Any Viszla experts on here...?!

amy_b

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Looking to get a Viszla so looking for advice. Very forward planning, not looking for right now but later in the year, maybe
next year. ..!

We are looking for a KC reg bitch, who is from a strong working line as she will be worked and I would love to do FT with her but also want to do some showing also. Is there a breeder in particular that covers both? If not the working side is more important as I can't imagine I would win Crufts with a dog bred for it anyway so would like a useful dog at the end of the day.

Secondly, what are they like on a day to day basis, are they easy to train? Are they born workers. My brothers lab knew what she was doing before he started official training..!

I am good at training but would like to know what they are like beforehand. How much exercise do they need realistically? I am spoilt with my lurcher, she can do as much or as little as I like but aware that working dogs need lots of exercise, are we talking one hour or several? 30 mins of high speed fetch or an hour of walking...?

Anything else I need to know beforehand? Hoping to go to Crufts to get an idea of what a good dog looks like. Although I picked my mums winning Dachshund as a puppy so reckon I have a lucky streak...!
 

minesadouble

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I am FAR from an expert but I have a Vizsla who I collected as a 7 week old pup one year ago. I too went from a lurcher to a Vizlsa and believe me it's a shock to the system!!! I've had Springers and Pointers in the past but the Vizsla as a puppy was WAY harder work than any pup I have ever known. He was fabulous to house train but was just determined to get into bother and chew and rag anything not tied down - including humans. I saw someone describing them as 'land piranhas' he other day and that is a pretty accurate description. I did wonder if it would ever stop at one point.
My advice would be read everything you can about and do take it to heart - they are not your average dog and wouldn't suit every owner. I rang Gunfield Vizslas (website easy to find) and got my boy through them, though they did not breed him he is sired by one of their dogs. They breed for conformation and working ability though their litters are normally spoken for well in advance (1year plus waiting list when I looked).
They need LOTS of exercise and even more mental stimulation. It is pretty much impossible to tire them out through running alone. We take ours to a gundog trainer and though he has a lot of hunt and point instinct his retrieve maybe doesn't come quite as naturally as the Springer I had. However that may just be him as an individual. In the house he is still a bit crazy and 'zoomy' though he is improving. I've probably made them sound horrendous but really you do need to go into Vizlsa ownership with your eyes open. I am in my 40s and have had numerous dogs, farm, working and pet since I was a child and our Viz is like no other dog I've ever known.

Having said all of that I worship the ground mine walks on. I adore him more than I Thought was possible. He is so clever he is almost human. He is 110 percent with my small kids and is the most loyal and loving dog anyone could ask for. I honestly don't think I would have any other breed again. If you do go ahead Good Luck - a Vizsla will change your life. I am a total convert now and think they are just the most fabulous dogs that walk the earth ��
 

minesadouble

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P.S Vizslak on here is very knowledgable re the breed. I PM'd her a couple of times before we got ours and she gave me some great advice. She doesn't come on or read PMs very often but she is worth waiting for ;)
 

Shady

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one of my friends had one, very beautiful but as Minesadouble said he was a full on handful all the time when young and you just couldn't tire him out,he took to mountain biking everywhere and throwing one of those ball things that flew for miles, having said all that he loves that dog to bits and he is brilliant with everyone.
 

gunnergundog

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See I was the last poster on that thread....hmmmm.......must have been in a rush! :) However, stand by all I said, but will add more later......

We are looking for a KC reg bitch, who is from a strong working line as she will be worked and I would love to do FT with her but also want to do some showing also.
So, you're going for an undocked bitch then if you want to show? In which case, what sort of country do you intend to work her in? Think long and hard! :) Also, have you seen how many/few Viz's participate in Field Trials, Working Tests and Spring Pointing tests? If you are serious about trials, forget them. Look at the handlers that have been successful in FTs for HPRs both back in the 90s before they were suspended and more recently and ask yourself where were the Viz's? Check out Rory Major!

If you forget competition and look at working dogs, I see more wire-haired with a decent level of drive than I do short-hairs. Sadly, most of the shorties seem to be pet-bred or show bred and have had the work ethic bred out of them as the bog standard pet owner can't/won't cope with the drive of a true hunting dog.

If you are still intent on a Viz, the only kennels I can think of that I have seen that have produced semi=decent workers are Gunfield and Cotswoldawn for the shorts and Leiborschy for the wires. I've also seen crap dogs from all those kennels. (Sorry, not to say it's genetics, likely handling/nurture) Sadly, most of the above (and others) -perhaps due to lack of suitable land? = try to train said dogs to work on driven shoots and not as true HPRs on the moors. If you must...use them as rough shooting dogs, but if you want a picker-upper or something to work in the beating line then do the breed a favour and get a spanner of some sort.

You say you are a good trainer, but would like to know what they are like....in which case get out to the training days organised by the VARIOUS HPR breed clubs so you have something to compare them with. Get involved with your local gundog training club; go to the spring pointing test days and see them in action (or not as the case may be!).

You ask how much exercise they need.....as a good trainer, you will know the criteria up until 12 months of age. Beyond that most people make the mistake of trying to physically tire them out. You need to mentally tire them out. That means TRAINING them, which means working one on one with them; NOT taking them for a walk with your other dogs! It means having access to gamey ground, doing drills, yes socialising them with other dogs as well, but the focus has to be on instilling all the instincts you need for working....to be honest, it is the Viz owners (regardless of lines) that I see at gundog training having to work the hardest to razz up their dogs to take an interest. :( That to me is sooooo sad.

Final point, health checks.....hips, epilepsy and myositis are the biggies. Also, I am told (by someone with more knowledge of this breed than I) avoid anything with any/too much Yogi in the breedlines.

Good luck!

PS Talk to any of the long term breeders.........Penny Simpson, for instance, or the rescue people....another Penny I think, but name escapes me at the mo...may come back and edit in a bit......
 
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gunnergundog

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Secondly, what are they like on a day to day basis, are they easy to train? Are they born workers. My brothers lab knew what she was doing before he started official training..!

No, IMO, they are not born workers. There is a saying something along the lines of 'labs are born fully trained, spanners are born half-trained and HPRs are trained the day they die....if you are lucky! ' ;)
 

PorkChop

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My friend has two short haired Viszla's and they are super, and are calm, loving companions - she has bred a couple of lovely litters.

If you are looking for a working one then I would choose a wire-haired, they seem to be a bit more up for it than the short coats for some reason. Imho I don't think you are being realisitic in wanting a working and a show type.

Any others I have met have lived up to their reputation and have been bonkers, but I do think it is a lot to do with the owner.

Fwiw I don't think working dogs need anymore exercise than show/pet dogs :)
 

minesadouble

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There is a lot of truth in what is written here so far. If you really want a good FT dog then I would only get a Vizsla if you have your heart set on the breed. I know a couple of Wires and one is a good working dog while the other is not as competent as our smooth and is soon to be rehomed as a pet. Our dog is by Paradox Hunt N for Gunfield and does have a real instinct and enthusiasm for hunting. You need to choose your bloodlines carefully but bear in mind even the best bloodlines are no guarantee of working ability.
They can make fabulous all round workers/pets and I wouldn't be without one now.

A few gratuitous pics of our boy;

Just a pup on this one.




Letting off steam;


And cuddled up on sofa with middle daughter;
 

amy_b

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Thought you were all due an update....! we took the plunge in August last year when I found a fab puppy out of a bitch that works and has a good working background and by a dog that has shown at an ok level and he has qualified for Crufts.

even with the fab advice and experience with puppies I still wasn't an where near prepared for the hurricane that entered our house...!! She is now 7 months and has very much turned a corner, although she is still very self important and I expect always will be she is a much nicer 'person' now that she knows her place in the pack...and that she isn't the most important creature to grace the universe

She has been beating just once and kept quiet but let off the lead for a little part of it and was very keen, controlled and put up a few birds. We now a tricky situation with the chickens back at the yard who look a lot like pheasants...

She has also been going to ringcraft classes and in entered for her first show next weekend, she is docked so we won't be going to Crufts but I still intend to show her to see how she does and get some feedback on her but she is brill!

overall she is the most intelligent, endearing, hilarious, pain in the arse that I have ever met and I am already dreading the day when we get another....!!
 

JFTDWS

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There is a lot of truth in what is written here so far. If you really want a good FT dog then I would only get a Vizsla if you have your heart set on the breed. I know a couple of Wires and one is a good working dog while the other is not as competent as our smooth and is soon to be rehomed as a pet. Our dog is by Paradox Hunt N for Gunfield and does have a real instinct and enthusiasm for hunting. You need to choose your bloodlines carefully but bear in mind even the best bloodlines are no guarantee of working ability.
They can make fabulous all round workers/pets and I wouldn't be without one now.

A few gratuitous pics of our boy;

Just a pup on this one.




Letting off steam;


And cuddled up on sofa with middle daughter;

Lovely dog.

Also loved the "land piranhas" description.

Any more photos for us non-Viszla-owning lurkers?
 
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