Hungarian Vizslas

[NoMercy]

I had never even heard of this breed until Alfie and I encountereda beautiful little puppy this morning. Anybody know anything about this breed?

http://www.google.com...&site=images&tbm=isch

[Clanad]

An ancient breed, perhaps 1,000 years old or more. Bred as a war dog in the eastern Europe of the age, they nearly went extinct shortly after the First World War.
A neighbor bought one a number of years ago, to be trained as a bird dog.

My observation was that they are a fairly large dog... perhaps 60 to 70 pounds and very vigorous. Extremely intelligent, they need a strong hand but respond well to training.
Red is the predominant color and one of the few dogs with a reddish brown nose. Short haired of course.
Needs lots of room to run and exercise. Loyal and does fairly well with children for a hunting breed.
"Dancer" (our neighbors dog) loved to run. Hunting uplandgame birds, especially pheasants, was his favorite occupation any given day. He worked well, knowing how far out to range and pointed extremely well, retrieving nearly every bird. He was especailly adept at finding wounded birds, having an excellent nose.
I speak of him in the past tense since he developed a tumor on his right rib cage, which was diagnosed as cancer and died within about 6 to 8 months. Apparently this is not unique among this breed. (I'm in the U.S., btw).
They're expensive, at least here... best of luck!

[NoMercy]

Thank you, Clanad. I met a little pup yesterday who was so enamoured with my dog (red setter / cocker spaniel) that he tried to come with us (we were walking in opposite direction.

It was the cutest thing I've ever seen.

[islasmum]

When I was animal sitting I looked after 2 Vizlas (not together, seperate owners) - one of which was a 5 month puppy, and the other about 2.5 years old. I may just have been unlucky with these 2 dogs, but I came away thinking that I wouldn't want to own this breed - they both seemed very stupid and very excitable lunatics - the puppy I can undrstand, but the older one was not responsive at all to any training - this may have been down to the owners, I don't know. They are nice to look at though.

[naomi24]

I know someone who has two. Wonderful dogs - great temperament - great with children and adults. As Islasmum said, they can be a bit scatty so need firm training, but if I were getting more dogs (I have three) I wouldn't hesitate to choose this breed.

[NoMercy]

They are a high maintenance breed and require a substantial amount of training and stimulation. They are, by all accounts, a highly intelligent breed with a low boredom threshold.

[lankeela]

Yogi was Best In Show at Crufts 2010.

http://crufts.fosseda...ult.asp?ShowYear=2010

[boxtops]

Are they related to Weimaraners? They look the same build?

[lankeela]

As with any of the Gundog breeds they are bred to work all day so therefore needs lots of exercise, mental stimulation and training. Liking the look of a dog is never a good reason to get one, you need to research fully and talk to people in the breed to see if they would fit in with your lifestyle.
They certainly are a very striking looking dog and are capable of doing many things with the right training.

[lankeela]

http://www.hungarianv...ub.org.uk/Owning.html