# First time viszla owner !



## Bandos251 (Apr 24, 2012)

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Hello !!! im currently waiting to pick up my pup May 26 when he turns 8 weeks. Couldnt be anymore excited. Im from Miami, FL so i hope to take him out for some boating and swimming 

What do you think is a good age to start socializing them ? I know i have to wait until he gets his shots but what is a good age? I would like him to be very friendly.

Feel free to give me any tips on what to expect ! thanks!!


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## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

Welcome to the forum.

Best time to start socializing is right away. Take them for a walk with you everyday when you get them home just carry when in a public area where other dogs might have been. 
Socializing also covers getting them used to people and other dogs coming to your house. Let the pup settle in a for a few days and then try to expose them to people visiting. It is okay for them to be around other dogs as long as you know the owners and can ensure their dogs are up to date on their shots. 

Good luch and expose that pup to as much as possible as soon as possible.


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## dmp (Jan 23, 2012)

As perhaps the newest owner on the board (two days so far) here are my thoughts:

Sleep now.

One aspect of this breed I love is their bonding to the "owners". To that end, our puppy wouldn’t tolerate much alone-time. I saw this in many ways.

When I set puppy onto our yard upon arrival home, she sat there completely overwhelmed. I used soothing voices to her, and got into her eye-line. Within a few minutes she was romping and exploring. That was the yard. When I got her to the driveway, she sat again, not knowing what to do. I got back into her line of sight, and again used positive, nice-voice. She bounded over to me. At the garage door she stopped again. Sniffing and tail-tucked. I picked her up, snuggled her as we walked through the garage and into the house. Same thing. She sat there looking confused. I was behind her as I sat her down, she instantly turned to find me. Again and again she only explored her portion of the house with my presence or approval/excitement. She did NOT like her kennel area.
The first night she slept in an open crate, next to me as I slept on the floor. Throughout the night, as I placed her in the travel crate, just a foot from me, she made her way TO me. She needed her head on my leg, or her body against my arm or leg. 
That night I took her to potty at 8pm, 10:30p, 1:15a, 3:00a, and 6am. She had two piddles and a poo in the house. 
By mid-day yesterday, she was happy, napping in her kennel, but still required our presence in the room. 
Last night, my daughter slept next to the kennel - puppy slept very well from her last potty (10p) until I took the pup out at 4:15am. 
I woke up, frankly, exhausted, and a little overwhelmed. If somebody tried to explain to me the emotional/mental work with the pup I wouldn’t have believed it. This is twice as hard as our newborn children were. Babies, see, wear diapers.  

Re: socializing - we are doing that within our family; each of us spends quality time with her under varying conditions. When she's a bit older, we'll venture out, and have other people and dogs in.


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## Bandos251 (Apr 24, 2012)

haha thats too funny ! i cant wait to experience it all. My parents have 3 dogs and my sister has a dog so maybe i can do some socializing with their dogs. Ive heard a lot of great things about them so lets hope its all true 

How much did yours weigh at 8 weeks??


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## dmp (Jan 23, 2012)

...I haven't weighed her. Might do that tonite, if I remember


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## Bandos251 (Apr 24, 2012)

lol yes and let me know, im curious. oh and are you crate training her?? what method are you using to potty train her?


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## dmp (Jan 23, 2012)

we are baby-stepping to the crate. We started with her in an open-door plastic crate. As she slept I put her inside. When she'd awaken, she'd walk back to me and go back to sleep. I moved her back again, etc. 

We moved from the open-crate to the fenced-in-kennel area. She in a doggie bed, behind the fence, us outside. Today and tonite we'll move her bed into the crate, leaving the door open, with one of us outside the fence.

Then...we'll take it from there.

Potty training: Every two-three hours or on our hunch. Now that we're observing her, we can see some predictability in her body language. We feed her, play a couple minutes, then take her outside. When she's back in, we play a bit, then back out shortly. After that second outside trip, she generally wants to nap. 

When she wakes from the nap, we take her straight outside and give her the chance to eliminate. 

Repeat. 

Word of caution - buy specific 'potty-smell-remover' for your house. We 'thought' we cleaned up one of her accident spots. During one play session she went hard nose-to-the-ground 'seeking'. She went straight to that spot and started to poop. Yikes!

Since then, we watch her - just before every potty she does that nose-to-the-ground thing. It's ONE cue.


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## Bandos251 (Apr 24, 2012)

Got cha ! oh boy I can only imagine what awaits me when may 26 comes around haha. Thanks for the tips !


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## Gingernutter (Dec 4, 2011)

I can imagine how excited you are about your new pup and can say it is the best thing I ever did. Mylo is 9 months in 4 days time and is honestly my best friend....I do have human friends too! I am no expert but am happy to share my experiences so far and hopefully offer something useful? 

I'll start with crate training, a lot of people have lots of ideas, I'll explain what I did and what my breeder advised. I brought him home and from the first night he was in his crate which is in a room downstairs. He cried and whined and barked for a good hour for the first 4 or 5 nights. I was told to ignore completely and he would always settle in the end. If he awoke and started the same in the middle of the night I would go down and let home outside to pee or poop, the rule though! No eye contact and no talking infact no interaction at all,just out do his stuff and back to the crate. He soon worked it out and although horrible and to coin the phrase " cruel to be kind" it worked. He has slept since that first week every night until we get up....including late lay ins on a sunday. The only other rule I have with him is whenever we leave the house I never ever say good bye or interact, I just place him in the crate and walk away. I had it explained to me that this way he does not get separation problems as he does not know if your going out for 5 mins or 5 hours. 

OK, toilet training. I took him out all the time and just praised and praised and when he did have an accident I just said nothing. However, if he was mid pee I would stop him and take him out and praise outside. This did take about 8 weeks until no accidents but he got there in the end and is now 100%. I have had to change though from carpet to wooden floor. My only regret was not walking him on leash every time to an area outside and instead just standing at the door whilst he went!(mainly as it was a British winter) This means now he has no specific area and I end up chasing round looking for poop all the time! 

Socialising! Well I had Mylo off leash with all sorts of dogs of all sorts of sizes from the 1st day he was clear of vaccinations. I just let him get on with it and didn't really worry, he took a few knocks from some bigger dogs but has learnt to give as good as he gets. I really believe that because I don't get worried he doesn't and he is the most gentle non aggressive dog you could wish to have. Also I have young children so he was visiting school down my jacket before he could even go on the floor...this worked wonders as I am sure you can imagine how many 100's of children all wanted to stroke Emily's puppy! 

In the end though there is no right or wrong but the above worked for me and I believe because I don't panic around other dogs neither does Mylo. his recall is very good however he does have his problems bit I'll save that for another day.


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## dmp (Jan 23, 2012)

9.5lbs


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Gingernutter said:


> OK, toilet training. I took him out all the time and just praised and praised and when he did have an accident I just said nothing. However, if he was mid pee I would stop him and take him out and praise outside. This did take about 8 weeks until no accidents but he got there in the end and is now 100%. I have had to change though from carpet to wooden floor. My only regret was not walking him on leash every time to an area outside and instead just standing at the door whilst he went!(mainly as it was a British winter) This means now he has no specific area and I end up chasing round looking for poop all the time!


Great info here. Only one thing to add. When pup does make a mistake inside. Mop it up with a paper towel, pick up pup and the wet/soiled towel, take them out to the appropriate area, pop the towel and the pup down, as soon as pup sniffs it.......praise/reward. This is one of the most effective tricks to house training that i have found.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

"Socialization Scavenger Hunt"

Go for 3 car rides
Have a bath (at home or groomer)
Meet 2 gray haired senior citizens
Meet a person with a cane or in a wheelchair
Visit a garden center or hardware store
Visit the Vet without an appointment and just sit in the waiting room
Visit 2 friends at their homes
Do "sit" and "down" for a stranger
Go to a friend's house and leave puppy there for an hour without you
Take biscuits from 3 different children
Carry your pup to 3 different parks
Ride on public transit while being carried
Meet 3 friendly dogs owned by friends
Ride in an elevator
Meet another domestic pet while on leash
Take a biscuit from a man with a beard


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## Bandos251 (Apr 24, 2012)

gingernutter- Thanks so much !! those are great tips !. 

im beyond excited. My husband and I have been going to petsmart and slowly buying stuff and its torture to come home and see the bed and the toys but no puppy yet  haha. Funny thing is that i have never even seen a Vizsla in person. We decided we wanted a dog and after doing A LOT of research we decided on the Vizsla  I get to pick which pup i like the most from the litter when he turns about 5 or 6 weeks so ill get you guys updated


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## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

I am excited for you!! 

We used this checklist while socializing Oso - I thought it was really helpful. 

http://info.drsophiayin.com/puppy-socialization-checklist-0/


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

Band - welcome to the forum - this has worked for all my pups for potty training - 1 have the feeding schedule from the breeder and stick to it till the pup is potty trained 2 every time I take the pup out I set him at the door then pick him up and take him out 3 as soon as he goes - lots of praise and some play time 4 back to the house and a treat - 5 always station the pup at the door before going out - this imprints on there mind this is where I go and I always get praise - go often and go well ( is that from star wars? ) LOL


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## pippa31 (Aug 2, 2011)

Welcome to the forum! This place kept me sane and informed when we brought Pips home. Wouldn't have survived without it!!! 

Post pics of your pup when you bring him home!


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## CopperMom (Apr 21, 2012)

Hello! 
We've had boy for one month. I can't believe how the time has gone! We brought him home March 28...right before sprink break which was awesome. I had the week of nonsleepless nights. I agree....just like a baby. We are now in the nipping stage. Boy is that a difficult stage!

We saw the vet this past weekend and Copper received his 3rd round of shots. I got a lot of ooohhh's and aahhh's and questions about him. He took it like a champ and seemed to enjoy all the attention! LOL!!! I thought we were going to start puppy classes and begin walks around the block. Disappointed!!! I was told to hold off until his next round due to a possible rise in parvo. 

Enjoy!!


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## Bandos251 (Apr 24, 2012)

thank u all so much for the info!! ive been learning so much through here reading all the different posts! amazing lol. I hate the fact you have to wait so long to be able to socialize them  but oh well its better to be safe than sorry. One more question... I bought a size small collar for now so when i pick him up but what size are they as adults? a meduim or a large??

As soon as i pick which pup i like from the litter i will be posting pics


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

Not long now - looking forward to seeing the pictures of the your new pup.



Bandos251 said:


> ... I bought a size small collar for now so when i pick him up but what size are they as adults? a meduim or a large??


Now that is the million dollar question. I think you will have to wait and see how big she grows  My 17wk old pup has just out grown his first collar and I have today borrowed a slightly larger one from a friend which will hopefully do him until he is 9 months or so. But I won't buy him an adult collar until 9months to a year, so I if I were you I would buy collars as you need them.

How many days to go???


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## Bandos251 (Apr 24, 2012)

lol that sounds like a good idea. I had seen online a really cute collar that you could personalize and i wanted to purchase it but i think i should just wait.
I get to pick him up on May 26 its about a 3 hour drive up north Florida to the breeders place. super excited !


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

While we're on the subject of collars.... don't buy anything expensive/nice until they're out of the destructive phase. I bought a collar/leash set in Paris on a business trip for over $200 for Riley when she was tiny. We had the leash sitting out on the couch next to her one day and I fell asleep... when I woke up she had chewed on 50% of the leash.  That was one expensive chew toy. :


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## kristen (Oct 18, 2011)

threefsh said:


> While we're on the subject of collars.... don't buy anything expensive/nice until they're out of the destructive phase. I bought a collar/leash set in Paris on a business trip for over $200 for Riley when she was tiny. We had the leash sitting out on the couch next to her one day and I fell asleep... when I woke up she had chewed on 50% of the leash.  That was one expensive chew toy. :


 That sucks! 

We put Odin's collar on top of the blanket covering his crate the other day, and he managed to pull the whole blanket into his crate and get his collar, which he of course chewed to bits. So at 8 months he's onto his third collar.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Bandos251 said:


> thank u all so much for the info!! ive been learning so much through here reading all the different posts! amazing lol. I hate the fact you have to wait so long to be able to socialize them  but oh well its better to be safe than sorry. One more question... I bought a size small collar for now so when i pick him up but what size are they as adults? a meduim or a large??
> 
> As soon as i pick which pup i like from the litter i will be posting pics


Don't worry too much about collars. If you are anything like me, after a few months there will be four, five or more collars available for your pup to wear............... I am a collar victim, each time I see a new collar I like, I just have to have it. Having said that, now that they have stopped growing, my collar intake rate has slowed...... I haven't bought a new collar for at least four days..............but that's only because I am waiting for the delivery of my new Vizsla collar I ordered online...............  (I'll post pics and an opinion when they arrive....they have pictures of Vizslas all over them...so it will be the collars they wear when we go out to formal dinners together  )


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## kclose (Apr 30, 2012)

Where are you getting your pup from? We are also bringing ours home May 26th and in Florida too--they might be brothers!


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## Bandos251 (Apr 24, 2012)

kclose said:


> Where are you getting your pup from? We are also bringing ours home May 26th and in Florida too--they might be brothers!




wow really?!?! lol im getting him from Dee Hazen in lakeland, fL. how about you?


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## kclose (Apr 30, 2012)

We are also getting ours from her too! They are brothers!!  We get to pick him out on Thursday and my boyfriend and I are SO excited!!  What pick do you have of the boys? We are the 2nd pick. I can't wait until May 26th to bring him home!!


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## hobbsy1010 (Jun 4, 2011)

Now this is why this forum is Sooooo Coool ;D ;D ;D ;D

Kclose and Bandos251 could never have crossed paths if you had not been sooooo excited about your 'New Arrivals' 

You both now have the opportunity to share your early experiences together. (oohh and also with us) 

A long time ago, shortly after picking up our new boy Brook. My wife came across a puppy being walked at some local shops.

( Our breeder had told us that one dog was going to an address very close to us)

She presumed it was that puppy. It turned out to be a different litter mate Hugo. Who went on to attend the same puppy classes and we enjoyed some early puppy walks together.

A few weeks later we were driving to a local lake for a puppy walk, when low and behold, we saw the other litter mate, we did a quick U turn and held up our puppy in the air to catch the guys attention, which stopped him dead in his tracks ( sat in front of van ) and to show the other owner.

My wife has enjoyed several walks with the owner and his litter mate Barclay, and we are still in touch regularly. 

The End. 

Welcome Both,

Hobbsy


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## Bandos251 (Apr 24, 2012)

kclose said:


> We are also getting ours from her too! They are brothers!!  We get to pick him out on Thursday and my boyfriend and I are SO excited!!  What pick do you have of the boys? We are the 2nd pick. I can't wait until May 26th to bring him home!!



this is too funny! haha! i get 5th pick, its going to be hard. They are all so cute. Let me know which one you pick and post some pictures on here. Im so excited. My husband and I just sit around the house talking about the pup all day. Are you on facebook? 





hobbsy1010 said:


> Now this is why this forum is Sooooo Coool ;D ;D ;D ;D
> 
> Kclose and Bandos251 could never have crossed paths if you had not been sooooo excited about your 'New Arrivals'
> 
> ...



Thank you so much ! this forum is great. Ive been learning so much


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## dmp (Jan 23, 2012)

I wonder how many folks here have siblings? Me and KB87 have litter-mates, too! 

AND...I have family near Lakeland, FL. 

I bet a number of us could be withing a few degrees of separation.


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## Bandos251 (Apr 24, 2012)

i know i bet a bunch of people on here have vizsla siblings and dont even know it 

Hey btw how often do you guys give your dog a bath? i heard they only need 3-4 baths a year but is that realistic? and how long did you wait to give your puppy his/her first bath


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## dmp (Jan 23, 2012)

I tried to bathe puppy over the weekend. I need a mitt of some sort, because water/soap wasn't getting down to her skin!!

Our pup was pretty gamey - sometimes I wonder if she sweats at night, because when she comes out of the crate in the morning, its not always pretty-smelling.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Be sure and wash the pad in the crate too or the smell with return.


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## Bandos251 (Apr 24, 2012)

dmp said:


> I tried to bathe puppy over the weekend. I need a mitt of some sort, because water/soap wasn't getting down to her skin!!
> 
> Our pup was pretty gamey - sometimes I wonder if she sweats at night, because when she comes out of the crate in the morning, its not always pretty-smelling.



lol really? arent they suppose to be the "odorless" dogs


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## hobbsy1010 (Jun 4, 2011)

I find a 'DIP' in the river once or twice a week seems to cure the problem!! ;D

But when they've been 'Fox DOO Diving' a hose down is a must  ;D


Hobbsy


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## dmp (Jan 23, 2012)

Bandos251 said:


> dmp said:
> 
> 
> > I tried to bathe puppy over the weekend. I need a mitt of some sort, because water/soap wasn't getting down to her skin!!
> ...


Ya know? I thought so, too! But as week 1 drew to a close...whew! 

Lately, though, i've seen her start to groom herself a little bit. 

But...Initially, I'd come to work and sometimes catch a whiff of Puppy on my hands, or shirt (i play w/ her a bit in the morning). At first I'd turn up my nose a little bit...after a couple days, when I'd smell her, I'd get a little sentimental.


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## Bandos251 (Apr 24, 2012)

oh boy haha. and to think i was looking forward to the "puppy breath and puppy smell" im having second thoughts now


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## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

My little Pacsirta does have an interesting smell to her. It's like sweat but sometimes it's more, sometimes less. I call it the smell of Hungary (I'm hoping I'm not offeding anyone) ;D Sophie on the other hands doesn't smell at all. Maybe her paws sometimes are a little sweaty-smelling :


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## Bandos251 (Apr 24, 2012)

kclose said:


> We are also getting ours from her too! They are brothers!!  We get to pick him out on Thursday and my boyfriend and I are SO excited!!  What pick do you have of the boys? We are the 2nd pick. I can't wait until May 26th to bring him home!!



oh i forgot to ask! which do you have your eye on?? i noticed pups in the litter are pretty big. i wonder if they'll be big boys


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

dmp said:


> I wonder how many folks here have siblings? Me and KB87 have litter-mates, too!


I never expected to find an owner from the same litter on here but it's been the greatest thing along the way. dmp and I were able to share the excitement before getting them and now that we both have our pups we've been able to share everything from training tips to health findings. I'm so happy I came on here!


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## kclose (Apr 30, 2012)

We picked out "Woodford" this past Thursday. Ahhh they were all so precious. Our guy has the blue collar. They were all about the same size, some more mischievous than others. Our guy we picked was both hyper and calm. Yes, I'm on facebook--you can find me under Kat Close. My boyfriend and I spent 2 hours at Dee's house on Thursday just asking questions and playing with the pups. That's so exciting that we have litter mates. I'm going to upload pictures tonight then I will post some  I took about 50--haha!


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## kclose (Apr 30, 2012)

This is our little guy, Woodford


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## kclose (Apr 30, 2012)

Another picture of Woodford!


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Welcome to all the new arrivals. Both people and v's!


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## Bandos251 (Apr 24, 2012)

kclose said:


> We picked out "Woodford" this past Thursday. Ahhh they were all so precious. Our guy has the blue collar. They were all about the same size, some more mischievous than others. Our guy we picked was both hyper and calm. Yes, I'm on facebook--you can find me under Kat Close. My boyfriend and I spent 2 hours at Dee's house on Thursday just asking questions and playing with the pups. That's so exciting that we have litter mates. I'm going to upload pictures tonight then I will post some  I took about 50--haha!



Wow he's adorable!! Lol I actually saw all the pictures you tagged Dee in. He's super cute congrats!! Let me ask you .. It's looking like I will get the boy with the blue/greyish collar. Dee says he's shy but warms up. Do you remember him at all? How was his personality ?? I like calm dogs but I'm scared he will be too skiddish


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