Tell me about Vizslas please

sandi_84

sandi_84

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My OH and I have been looking into getting a dog and a friend of a friend has a litter of pups planned for sometime this year. From the sounds of it they are responsible breeders who have spent a lot of time looking for the right stud dog for their bitch but will need to ask a few questions face to face at some point.
We've looked into the breed characteristics and health problems and so far we're both liking the sounds of Vizslas but we'd like to hear from people who have experience of the breed if possible :)
 
My yard owner breeds Vizlas and they are lovely dogs. My biggest problem with her's is that they are very vocal and can be quite defensive (all bark no bite) of the property despite seeing me everyday for three years! I've also met a few out walking and the impression I get is that they are 'busy' dogs and best when well worked. In terms of health one of the YOs had a genetic eye problem but I'm not sure if that's common. Sorry if that's not much help!
 
Thanks for your reply! We don't mind if we have a dog that barks at folk coming up to the house, we live out in the sticks so early warning barks are welcome :) The dog will be very active as wI'll spend most of the time with OH who is self employed :)
 
My Aunty has a Vizsla. She's a lovely dog but like above, she is very active and needs lots of stimulation. She's also very vocal and has fallen into some bad habits, I think they need to not be allowed to get away with anything and an active lifestyle! She's enthusiastic about EVERYTHING :D She's also a bit protective, more so when on the lead towards other dogs (protecting owner) but is OK off lead (and OK with dogs she knows). But she loves people.

She does have a health condition. I can't remember exactly what it is now... (It'll come to me later!) but she had low blood counts and has had to have blood transfusions and is on steroids when needed. I don't *think* it's genetic though.. just bad luck unfortunately :(
 
Hi Sandi :) I can only talk from spending a lot of time with a friends but i think he was very representative of the breed. He was super , super active when young, to the point where he drove you mental with his attention seeking, he barked a lot and was a little too protective for my liking in so young a dog, it could easily have escalated to be a problem. Good points were he was very loving and if you have space and time a good choice, when he was calm he listened well, very pretty too but i would want to buy from an established breeder with no nervousness in their line. I opted for a Weimaraner instead, more dynamic, intelligent and amusing ( to me anyway!!), but similar in many ways( i got a new one 2 days ago!!), health issues are the same too, hips and eyes but a good breeder would have eliminated these issues. I liked my friends one a lot and i think that if you find a good breeder and you won't be leaving him/her alone too much( they hate this) they are a great choice. xx
 
They're handsome dogs, but definitely not for me. My cousin has one... He has a really annoying high pitched, VERY loud bark, and doesn't seem to respond to any of their attempts to stop him from doing it. My dog is vocal, he makes all sorts of hilarious sounds from whines to groans to growls (sometimes in a most human tone!) and he will bark ferociously when visitors arrive - but he does quieten down quickly. And he barks properly, not the awful high pitched yelping the viszla emits! It goes straight through you.
My cousin's viszla doesn't work, he's a family pet. They walk him after work I think, and he gets walked in the day by my uncle and aunt. Not too high maintenance in that respect, prone to getting tubby though.
 
Not sure whereabouts in Scotland you are but try joining on Facebook the 'Scottish Vizsla Viz Whizz' group. They meet up for regular walks and if it is anything like the one in my area that I bump into from time to time you will meet twenty to thirty dogs all in one go with their attendant humans.
 
I asked about them last year and spoke to a few breeders (there used to be a vizla breeder on here who replied to me via another poster, she was very helpful). I was warned they are velcro dogs-like to follow you and be with you all the time as well as the high energy aspect.
It was the velcro thing that put me off-I'd had settesr that were no good at entertaining themselves and wanted a dog that was not as high maintenance in that regard. The wire haired versions are apparently more sensible. The retriever likes fuss and a cuddle but doesnt follow me everywhere and will happily play by himself if I am busy. There are tons of vizla breeders in Scotland (no WH though) so it shouldnt be hard to go and meet some.
 
I agree with MoC. I looked into buying one last spring to work as there is a chap who comes picking up with a cracking bitch.

However, having spent some time with her, the Velcro aspect put me off too, and she was very thin skinned and not interested in working in the rain.

My own retriever is fairly "needy" at times but she is happy to have her own space 90% of the time!
 
I have a Vizsla and he is probably the least vocal dog ever - he very, very rarely barks.
Ours is great with kids, he absolutely loves them. My youngest are 7 and 9 now and were 4 and 6 when we first brought ours home, he did occasionally manage to knock them over but only through boisterous enthusiasm. He is hugely intelligent, very trainable, kind and loving in the extreme. He's 100% around livestock, horses, cattle and sheep do not interest him at all.
Ours is very 'velcro' he has to be near at least one of his humans at all times even at the expense of his own comfort. Ours is by a working dog and loves to point and retrieve. I do think most Vizslas need a job or a focus as their minds are so active.
The only other thing that springs to mind is that as a pup ours was VERY mouthy and this does seem common in V pups, we were a bit concerned about it at one point but he did eventually grow out of it!
They are, in general, lovely dogs but very demanding.
 
I had one when I was twenty, my mother has has one or two at a time over the subsequent 20 odd years.

Fabulous dogs, very bright, need exercise and mental stimulation - they ARE a working breed after all. High energy, but very good at collapsing on the sofa and taking up the whole length of it (you are allowed to share the end, if they can put their head on your knee!!)

Not particularly fond of the rain, unless they have a job to do.
Mine wasn't barky at all, but was vocal - she'd "chat" to me like Siamese cats do - strange "wows" etc.

Definitely a velcro breed - my Viszla was mine, despite me moving out to college, my mother walking her, feeding her, doing everything with her - when I came home at weekends, Tazy ignored my mother completely, and when I went away again, she would stop eating for a couple of days.

Definitely "good doers" - they are prone to get plump without sufficient exercise.

When you say that the dog would be out with your OH for most of the day - it will become "his" dog - they tend to be one person dogs.

Absolutely delightful dogs - I would have another in a heartbeat.


ETA all of my mother's have come from Viszla rescue - sadly there are a lot of people who take them on without doing their research. One was rescued from a haulage firm where it was on a chain as a guard dog......
 
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