# Adopted viszla



## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

Hi everyone. I am new here and i have few questions about my dear Jack. Jack is a 10 months old viszla(neutered) and he lost his human. He was in really good hands and they did some training as well with him. But i think he was the boss of the house. I met the coach they were working with and with him he obeys perfectly. He showed me what they were working on. Now to the fun part. I just can not stop him from pulling the leash like crazy. I tried turning 180, walking to oposite direction, try not to pull him to hard. I have treats, sometimes i put them right in front of his nose, just to get attention, but his focus is only on the dog. Usually when we are alone or we are working inside he is crazy about them. I posted a short clip for you dear forum people to see. I didn't have strength any more, because if (like i said before) i tried to turn around and walk the opposite direction, he janked me really hard back to his focus. I know he must be overwhelmed with the situation, loosing his owner, switching houses, etc... I've read a lot about viszlas and positive reinforcment.... but in this situation? How on earth? So if there is someone who can help us get on track and start enjoying our walks i would really appreciate it. 
And yes: i am sorry for all the gramatical mistakes. English is not my first language. 
Thank you 😊


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

Can i post a video of our ordeal somewhere?


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I normally upload my videos to YouTube first
Then I can share the link here


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

looking forward to see the video. at 10 months it is very normal for them to pull. on top of that as u mentioned he has gone thru a huge change. so try first and build a relationship with him, practice a lot at home and slowly and gradually take him to other places, setting expectations of not pulling for a 30 seconds, reward, sniff, then a minute walk, then let him sniff etc. consider these sessions as training at this point and not as a walk you would do with a mature trained dog, as your perspective of enjoyable walk is different from his at this point. 
any chance u can let him run his energy before these sessions? that usually helps focusing a lot.


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

Today we went early in the morning. Since it is still really dark outside and no people around, we went to dog park first. Played with ball for about half an hour, then proceeded with our walk for another half an hour. I constantly changed the direction, the second he started pulling I turned around. It was somehow managable. And then to finish it off, we went back to dog park and played again for about 20 min. I will upload a video of our yesterday's walk when daschund was around so you can see what i was talking about. I was trying to put the leash around me just to gain some control and strength. With his coach that the previous owner worked with, he didn't even notice any other dogs. And i know i am not doing this correctly, just really want to get a hand on this properly, not to cause any more stress to Jack. (I do think that i am doing that right now)


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I would use a half hitch on him, to get a little more control. Atleast until he starts to get a better idea of what is being asked of him.


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

I will try this out and see how it goes. Thanky for advice.
But i have to say something else as well. The way he looks at me sometimes.... i have this feeling he's completly scaning me and taking mental notes 😂


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## cosmoKenney (Dec 8, 2017)

Jasmina said:


> i have this feeling he's completly scaning me and taking mental notes 😂


 Ha ha! That's a vizsla. Very human-like in their gaze.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Jasmina said:


> I will try this out and see how it goes. Thanky for advice.
> But i have to say something else as well. The way he looks at me sometimes.... i have this feeling he's completly scaning me and taking mental notes 😂



He is doing exactly that!!
Many years ago when I got Gunnr, her owner too had passed away. Gunnr was with a trainer when we went up and got her. She was 11 months old at the time.
That dog did not look me in the eye for months. Not once. She would look to see where I was, glancingly, but she never looked directly at me. 
Start off with him in the house, with little to no distractions, especially another dog. Put him on his leash in the house and walk him at the heel. Keep working with him free of distractions. Lots of praise for anything good, and just a non emotional correction for the not good, but always finish on the positive.
Never, ever, let any dog pull you. The moment he pulls, you mentally turn yourself into a fence post, or tree. You do not break your feet. Put yourself in a solid, weighted ,position and you just stand there, immobile. He wants to keep pulling against that collar and choke himself, let him. You do not move. He will correct himself, or stop breathing. It's up to him. This is kind of a mental game for you, but you can do it. A very small person can mentally convince1200 lbs of horse to not pull, the same can be done with a 60 lb dog.  
The moment he back off a little back, you bring him back to you. You don't go to him. There should always be slack in a leash, no matter the length. Pulling is a very bad habit, that can cause injury to the handler. He's got a lot of power, and he could easily pull you off your feet, if you were unbalanced, and hurt you.
If the trainer/coach has him under control. I would work with the trainer coach for awhile, with the dog. Basically, you would be the one being "trained", so don't let your ego get involved. It's the dog that has priority.
The half hitch that Texas Red mentioned is the same technique I use, but you'll need a different leash.The leash comes off their collar, goes toward the back end, loops under the abdomen and then comes back up to your hand. It needs to be wide 25-30mm so it doesn't pinch and bind.
Stop using the collar you currently have and get a 25mm wide, leather D ring safety collar for quick leash work, and short trips.
You need a harness. Put him in the harness and attach the leash to the harness. 60% of a dogs power comes from the front end. Pick up the front end, and they can't pull. It's also easier to pull them back to you and get them in frame for the heel.
In America we have a device called a Halti Leash. It's an adaption of a bitless, or war, bridle for horses. I personally do not like them but they do work very well. I don't like them because they put the dog in an un-natrual heel position in my mind. That's just my personal opinion though.
Last resort is a choke, or pinch collar. If you are not very experienced with these collars, do not use them without guidance. You can do severe damage to a dog used incorrectly. It would be months of non compliance with other methods and collars, before you would progress to this type of collar. Some people use them straight off the bat, but some people will also shank a horse just"because".

Give things time, but do get in touch with the trainer and have them work with you and the dog.


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

https://youtu.be/VO4zyKnf2zo

Still need to buy new collar and harness, but in this small town we don't have any pet shop (will do it on monday) 🙄. This is our progress in the house.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Very nice!!
Your boy has a pretty significant training foundation for you to work from.You're very fortunate. 
His posture, attitude, and stride all suggest that he knows exactly what a "halti"or, gentle leader, style halter is. 
I think that once he matures a little bit more, and you get the correct type of lead device, that he is used to ,back on him, the majority of your problems are going to go away very quickly.
Vizsla's are somewhat "slow to mature". They get their size, strength, and athleticism quick enough, and the hunting lines have the prey drive instinct that kicks in right off the bat, but that over exuberant "puppiness" is with them for awhile. They're very playful even into their senior years. 
He's a very well put together young lad. He's big for 10 months and neutered. (I also have one of those oil filled radiators also for our parrots, so I have a good idea how big he is.)
I think the two of you are going to be just fine in a few weeks.


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

This morning it was somewhat perfect. And then came the afternoon and the teenager came out and we were back on point zero (square one? -is this the proper saying?). I am also teaching him some new tricks, just to keep him thinking. We do hiding to further improve bonding and to get a base for recall as well. I thought him how to give paw and lay down and commands "wait" and "leave it". He is super smart and eager to learn. But the way he talks back at me when i want him to do something. Like do i really have to?! And yes!!! He's big! We met with some friends and they have male viszla as well. 4 year old and they are almost the same size 😶 
Thank you again for everything ☺


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## fosterlisa (Jun 30, 2016)

Have you tried a front harness? My Lucy is almost 4 & I still have to use harness when I know there are going to be some great distractions or when we run. Lucy is my first Vizsla & the love of my life but I have learned that even though we have done 3.5 years of training there are times when she is so head strong!! Good luck.


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

We are slowly getting along. His pulling has reduced a bit. He still tries to do it if we are in new environment. I am also working with his previous trainer and the progress is amazing. Such a smart boy. He did try (or he still is from time to time) to do things like he wants them to do and is quite unhappy when he sees he is not the boss. That was one major problem. From what i'm seeing he was allowed to do everything or he got away with everything with his previous owner. There were no boundries. So he did growl at me once when i told him to sit and he had to wait a bit. But i corrected him with a firm no and a quick tug at the collar and put him back on sit. Growling is just not an option. Not for things like this.


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

Boy oh boy do i have my hands full with this little devil. After initial progress, there came the week i wasn't feeling quite self-confident. And I made a huge mistake and on one of those days I took him on a walk through town with my daughter. All the progress went sour that day. He is quite boisterous, dominant and may I say - choleric. That day I cried my eyes out. It was pure ****. None of that Viszla is the super best dog, caring, velcro, nice etc. in the world.. Pulling on leash, growling at me, growling at other dogs and much much more, it looked like he lost his compass. Jack will teach me more about myself and about how to handle dogs than any experience before. I thought i had some and that i'm not completely new to dog training. I guess this is something that universe is giving me. I have to say my daughter is the same. ( I love her to the moon and back - but she is so strong willed, stubborn, really strong character. She needs strict boundries, routine and consistency otherwise she is over my head.) And guess what i got as a rescue dog!! THE SAME THING. So...i pulled myself back together, accepted the challenge and we are back on track. I adore Jack and there is a long way ahead of us but we are his forever home now. 


oh and one more thing that gives me hope when he's acting out. His trainer told me, that from what he is seeing i am the right handler for him, but if someone else took him (a bit more mellow) that there would be a high chance that they would give him away again. :/


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

Jasmina, we all go thru some phases with our vizslas, even not rescued ones, if that helps. Some we tolerate easier, some less. Well done pulling yourself together and keep going. Jack will appreciate some day all that love based perseverance. So will your daughter.


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

I have one request for anyone who maybe has it. I searched the forum as well but there is only description and since i am more of a visual person i would be really grateful. Jack and I are working on recall (without distractions it is perfect, with them - i can forget i exist), but i would like to see it in a clip - video, how to teach Jack to leave the scent of deer or to not go after them. On our walks through forrest, he is on a long lead (6 meters) and he has a harness on. I do have to keep the leash in hand, otherwise he just takes off and since he is super fast i can't step on the leash in time. So you can imagine what this does to my shoulders  When i see him getting all excited and he has a scent in his nose I call him to come or if that is not working I pull him towards me and then we do obidience trainig - he has to sit and wait and we only move when he makes eye contact. Just to redirect his focus. I have his toy with me and i try to engage him on our walks and in general make myself more fun than the endearing animals around us. I also tried with a quick correction and a firm "leave it" but to no avail. He knows the command. He did take off and chased them two or three times already and i know this is super rewarding for him and that he was bred to do this, but i was not born with a golden spoon in my mouth to be able to afford his take offs. The fine...if there (hopefully never) would be a case that he would manage to catch and kill a deer... well it is around 2000 euros (2188 dollars). 
Also...at the moment we are doing some impulse control exercises at home and in our garden. He has to sit and look at me when i open the door and has to stay in his position until i tell him " ok go". We are doing similar things with food, if i drop the treats to the floor he has to leave them and look at me. The same thing with his feeding. He has to sit until i put the bowl down all the while looking at me and waiting for the "ok go" cue so he can devour his meal. 
I promise i will record some of our training for you, people of the greates forum on the web and i will be glad to get some of the feedback.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Deer!!!
I think they are the bane of every bird dog hunter. Followed second by rabbits.
Depending on the drive to prey associated with deer, the process can be mentally fatiguing because you are going to have to move up a few steps in the correction if the drive is strong.
My first Vizlsa, Boone, could take a deer of it's feet. Yes, he really could do that. he loved to chase deer and ruin a bird hunting day.I chased that dog through a swamp for an hour and 45 minutes one day before I finally got a hold of him, and lets just say, there was **** to pay.
I ended up getting some deer hide from friends and" doe in estrus" scent from a hunting supply outfit. I would lay a trail out in the woods, and then come back home, shower, get clean clothes on, and then take Boone out to the area. The moment I knew he had picked up that scent, it was an over the top correction. again and again and again.It really sucked!!
I would leave that deer hide in places he could find it, and if he even began to go near it, it was more over the top correction.
As a final avoidance, training before I would have to send him to a pro, I put him on the bottom 1/2 of a shark pole, a fishing pole used for sharks, with 75' of 2000lb test steel wire. 
I took him to a place I knew was full of deer, attached that 2000lb test wire to his harness and waited. about 10 minutes later he spooked a deer and ran after it. he got to the end of that 75' of wire and hit it like a hammer. He looked like a cartoon coming off his feet and pulled me off of my feet. I weighed about 85kilos at the time. For the rest of his life, if he spooked a deer he would chase it for 75', stop and bark.
What I went through is no longer necessary. But the point was to illustrate that it is avoidance training that needs to begin.
In todays world, the electronic collar is the tool that replaces all of that physical correction and the shark pole I used many year ago.
The process will basically involve conditioning him to the e collar, setting up a scenario with scents and lures that mimic deer, and beginning some fairly negative corrections every time he responds to the scent of the deer, and then moving him onto the scent of something good, that he is rewarded for. The e collar makes this so much easier on both the dog and the handler.
Once you are successful in a pre constructed setting, you move outdoors. Using scent lures and baits, you move him to the area, and once he begins to respond, correction begins again. He doesn't need to see the deer, to begin this work. hat will come later naturally. I can guarantee you that long before he "sees" the deer and runs after it, he has already scented it and knows it is in the area. You have to "catch the problem before it begins".
Talk to your trainer and tell them that you need to begin "avoidance training" with Jack. There are many, many books, articles and videos on the process. 
Use an ecollar. Don't do it the way I did in ignorance so many years ago. I use an eCollar for this training now, and have since they became available.
You also need to get a longer leash. 2m is too short. A 3m leash is a very nice length, and allows the handler that extra second to get prepared.
Be forewarned, this is not pretty training. There is very little positive about it, except the end result, but it is absolutely necessary for the safety and well being of your dog. It is very easy to visualize that Jack could run deer and get lost, or run one into traffic and be struck by a car. You also could be hurt. I promise you that as a 26 year old man, weighing 85 kilos, when Boone hit the end of that shark pole that day, I felt it for many weeks after in my shoulders. It hurt!!
Good luck and be mentally strong.


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

gunnr said:


> Deer!!!
> I think they are the bane of every bird dog hunter. Followed second by rabbits.
> Depending on the drive to prey associated with deer, the process can be mentally fatiguing because you are going to have to move up a few steps in the correction if the drive is strong.


eek
We are surrounded by those magical creatures that have such a heavenly smell (or at least thats what Jack thinks :grin ). I will really have to step up. Will follow your advice and talk to his trainer as well so we can start as soon as possible.
His leash is 6 meters long (19ft 8 inches) and is still too short! I have to check for e collar here in slovenia (I found this - The electronic training collar d-control 1000 is an all-purpose model intended for everyday use, for professional sport, police and hunting training. Thanks to its range of 1000 m it is suitable for training and work in broken terrain. It has thirty different stimulation levels and the possibility to choose between the momentary and continuous stimulation. It is possible to use the d-control 1000 to train one or two dogs at once.), but before i use it i need someone who has experience with it so i will not do more damage than good. You had 85 kilos... me - stubborn little bird have only 53kg :grin:grin you can only imagine :grin
I attached the pic - if only i could roam free, but she won't let me :wink


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Deer, rabbit, skunks, and the dreaded porcupine really get a dogs attention. 
I think they lose some of their hearing, once the nose and chase takes over.
Shine has gotten a ecollar correction, for chasing a rabbit on a bird hunt. So far she has not came upon deer, or hogs. But is very interested in the places they have bedded down. I just send her to the front, to keep running.


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

Oh and one more thing. We also have a large number (5 or 10, for me thats 10 too much for my peace of mind) of brown bears in the surrounding. And one wolf pack as well. Wilderness 🙂 I think that if i would encounter a bear i would be as fast as Jack 🙂 🙂


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Jasmina


The e-Collar is his path to running free. I promise.


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

That's one big dog walking around 🙂 🙂 🙂


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## cosmoKenney (Dec 8, 2017)

Jasmina said:


> https://youtu.be/VO4zyKnf2zo
> 
> Still need to buy new collar and harness, but in this small town we don't have any pet shop (will do it on monday) 🙄. This is our progress in the house.


Just in case you want a recommendation for collars on line, I've been buying these for a while now. They are very reflective and since the lettering is embroidered in, it's lasts the life of the collar:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0075RW414/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


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## cosmoKenney (Dec 8, 2017)

Jasmina said:


> That's one big dog walking around 🙂 🙂 🙂


That's a bear, ya?


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

Yup. My husband sent me this pic from his afternoon run. Like I said, i would break the world record. And then i would make headlines: local woman breaks 100m world record. Fluffy McFlufferson came second 😄


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Jasmina said:


> Oh and one more thing. We also have a large number (5 or 10, for me thats 10 too much for my peace of mind) of brown bears in the surrounding. And one wolf pack as well. Wilderness 🙂 I think that if i would encounter a bear i would be as fast as Jack 🙂 🙂



I'm not sure that you should put that theory to the test. Better to avoid the bear altogether.


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

I have no intention 🙂


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

Jack's understanding of personal space sent me to the E.R. Got poked in the eye 🙄


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

Well... it's going to be antoher thing to work on 😁


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Oh gosh, the things that can happen with a Vizsla. 
Wishing you a speedy recovery.


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

texasred said:


> Oh gosh, the things that can happen with a Vizsla.
> Wishing you a speedy recovery.


I never would have believed it if i hadn't experienced it. It's just a minor scratch of the cornea. Much better today. Geez, this boy turned my life upside down 😂


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

Oh.... it just crossed my mind... he is Jack the pirate. So i have to be one as well i guess


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

Our progress. Not quite there yet, but still..☺


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

Wow that is huge. He was doing very well and looked happy.


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

He needs a job 😊 although his attention span is one of a goldfish. (He is still young and i understand that) We are working on retrieving as well. I will post that too. We are in quarantine for the next 14 days so i have extra time to spend on our training. No one in the woods 😁 well except..deer. but they don't have corona virus. Just delicious scent. And last week we started with ecollar training. But for the moment we only do that indoors. Slowly we will move to field.


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

A little of the impulse control training. First the senior then the teenager...but i forgot my husband 😂
Sorry for bad quality...


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

Just something to make you all smile. Jack is on command sit and i'm on my way to loony bin 😂


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

He is doing GREAT


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

i agree with TR, this is an amazing progress, well done keeping up!


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

Here is another video 





First let me tell you that eCollar is a life saver. Thanks to @gunnr. And now to my question: when we are in the field and i say "sit" or "down" he comes running back to me and does it in front of me, but i want him to do that where he is. We started with very short distance between us, but nonetheless we can't manage to do it. Any ideas how we can train this? I'm also trying to teach him "hold it" but he gets all agitated. He starts chewing on ( i use rolled towel or something soft) or he spits it out, or he even tries to play tug-o-war. Thanks for all your responses. And I hope you are all well!


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

"And now to my question: when we are in the field and i say "sit" or "down" he comes running back to me and does it in front of me, but i want him to do that where he is."

Jack is doing what he believes he is pleasing you. He has learned that sitting and staying at your side is what pleases you. When you tell him sit/down from a distance, he fills in the gap and comes to you to do it.
From your video, it really appears that you are much closer to achieving your goal than you might realize. He's pretty "solid" in that video. Especially with the other dog running around with you.
To train this behavior start him out at the sit, or down, and then move off. The whole time repeating the command to him. Go a few steps, them a few step more, and so on. At each step in the phase, end by calling him to you, and rewarding with a lot of praise. If he does it wrong, just walk him back to the exact point he was at and start again. Remember that he thinks he pleasing you, so go gentle on the correction until he catches on. Keep do ing this over and over.
What you are "teaching" Jack is that he can sit/down at a place other than right at your side, or in front of you, AND that it pleasing and acceptable to you.".
Once he get fairly solid at this, do the same thing, but "whoa", or stop him on the way back. It starts out with just three or four steps, but once he figures it out the distance increases quickly.
You will reach a point where Jack is uncomfortable being so far away from you, and he'll "break" back to you out of anxiety. Close the gap a few steps and work on Jack's confidence.
He will eventually become pretty good, and now you begin the enforcement phase. Get 30 meters of 6mm rope and loop it around something solid. Walk away from Jack, so that he is restrained by the rope, but you have the other end in your hand.. Give him his commands to sit/down, from maybe 3 meters away. He cannot come to you because of the rope, and he feels the pressure of the rope so he should obey the command. As soon as he sits.down, call him to you and release the rope. Do this repeatedly, while increasing the distance.
When I am "steadying" a young dog to point I use this same technique, but in reverse. I don't want the dog to "break" away from me. I will run a piece of small rope, or flat web through their collar, and and back to my hand. After the initial point, the dog naturally wants to rush in, it, but it can't. I'll then steady the dog, give him the command to easy/whoa and let the rope slip through my hand slowly as the dog works out the scent. You want the dog to establish point, but not "creep". It's kind of a fine line. The same technique is also used on the fetch command.
Eventually everything comes together and the dog learns, not to creep ( Solid on Point), not to chase ( Steady to wing), and fetch, (Retrieve) on command. It doesn't take as long as I'm making it seem.
The eCollar can absolutley be used during this complete phase.

I'm really glad you like the eCollar. It makes it so much better for both Jack and you.


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

@gunnr we also do "sit" while walking "heel". We walk, i say sit, and then i proceed forward.. few meters ahead of him i say "heel" and we continue our walk. All in motion. Or i stop and use recall command. So from what i read (and understood) in your comment this is also going to help us? I can not put in words how much i enjoy working with him. And i love to watch him how he is eager to learn.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Whatever you are doing is working. That video clearly shows that the two of you are making tremendous progress. Jack is looking to you for direction, and that is very important.
All of the discipline training you've been doing is going to to finally kick in with Jack. He just needs a little time to put everything together. He will begin to "fill in gaps" on his own, and then you'll make the next big training breakthrough.
Commanding a dog at a distance just takes time and repetition, but it's really kind of eerie once it clicks. Work him slowly, and see where you get.
Stay on the path you have already set for yourself with Jack, and introduce new things slowly. Find what works, and what doesn't work.
I think you're doing great.


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## freealfin (Jun 8, 2017)

Jasmina said:


> Hi everyone. I am new here and i have few questions about my dear Jack. Jack is a 10 months old viszla(neutered) and he lost his human. He was in really good hands and they did some training as well with him. But i think he was the boss of the house. I met the coach they were working with and with him he obeys perfectly. He showed me what they were working on. Now to the fun part. I just can not stop him from pulling the leash like crazy. I tried turning 180, walking to oposite direction, try not to pull him to hard. I have treats, sometimes i put them right in front of his nose, just to get attention, but his focus is only on the dog. Usually when we are alone or we are working inside he is crazy about them. I posted a short clip for you dear forum people to see. I didn't have strength any more, because if (like i said before) i tried to turn around and walk the opposite direction, he janked me really hard back to his focus. I know he must be overwhelmed with the situation, loosing his owner, switching houses, etc... I've read a lot about viszlas and positive reinforcment.... but in this situation? How on earth? So if there is someone who can help us get on track and start enjoying our walks i would really appreciate it.
> And yes: i am sorry for all the gramatical mistakes. English is not my first language.
> Thank you 😊


I have been a Viszla owner for 54 years and never had one that didn't pull on the leash to start with. All of my Vizslas ended up not pulling on it within days. Also, all of my Vizslas have been and are very happy dogs and extremely well adjusted. I often take them to small dog parks and we get all kinds of praise. I never hurt any of them but I do annoy them when necessary. Positive training is fine until it is not..... then an unpleasant reward for not complying is a must. In my case, and depending on the particular dog, spray bottles worked most of the time but some Vizslas required more. In that case I used a 3 feet 1/8 inch hardwood dowel to tap (not wack) them on the head just before stopping. Three or four one tap and the waving of the stick was enough to stop pulling and earn a reward. The key elements are consistency and a pleasant rearward for a good job or an unpleasant consequence for a bad job. You can use your imagination if my ideas don't agree with yours. Now I'm ready to hear about cruelty to animals.....


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

"Now I'm ready to hear about cruelty to animals....."

The cruelty comes in when you have an un-solid, or half trained dog, that runs into traffic in the road. 
Better to learn a lesson with a few taps on the noodle, from an 1/8" dowel, than the bumper, or front wheel,of a vehicle.
I actually used a manure fork with Finn this past winter. It was there, and it worked.
I've never used a squirt bottle, only because I do not want to instill any type of water shyness in them


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

The only thing i didn't like with his trainer, was when we were doing command down and after few minutes when he decided that it's enough... was a harsh correction. (At least i saw it that way) In my perspective, we were only getting used to one another... and to shake the **** out of him for that. I don't know. It didn't feel right. I am somewhere in between. Not entirely just for positive reinforcment and not for some harsh, let's call it old school training. If you know what i mean. Not dissing his trainer, she has experience in training police dogs amd also service dogs.. it's just...i couldn't connect with her. So we've stopped going there. And when we did and i started doing things on my own and how i thought it will best resonate with us, that's when i started seeing progress. He gets a correction when it's needed and he gets lots of praise for the right things.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

From everything I've seen, and read, you're much better off on your own. 
You've done a wonderful job with Jack. He's very lucky.


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## freealfin (Jun 8, 2017)

It's very interesting to read all of these opinions, occurrences and problems. I have owned Vizslas since 1966 and hunted with them all over the country for over 50 years and never lost one. Like most of us this old, I never used a professional trainer, radios, GPS or an ecollar and I never chased any of them unless plying. When not hunting birds, my Vizslas chased deer, moose, bear, rabbits,skunks, coyotes....you name it but I never tried to stop them. It seems they knew how far to chase and when to come back....sometimes it took over ten minutes or so and yes, I worried stiff in the beginning. But while hunting birds they never did for any length of time or distance. It seems that they knew today we were hunting (the gun maybe) and not just running around having fun.
I guess probably the major reasons for me not having these kind of problems ever are 1) I was always THE VERY STRONG LEADER, 2) They were train to check on me constantly and they obeyed voice and hand signals, 3) I trusted them to find me and 4) Luck I guess..


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

Well... this happened 🤣






Where is the chasing??? Recall is just on voice command.


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

Have to add that I specifically searched for a place that have deer enclosure near my town. So we drove there, he saw them, surprised me big time.... I expected that he would go nuts.


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

Well done!


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

Us again  
Jack is handful to say at least, but he is mine  His energy level is through the roof. He tried to set his own rules (as you know) but he has finally met his match. Ha - ha. I may be small but i am fierce.
I'll see what future holds for us. Thinking about some other stuff we can do - man-trailing, etc... (I'm not much of a hunter , in dog school they advised us to do something more) 
My life long dream is to get involved in *SAR* training, but this one.. I have to think this through. The time investment could be proven a bit too much for me ( family, job,... etc)

Our progress with heel command: 













My handsome devil


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

He clearly loves to work, so definitely need to keep him busy. You are an awesome trainer, a great match for Jack.
The hunt training is very enjoyable even if you are not a hunter (i myself don`t even own a shot gun, other then a blanket pistol i had to buy for our first hunt test). Nose / scent work is a great one to tire them out too. This handsome boy can do a lot with you


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

You both look great together. He is clearly cueing off of you, and that's where you want to be.
Very nice work.
Well done!


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## Jasmina (Jan 29, 2020)

Here we are after one year 😊


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

stunning!


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Very nice!!!


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