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Pronunciation

Description

The Vizsla is a medium-sized hunting dog. The strong body is slightly longer than it is tall. The slightly domed skull is lean and muscular, wide between the ears with a medial line going down the forehead. The muzzle tapers gradually from the stop to the nose and is the same length or shorter than the skull. The nose is flesh colored in contrast with the coat. The neck is strong with no dewlap. The teeth meet in a scissors bite. The medium sized eyes contrast with the coat color. The long ears are silky thin, hanging down close to the cheeks with rounded tips. The tail is thick at the root and is customarily docked to 2/3 its original length. Note: docking tails is illegal in most parts of Europe. The front legs are straight with cat-like feet. The dewclaws are usually removed. The short, smooth coat is tight to the whole body and comes in a rusty-gold color in various shades on the body.

Temperament

The Vizsla is expressive, gentle, and loving. Keen and trainable to a high degree, they need mental stimulation daily. They need a patient, calm, firm hand. If they do not see you as a strong authority figure they will become stubborn. Reliable with children, loving to play for hours. Without extensive daily exercise they may be too energetic and excitable for very young toddlers, but are excellent for energetic kids. Able to adapt quickly to family life, and are generally good with other dogs. They are very athletic, and when lacking in exercise they may become destructive or neurotic. Socialize them well to people, places, noises, dogs and other animals. It is very important to obedience train your Vizsla. Without enough exercise, they can be overly eager, prancing around you in sheer excitement. This breed is highly trainable and very willing to please; if you can get them to understand exactly what it is you want of them. If you do not train this breed they may become difficult to handle and control. Example: See Video of a Vizsla who needs more exercise. Notice how very eager to please the dog is, yet has more built up energy than she knows what to do with. She is obviously stressed and not relaxed. Vizslas tend to chew. This breed is not for everyone. If you want a calm dog and are not willing to walk a couple of miles or jog at least one mile a day, do not choose a Vizsla. Without proper exercise, they can easily become high-strung. They have many talents such as: tracking, retrieving, pointing, watchdog and competitive obedience. The Vizsla is a hunting dog and may be good with cats they are raised with, but should not be trusted with animals such as hamsters, rabbits and guinea pigs etc... Be sure to always be your dogs pack leader to avoid any negative behaviors such as guarding furniture, food, toys, and so on. Well balanced Vizslas, who receive enough exercise, and have owners who are true pack leaders will not have these issues. These behaviors can be reversed, once the owners start displaying leadership, discipline, and provide enough exercise, both mental and physical.

Height, Weight

Health Problems

Living Conditions

Exercise

Life Expectancy

Grooming

Origin

Vizslas are depicted on etchings that date back to the 10th century. They originate from Hungary bred by the Magyars, who used them as hunting dogs. They are thought to have descended from several types of pointers along with the Transylvanian hound, and the Turkish yellow dog (now extinct). "Vizsla" means "pointer" in the Hungarian language. The dogs worked as hunters, their superb noses and endless energy guided them to excel at catching upland game such as waterfowl and rabbit. The breed almost became extinct after World War II. After the war when the Russians took control of Hungary it was feared that the breed would disappear from existence. In an attempt to save the breed, native hungarians smuggled some of the dogs to American and Austria. The Vizsla has two cousins, one with hard-wire hair called the Wirehaired Vizsla and the other a rare longhaired Vizsla. The longhaired can be born in both smooth and wire litters, although this is quite a rare occurrence. The longhaired Vizslas are not registered anywhere in the world but there are some to be found in Europe. Some of the Vizsla's talents include retriever, pointer, game bird hunter, obedience competitions, agility, and watchdog.

Group

Recognition

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