Thoughts on the Vizsla breed

[PCal]

Good morning all,

So, after looking after the in laws dog for the past week, the wife is understandably hankering after a dog.

It has been nice looking after her (the dog that is...) and we will likely seek to get a dog within the next couple of years. The wife has made what could be a sensible recommendation of a Vizsla as they are reasonable family pet but could also be used when we are out stalking as she says they can be trained to point and track.

Before we go down a rabbit hole of looking too much into the breed, do the members on here have any thoughts and recommendation? Any constructive advice will be most welcome.

 

[pendle]

My WHV was a great dog (deer only. )
Yes if my Mrs would let me have another large dog I would have one .
If you get one make sure its parents have all the health checks
Mine had Huu. He could stand peeing for ages or pee in his bed . To many untested dogs are bred off. Eperlesy is also rearing its head in the breed.

 

[jimmy milnes]

Im guessing you mean the vizsla and not the wirehaired vizsla,
I've seen a good few in my time some half decent and some i wouldnt even both with. As i said in another thread a while back lines are more important to me than anything when looking for a pup. So if its a vizsla that will keep the family happy do some searching on lines and don't be afraid to go abroad for a pup either, ive done it and it isn't voodoo to get them into the uk.
Best of luck
Jimmy.

 

[cjm1066]

Mine is 10 tenacious on a track, continues to ground scent when air scent gives away the deer's location.

They are called the velcro dog, far more demanding to train than her predecssor a lab X spaniel.

Perhaps not a dog for a first time dog owner.

 

[unicorn71]

I have 2 wire haired , as said above they are Velcro dogs who love their family more than life itself,the older bitch is very deer focused and will get stuck in when needed but in the house is a baby , the young bitch is much larger just as soft and very predatory . I believe that the Hwv are a lot more mentally stable than the smooth haired variety and seem to have less “issues”as a friend who has bred smooths for many years tells me that aggression and bites seem to be coming very common.

 

[wytonpjs]

Now on my 5th smooth Vizsla (now 6) - she is our second rescue and our first bitch - and we are wondering why we didn’t have bitches before! All have worked game in the field beautifully and our current bitch is the first to work deer - she is good IMHO: a couple of videos here and here. They are biddable, extremely easy to train and make great family dogs and seem relaxed enough to take as much or as little exercise as you can give. Both my wife and I work and Ruby is chilled enough to spend most of here day in the cozy cave. Indeed, whereas the Teckel cannot wait to get out of the house and into the car for the next adventure, the V sometimes has to be dragged out of the house only to revel in the activity. I do Vizz Whizzes (Google) and sadly I see too many V (dogs especially) who do not have the basics trained into them. They are hyper intelligent and easy to train - all of ours were house trained in 24 hrs whereas the Teckel took 6 months. Three made it to 11 (auto-immune condition on one), our last boy just short of 16 before old age took him away (he was still working at 15) and Ruby fingers crossed……. She had 3 epileptic fits back in Jan 2020 out of the blue and none since. I have linked this to Bravecto poisoning (see my other posts up here on SD) but epilepsy is sadly more common in this breed than others.

I love the breed and enjoy their companionship as much as I do their working prowess- they are in my mind a great choice and we started with 2 as our first dogs

 

[Monty3006]

My Vizsla is 18 months old and my first of the breed. He’s been great and wytonpjs has summed up my thoughts on the breed well.

 

[PCal]

Thank you all so much for sharing your thoughts, really helpful! Love those videos wytonpjs, just showed the mrs those and the above posts and wants us to seriously consider one. We aren't going to get a dog in the near future so have time to do some research etc.

What are the key "warning indicators" to look out for when looking at the lineage of a particular dog or bitch?

 

[NigelM]

Awesome dogs. Now have a turbo charged version (GWP) which is only 12 months old but he will do well if he's ever as good as my HWV (yes he is a wire, the wires just never grew out).

Sorry, just seemed like a good excuse to post some pics of my old mate.

 

[wytonpjs]

Just to add some domestic ones:

 

[Mud Stuffin]

HWV absolutely awsome dogs very velcro as unicorn71 says but fantastic in the home with kids etc and also brilliant in the field (on some occasions I’m convinced they are borderline telepathic). The negatives: 1. they like to “tell” you everything and cannot help but “talk” to you however for some reason they don’t do this in the field and are pretty much silent (well for me anyway). 2. I have found that they require gentle training because you are their world anything harsh from you destroys their world. Apart from these two minor points IMHO personally I can’t fault the breed.

 

[wytonpjs]

(on some occasions I’m convinced they are borderline telepathic).

Definite Vizsla trait!

1. they like to “tell” you everything and cannot help but “talk” to you however for some reason they don’t do this in the field and are pretty much silent (well for me anyway). 2. I have found that they require gentle training because you are their world anything harsh from you destroys their world. Apart from these two minor points IMHO personally I can’t fault the breed.

Totally - both points

 

[Bowland blades]

Good morning all,

So, after looking after the in laws dog for the past week, the wife is understandably hankering after a dog.

It has been nice looking after her (the dog that is...) and we will likely seek to get a dog within the next couple of years. The wife has made what could be a sensible recommendation of a Vizsla as they are reasonable family pet but could also be used when we are out stalking as she says they can be trained to point and track.

Before we go down a rabbit hole of looking too much into the breed, do the members on here have any thoughts and recommendation? Any constructive advice will be most welcome.

My mate has one pup left from a litter , mum is a good hunter/ pointer working closer than most HPR ( which they seem to do ) . Better temperament than many HRRs in genral. guys on the Lancashire , N yorks boundary if you interested

 

[DVS1]

I'm afraid considering the one the partners daughter and her fella have got i would have to decline any positive comment...only considering it cost them 3k of a house deposit which they STILL haven't moved out yet!

 

[Siggy]

I don't have a vizsla but it was a close run thing back in the day and I spent a lot of time looking into them. Some of the are absolutely stunning, either standard or wire, and I would have some at the drop of a hat, but I also see a lot of really snipey ones at one extreme and at the other some that you can't tell from Labs. There are various genetic problems too -e.g. difficulty swallowing water and jaw muscle problems, so its definitely a breed to do your research. Since one won crufts there are a lot of breeders that don't have working at the fore front of their mind. If you get a good one, though I doubt you'll regret it.

 

[Sakoodin1]

I was to looking at a vizla years ago but with the issues I decided on a gwp ( best decision for me) great dogs and I replaced my old dog 2 years ago with another one, they are a hard dog that can do the job,I mix mine with deer and bird work and she is a hell of a dog and dare say it she is better than my old dog

 

[jimmy milnes]

Since one won crufts there are a lot of breeders that don't have working at the fore front of their mind.

Took the words right out of my mouth, once a dog breed becomes fashionable its stuffed.
Jimmy

 

[Terrydeer]

WHV are great dogs, I would just check the breeding and talk to the breeder and look at both parents

 

[Terrydeer]

Winnie at 4 and a joy to take stalking

 

[Corvid]

Worked two smooth hairs in the past predominantly with goshawks and for rough shooting the first one back in 1987 fantastic dogs great temperament,
Can be stubborn at times but a very gentle breed generally, looking at the breed today and some of the health issues the breed now has I would definitely
Be carefully looking into the litters breeding or bringing one in from abroad as previously mentioned.
Worked a gwp dog after the vizslas but that's a totally different story.
Would definitely recommend a viz but make sure you do your homework