Weimaraner Health Problems and Raising a Weimaraner Puppy to be Healthy

How To Raise a Healthy Dog
Feeding the Best Dog Foods
Vaccinations: Needed or Not?
Spaying and Neutering: Pros and Cons

The most common health problems in Weimaraners:

The most common orthopedic disease in Weimaraners is hip dysplasia. The Orthopedic Foundation of America evaluated the hip X-rays of 9800 Weimaraners and found nearly 9% dysplastic. This is higher than it should be, and the true rate is even higher because most of the obviously bad X-rays were not sent in for official evaluation. For comparison, another German pointing breed, the German Shorthair, has a hip dysplasia rate of only 5%.

Elbow dysplasia and osteochondritis occur less frequently, but are still concerns in the breed, as are panosteitis and wobbler's syndrome.

Hypertrophic osteodystrophy can occur in Weimaraner puppies and is particularly severe in this breed, with a high mortality rate.

Bloat is a major killer of Weimaraners. The Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine reports that the Weimaraner is the FOURTH most likely breed to bloat.

Cancer (especially mastocytoma and fibrosarcoma) is another leading killer of Weimaraners.

Eye diseases include progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), eyelash abnormalities, entropion, and cherry eye.

Heart disease (tricuspid valve dysplasia) is becoming a concern in the Weimaraner.

Allergies cause itchy skin and can lead to pyoderma. A more serious skin disease is demodectic mange, which can occur in Weimaraner puppies and adolescents. Occasionally lick granuloma occurs in Weimaraners.

Hypothyroidism occurs in Weimaraners and so do blood-clotting diseases (von Willebrand's disease, hemophilia A, and factor XI deficiency).

Other health issues in Weimaraners include hernias, immunoglobulin deficiencies, and degenerative spinal myelopathy.

Can you prevent health problems from happening to YOUR Weimaraner?

Yes, often you can.

1. Some health problems are genetic, which means inherited from parents. Genetic health issues are common in Weimaraners today because of unwise breeding practices. My book, Dog Quest: Find The Dog Of Your Dreams, shows you how to find a Weimaraner puppy who is genetically healthy.
2. Other health problems are environmental – caused by the way you raise your dog. My best-selling dog health book, 11 Things You Must Do Right To Keep Your Dog Healthy and Happy shows you how to prevent environmental health problems by raising your Weimaraner puppy (or adult dog) in all the right ways.

Here are my dog health tips for raising a healthy Weimaraner puppy or adult dog:

How To Raise a Healthy Dog – My Philosophies
Read my advice on sensible feeding and health care so that your Weimaraner lives a long, healthy life and seldom needs to see the vet. An excellent goal, yes?

The Best Dog Food For Feeding Your Weimaraner
The best diet for feeding your Weimaraner is real food. Real chicken, turkey, beef, bison, venison, fish....This is not "people food" and I'll tell you why.

The Second-Best Dog Food For Your Weimaraner
If you can't (or won't) feed what your Weimaraner really needs, the best I can do is to point out what to look for – and look out for – when choosing a brand of kibble or canned dog food.

Vaccinations and Booster Shots: Needed or Not?
How many vaccinations does your Weimaraner puppy really need? Does your adult Weimaraner need yearly booster shots? The vaccination guidelines have changed. Find out what many vets aren't telling you.

The Type of Veterinarian I Recommend
Does your veterinarian belong to the AVMA or the AHVMA? They're not the same at all, and which one you choose can make a world of difference to the future health of your Weimaraner.

Spaying and Neutering: Pros and Cons
Advantages and disadvantages of spaying your female Weimaraner or neutering your male.

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