AnnaM
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Hello from Kent!!Hello,
My hubby and I have a 4 yr old weimie called Henry. He has not been trained as a gundog. He is reasonably well behaved and is eager to please when asked to do something new. Would he be too old at 4 yrs old to train as a gundog, even if it is only for fun!!
Any information and/or advice will be gratefully recieved.
Thank you
Anna 
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weima
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Re: Hello from Kent!! | AnnaM wrote: | | Would he be too old at 4 yrs old to train as a gundog, even if it is only for fun!! |
Welcome! It's never too late to train a dog but you may not get him to field trial standard but at least you can learn with each other.
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sako75
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Hi Anna ,
Welcome to the forum , I really do hope that you can start to train Henry (great name  ) , weimaraners really enjoy the training - it is good for stimulating their minds aswell as the physical side of things.
Keep us all updated with "Henrys" progress. There is no shortage of help and advice on this forum from experienced handlers / trainers , I have found it SO helpfull.
Barry. 
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Mike
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No such thing as too old Anna
Grace Weim bitch (10 yo) has had little to no training for the first seven years of her life but has been getting a little in the last three years because of our dog. She was recently seen doing blind retrieves over a lake at a water training day!
Sue has also got an boy much older than yours who is doing really well and only started training relatively recently, so it is certainly possible. If nothing else it will teach you a huge amount and you will both enjoy it a lot! You'll also be much better prepared if / when you get your next one IMHO there is little more satisfying than seeing your dog use some of the skills it was originally bred for...
The only thing I can think of is that you may have one or two problems undoing a few bad habits but if you are doing for you and the dog rather than because you wish to compete then it really doesn't matter, move at the dogs pace and you will be fine. My biggest regret with Grace is that we didn't start sooner!
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AnnaM
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Hello,
Thank you for your reply!! We are trying to find a gundog club near us to take him to. I am glad it's not to late for him, even if we only learn the basics with him!!
Anna
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AnnaM
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| Mike wrote: | No such thing as too old Anna
Grace Weim bitch (10 yo) has had little to no training for the first seven years of her life but has been getting a little in the last three years because of our dog. She was recently seen doing blind retrieves over a lake at a water training day!
Sue has also got an boy much older than yours who is doing really well and only started training relatively recently, so it is certainly possible. If nothing else it will teach you a huge amount and you will both enjoy it a lot! You'll also be much better prepared if / when you get your next one IMHO there is little more satisfying than seeing your dog use some of the skills it was originally bred for...
The only thing I can think of is that you may have one or two problems undoing a few bad habits but if you are doing for you and the dog rather than because you wish to compete then it really doesn't matter, move at the dogs pace and you will be fine. My biggest regret with Grace is that we didn't start sooner! |
Wow!! Didn't see this post until after I'd posted my last reply!! So Henry really isn't too old then and that really cheers me up!! We are looking to get another weimie sometime next year and we would want that one to be trained from the start. But we would like to try training Henry before we even get as far as another pup!!
All your comments are very encouraging thank you!!
Anna
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windem bang
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Hi Anna, I don't think your dog is too old to learn and you would both be learning together, that is always - interesting   At last there is someone on this forum who uses large type! I can actually read your post without wearing specs!
Bill T.
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BritAnnie
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Hi Anna
Welcome to the group
I've only just started training my young Brittany having had the breed 25 years! I thought I was too old, but here I am hoping to trial him early next year. He's nearly 2, but Sue has an 11 year old Brittany, Mugi, so watch out for her tips! You don't need to compete in Field Trials either, there are plenty of opportunities to do lesser things - The Gundog Club and the Kennel Club both have certificates on offer at stages, and you could go beating or picking up with him. Retrieivng skills are I find the most difficult if you start later in teh dog's life, unless you have been doing that from the early stages.
Good luck and keep us informed - there's plenty room on here for another training diary!
BritAnnie
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Helen
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Welcome to the group. As others have said, they are never too old to learn.
Helen
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Greyghost
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Hi Anna and a big welcome from me and my rescue girl Holly age 7. I dabble in a bit of training with her and she was 5 when I got her.
My last girl Abbie, was 6 before I got into training. Never too old.
Where abouts in Kent are you. I am on the Kent/East Sussex border so may be able to help you with trainers etc.
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Barb
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Hi Anna and welcome to the forum. I agree with the others - never too old to learn. As Mike says there may be some things that will prove difficult but it depends what you want to do. I got my 2nd weimie as a rehome at 8 months but unfortunately didn't find any local gundog training until last year when she was almost 3.
She learns very quickly and the retrieving and water skills etc. are good but the sticking point with us is her behaviour on the lead , out in the field,  She was completely free run on her owners land before we got her.
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