About The Breed.
The Hungarian or Magyar Vizsla represents one of the best in sporting dogs and loyal companions and has a strong claim to being one of the smallest of the all-round pointer-retriever breeds. His size is one of the Vizsla’s most attractive characteristics and through the centuries he has held a unique position for a sporting dog-that of household companion and family dog. The Vizsla is not content to be “put in the kennel with the dogs” after the hunt and only reaches his fullest capacity when he is a member of the family he serves.
The Vizsla started arriving in the United States at the close of World War II. As interest in and devotion to the breed began to increase, owners formed the Vizsla Club of America in order to gain AKC recognition. As a result of registering foundation stock with the AKC, Vizsla owners were able to obtain official recognition in 1960 and the Vizsla became the 115th breed recognized by the American Kennel Club.
The Official Standard of the Vizsla Breed has been developed and adopted by the Vizsla Club of America and its members. This information should be used as a guideline for understanding and appreciating the breed. The standard may be found at clubs.akc.org/vizsla
Exercise Needs.
Tired puppies are much less trouble than puppies who are full of the devil! Regular daily exercise, off the lead so your pup can tear around, will help a great deal in keeping your house and your life more puppy-proofed. BEWARE! Vizsla pups NEED this exercise-without it they will use your house as a race track and actively look for trouble!
Start looking now for parks and fields where you can run your pup. For the next few years you will be spending an hour a day minimum (!) tiring out your little darling, so find a variety of places to exercise off leash. You will be out, rain or shine, for at least one major off-leash run a day, SO BE WARNED!!! A small fenced-in backyard is insufficient space for a Vizsla to really stretch. In young puppies, moderation is advisable because of the risk of damaging growth plates in their legs. Adolescent puppies are another story!
It is difficult to raise a puppy when no one is home during the day, and house-training becomes much more difficult. Puppies need a midday meal and to potty frequently. If your pup will be home alone for extended periods of time, you will need to have a plan for the pup’s care, such as using neighbors, friends, relatives, paid pet sitters or puppy day care. Many breeders recommend crating your puppy when the pup is not able to be supervised for both the safety of the puppy and of your house; however, most agree that puppies should not be crated for more than a few hours at a time.
Training Needs.
While waiting for your pup, start looking for a place that trains the way you want to have your dog trained. There are many methods and you need to consider that Vizslas are very smart and trainable and eager to please, but they are slow to mature mentally. In fact, they need training to be good companions so all that mischievous energy gets properly channeled. They are sensitive dogs who usually do not respond well to harsh training methods, and since they mature slowly, they often have short attention spans and get bored easily during training sessions when young. The rule of thumb is not to let a puppy do anything you wouldn’t want a 45-65 lb. adult dog to do, and never to continue with a trainer whose methods make you uncomfortable. Most puppy buyers will want to get a minimum of a year of obedience training, and two years is better, with other socialization experiences continuing after formal training. This does not mean sending your pup for someone else to train, this means attending classes with your dog. USE POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT/FORCE FREE TRAINERS ONLY.
Vizslas And Children.
Vizslas are a high-drive hunting breed and children frequently unwittingly act just like prey. Vizslas are also more needy in terms of affection and human companionship than other breeds and can see children as competition. Vizslas can be tolerant with children given proper supervision and training—if the children are good with the dog. “Being good with children” does NOT mean “without supervision.” NO CHILD (family member or not) UNDER 11 SHOULD BE LEFT UNSUPERVISED WITH ANY DOG. All children should be taught how to interact with the dog and that dogs are not toys, for the two to live in harmony. Little boys in particular need to be taught how to handle a dog and not to pull on the dog’s ears, tail, or private parts, or to stick things in the same places. Puppies tend to mouth and bite small children, steal their toys and knock them down, and you and the children need to learn how to handle these situations calmly. The immediate reaction of many children is to start screaming and running, which just exacerbates the problem.
Children should also be taught that the puppy’s crate is off limits; it is the puppy’s safe haven, and to respect the dog’s space, especially near food dishes and wherever the dog sleeps or rests outside the crate. “Being good with children” does NOT MEAN tolerating any amount of pummeling from a child without ever growling or biting. This is an unrealistic expectation for any breed, but particularly for one that is sensitive like the Vizsla.
Families with children might also consider whether they will have time for the dog to get enough attention and exercise with young children demanding parents’ time and attention. It is extremely hard to be successful when trying to house train a pup and toilet train a human in the same time period. The pup usually ends up being the one who suffers on the training end.
Whether people have children or not, though, they should do as much as they can to childproof their dog, especially to toddlers and prepubescent children who seem to be especially threatening to dogs. They smell and behave differently than adult humans, which makes them confusing to dogs.
Velcro Dogs.
Vizslas are NOT dogs that can just be left in a yard. They were bred to be affectionate housedogs as well as hunting and field dogs, and they want to be WITH their people. They will follow you from room to room, including the bathroom, sleep next to you or at your feet, and lay their heads in your lap at every opportunity, etc. One friend has said that once you have a Vizsla, you will never go to bathroom alone again. Left to their own devices without human companionship, they will become lonely, bored and destructive. People who expect dogs to raise themselves by themselves will not like this breed.