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About Vizslas
Vizsla Breed Standard
General Appearance
That of a medium-sized, short-coated, hunting dog of distinguished appearance and bearing. Robust but rather lightly built, the coat is an attractive shaded golden rust. Originating in Hungary, the Vizsla was bred to work in field, forest and water. Agile and energetic, this is a versatile dog of power, drive and endurance in the field yet a tractable and affectionate companion in the home. It is strongly emphasized that field conditioned coats, as well as brawny or sinewy muscular condition and honorable scars indicating a working and hunting dog are never to be penalized in this dog. The requisite instincts and abilities to maintain a "dual dog" are always to be fostered and appreciated, never deprecated. {to review the entire breed standard refer to: (http://www.akc.org/breeds/vizsla/index.cfm)}
How I discovered Vizslas After hunting over a friend’s Vizsla in Southern California during the fall of 1980 and seeing how eagerly she hunted to the gun and handled with ease, exhibiting an excellent nose for locating game as well as the ability to hunt for hours, I was hooked. I’d never seen or heard of a Vizsla before but I knew then they had something special and that I wanted it. I’d been around bird dogs all my life but most were Pointers and English Setters. While they too were virtual hunting machines, I saw something in my friend’s Vizsla that I had not seen before. There was a certain bond between him and his dog that one does not often find in most pointing breeds.
When he picked me up that morning his dog was riding in the back seat looking out the window contently. My first thought was, “This could be a long day.” When we stopped for breakfast before daylight she sat quietly in the car waiting for us. When we got to where we were going to hunt that morning, he let her out and blew the whistle. It was like a different dog had arrived on the scene. She hunted at a fast, snappy pace covering all the available cover and was on point on a covey of Valley Quail within minutes. When we flushed and shot a few birds she marked them down and went to retrieve when sent. She retrieved every bird to my friends hand like they were delicate, fine China. When were ready to drive to another spot he’d call her in and open the back door of his Jeep Wagoneer. She would jump in and look out the window just as she had that morning. When we stopped for lunch she waited patiently in the back seat while we ate. When we started hunting again she immediately reverted to the high speed, bird finding machine she’d been all morning. Needless to say, I was amazed. A few weeks later I was over at my friend’s house for something and there she was lying on the sofa watching TV with my friend’s daughters. I said ok, “That’s it, I have to have one of these dogs.” He bred her that winter and I got a pup from him in the Spring of 1981. Here we are nearly 30 years later and I haven’t been without them ever since.
One caution I do have for people considering a Vizsla as a new hunting and family companion is that they are very addictive. No matter how crusty you may think you are or how much of a hard core bird dog fan you are, these little red rascals capture your heart. So don’ get one unless you’re prepared to find out something about yourself and dogs you may not have known existed before.
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