Becoming stronger towards the shoulders and merging harmoniously into the topline and chest. 

BODY: Topline: From the arched neckline, over the well defined withers the topline merges gradually into the relatively long back. Withers: Well defined. Back: Muscular, without a dip. Not running up towards the rear. A slightly longer back, a breed characteristic, is not a fault. Loin: Broad, muscular, straight to slightly arched, transition from back to loin well closed. Croup: Pelvis long and moderately sloped. Chest: Strong but not unduly broad, with sufficient depth to reach almost to elbows and of sufficient length. Well sprung without being barrel-shaped and with long ribs. Forechest well developed. Underline and belly: Rising slightly, but belly not tucked up. 

TAIL: Set on slightly lower than with other similar breeds. Tail strong and well coated. Carried hanging down in repose. When alert or working, carried level or higher. In countries where it is allowed by law, appropriately tail docking is permissible for shorthaired Weimaraner used for hunting.

LIMBS FOREQUARTERS: 

General appearance: High on leg, sinewy, straight and parallel, but not standing wide. 

Shoulder: Long and sloping. Well fitting, strongly muscled. Well angulated shoulder joint. 

Upper arm: Sloping, sufficiently long and strong. 

Elbow: Free and lying parallel to median plane of body. Turned neither in nor out. 

Forearm: Long, straight and vertical. 

Carpus (Wrist): Strong and taut. 

Metacarpus (Pastern): Sinewy, slightly sloping. 

Forefeet: Firm and strong. Standing straight in relation to median plane of body. Toes arched. Longer middle toes are a breed characteristic and therefore not a fault. Nails light to dark gray. Pads well pigmented, coarse. 

HINDQUARTERS: 

General appearance: High on leg, sinewy and well muscled. Standing parallel, turning neither in nor out. 

Thigh: Sufficiently long, strong and well muscled. 

Stifle (Knee): Strong and taut. 

Lower thigh: Long with clearly visible tendons. 

Hock joint: Strong and taut. 

Metatarsus (Rear pastern): Sinewy, almost vertical in position. 

Hind feet: Tight and firm, without dewclaws, otherwise like front feet. 

GAIT/MOVEMENT: Movement in all gaits is ground covering and smooth. Hind and front legs set parallel to each other. Gallop long and flat. Back remains level when trotting. Pacing is undesirable. 

SKIN: Strong. Well, but not too tight fitting.

COAT Hair: 

Short-haired: Short (but longer and thicker than with most comparable breeds), strong, very dense, smooth lying topcoat. Without or with only very sparse undercoat.

Longhaired: Soft, long topcoat with or without undercoat. Smooth or slightly wavy. Long flowing hair at ear set on. Velvety hair is permissible on tips of leathers. Length of coat on flanks 3–5 cm. On lower side of neck, forechest and belly, generally somewhat longer. Good feathering and breeching, yet less long towards ground. Tail with good flag. Hair between toes. Hair on head less long. A type of coat similar to a double-coat (Stockhaar) with medium length, dense, close fitting topcoat, thick undercoat and moderately developed feathering and breeching, sometimes occurs in dogs of mixed ancestry. 

Colour: Silver, roe or mouse grey, as well as shades of these colours. Head and leathers generally slightly paler. Only small white markings on chest and toes permitted. Sometimes a more or less defined trace occurs along the back. 

SIZE AND WEIGHT: 

Height at the the withers: Males: 59 – 70 cm. Females: 57 – 65 cm. 

Weight: Males: about 30 – 40 kg. Females: about 25 – 35 kg. 

FAULTS: Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog and its ability to perform its traditional work.

SEVERE FAULTS: 

• Widely spread woolly coat in the shorthaired variety. 

• Extremely curly or sparse feathering in the longhaired variety. 

• White markings except on chest and toes. 

• Ears: Feathering extremely short or long, not turned. 

• Back: Severe sway or roach back. Definitely overbuilt at croup. 

• Particularly pronounced dewlap. 

• Definitive bow or cow hocks. 

• Poor angulation, definitely turned outward turned elbows. Open paws. 

DISQUALIFYING FAULTS: 

• Aggressive or overly shy. 

• Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified. 

• Significant deviation in type, untypical for sex. 

• Serious deviation in the proportions. 

• Size more than 2 cm outside the standard. 

• Absolutely untypical, above lumbering or weak. 

• Absolute disproportionate. 

• Extremely impaired when walking. 

• Skin malformations and defects. 

• Partial or total hair loss. 

• Lack of feathering on belly or ears. 

• Deviations from grey tones, such as yellow or brownish, tan brand. 

• Colour other than gray. Blue colouring. 

• Foreface absolutely untypical. 

• Facial region: Absolutely untypical i.e. distinctly concave nasal bridge. Muzzle too short, pointed, roman nose or with too short flews. 

• Entropion, ectropion. Slight and one sided lid defects. 

• Jaw and teeth: Missing more than two PM1 or M3. 

• Chest, belly: malformations; barrel chest; insufficient chest depth or length; definitely tucked up belly. 

• Malformed legs. 

• Other malformations. 

• Excessively aggressive towards dogs or people, excessive fear. 

• Clearly showing behavioural abnormalities 

N.B.: 

• Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum. 

• Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs, with breed typical conformation, should be used for breeding. 

The latest amendments are in bold characters.