Page 60 - K9 News - Issue 15 - March2021

points, with a total of 100 points available.
Major Petty with some of the first
weimaraners in the UK
hitting the headlines even before the club was
formed, when there were just 15 dogs in the
country. This fuelled instant demand for the
dogs, especially since they were valuable and a
means of earning money. So, even in the early
days, indiscriminate breeders were producing
poor quality puppies, at a time when it was
vitally important to control the quality of the
breed. Soon the Weimaraner was seen on TV.
The publicity of the ‘grey ghost’, as the breed
was nicknamed, generated phenomenal interest.
Major Petty was deluged with numerous phone
calls and more than 2000 enquiries regarding
the breed in a very short period of time.
Breed Standard
The WCGB drew up the first breed standard
which included a scale of points, with each part
of the body being given a certain number of
Weimarners on a grouse moor ... photo by Maude
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K9 NEWS DIGITAL / MARCH 2021
The standard approved by the Kennel Club in
1963 was basically the same as that produced
by the Club although the points were dropped.
The Weimaraner first appeared in the Kennel
Club Stud Book in 1954 listed under ‘Any Other
Varieties’.
In 1955, four Weimaraners gained their stud
book number by qualifying in Setter and Pointer
Trials.
There were changes in the Club committee in
1963. Major Petty was elected the Club’s first
president, an office he held his death in 1982.
‘Bunny’ Roberts became chairman and Miss
Audrey Clarke was elected secretary.
In 1970 the Club ran their first field trial under
the guidance of Lt Col Tucker who was the
Club’s first field trial secretary. In the same
year, the breed standard was revised. There
were two changes to the 1963 standard, in
particular the height for dogs and bitches was
raised by 1 inch. In 1973 the Club held their first
championship show. The judge was Mr L James
and he had an entry of 115 dogs. It was also
in 1973 that the first long haired Weimaraners
appeared in the UK.
Soon the club added working trials to the list
of events they undertook. To mark the first 25
years, the Club produced its first year book.
Yearbooks were then published at approximately
4 year intervals, giving members a chance to
publicise their dogs.