[Hansam]

I understand the replies to this thread regarding how great Weimaraners are. However I have to wonder if people are letting their emotions about their personal dogs interfere with their answers.

The OP asked the following:

The dog would be on a farm that has cattle and would have a couple hundred acres to roam on hikes, would possibly be taken camping, and would have a very large yard. Mainly would there be an issue with the dog and cattle? What is the breed temperament to other dogs and people? Are they good watch dogs?

and

would only be out of the yard under supervision

as well as

I was looking for a dog with lower grooming maintenance

Now Weimaraners aren't a high maintenance breed but their single coat doesn't make them ideal outdoor dogs for hiking and camping unless your tent is large enough to house the dog as well overnight. I also get the feeling that the dog would be left outside in a large yard (most likely fenced in) unsupervised for at least some time during the day. The OP was also hoping to use the dog as a good guard dog - or at least that's my take on the post. All of this says to me they're looking for a different breed of dog than a Weimaraner.

Sure weims are alert dogs and will bark if someone arrives but in the middle of the night and sleeping in your home with you this dog won't be much of a deterrent if someone is sneaking onto your property to steel from your tool shed or cattle barn. Same goes for if you have a varmint coming for a late night snack. For this task you need a dog that was bred for it.

As a dog that you'll want to use as an outdoor dog you want one that is happy and comfortable with your friends and family but isn't glued to you by the hip and won't whine if he/she can't come inside for the night. At least for me when hiking and camping my dogs sleep outside the tent. That also isn't for a weim especially if it rains or snows (especially snow...). Besides part of having a dog with your while camping is for its guarding duty. I'd definitely go with another breed for this.

All in all what the OP asked for sounded a lot like the place in their lives would be best filled by a farm/field line Great Pyrenees. Its a larger working dog that is for the most part very docile and gentle with its family unless it tires of being climbed on at which point they just go find another place to lay. Its a light sleeper and sleeps often during the day but at night its constantly on the alert. Nothing gets past a pyr when its on duty - which is almost all the time. They are diligent guardians of children and livestock and even guard adults quite well too. Fearless in the face of danger these dogs will put themselves on the line so their family and flock can flee to safety. For humans these dogs know how to put on a great fearsome display - but unless the dogs perceive a real threat they are not prone to attacking humans and really they're pretty good at getting a good read on humans. With a pyr (or better yet 2 of them) on your farm you needn't worry about varmints of either 4 legged or 2 legged kind. I know of some farmers who have multiple pyrs on their farms and coyote, wolves and other predators (including birds of prey) don't come within hundreds of yards of their property and livestock. The show line of these dogs is very high maintenance in their coats but the working line dogs are actually very low maintenance. They can be at home either in the house or in the field. I know of a pyr that would stay outside the home if she thought there was a possible threat and despite rain, snow etc. she'd stay on watch all night long. In the morning the owners would wake up to find her starting to curl up under a snow bank for a nap in the winter or ducking into her dog house in the warmer months. She was a house dog but had freedom to stay outside if she felt necessary. They're hardy dogs that will survive most every weather condition nature throws their way from heat to cold, wet to snow...

If the OP doesn't care for pyrs they can also look into other livestock guard breeds that would probably better suit what they're looking for than a weimaraner.

Now don't get me wrong, weims are great dogs in their own right but I wouldn't suggest a weim or any other sporting breed for what I thought the OP was looking for. I LOVE labs and springers. I think they're the greatest dogs in the world but I also know their limitations and where they'd fit best. This scenario is definitely NOT one I'd suggest a lab or springer and not a weim either.

Of course I also kind of got the feeling the OP had already decided on a weimaraner so perhaps this is all moot anyway.