# Vizsla and Kopo' - Hungarian Hunters



## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2013/08/vizsla-and-kopo-two-hungarian-hunters.html

I had posted an article on redbirddog about the Transylvanian Hound over two years ago. Yesterday, I got an message through the HVF by Scott Maze that he also lived in Walnut Creek, California and had five Transylvanian Hounds on his property. 

I immediately loaded up my dogs and we drove over to his place and visited for over an hour as I was surrounded by these great hounds. What a lovable breed! Just about the same size as Bailey.

Maybe less than 1,000 exist in the world. Scott and Maria are working to increase the population of this rare and ancient Hungarian hunting breed. Here is a part of what he wrote for my blog. - Rod

]"_Five years ago we acquired Hannah, a Transylvanian Hound puppy (in Hungarian, erdélyi kopó) purely by chance, just to save her from going to the pound. We already had one dog, but Hannah opened a whole new world for us. She led us to Puerto Rico, where she won her pedigree, to new friends and to Hungary and Transylvania, where her breed began.

Transylvanian Hounds share a common ancestry with Vizslas, the two breeds probably diverging in the early Middle Ages. These dogs descended from the Asian hounds accompanying the Magyars when they arrived in Transylvania in the 900’s.... _ 

View rest of article on Redbirddog.

We will be hiking up in the hills together this Saturday. Two Vizsla and two Kopo' running through the open spaces in the upper meadows. I'll bring the good camera. Very cool!

The article from July, 2011:

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2011/07/transylvanian-hound-only-other.html


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

How cool! Funny that your long time search to meet them would end so close to home. How does their temperament compare to vizslas? I'll check your post out after my evening walk.


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

> How does their temperament compare to vizslas?


In the short time we visited, the Transylvanian Hound is much more calm than our Vizslas. 

They have all the goofiness without the high strung Pointer characteristic.

I'll know more after a couple hours of hill walking this weekend.

RBD


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## Capa (May 19, 2013)

What an amazing experience!


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

It's so nice to finally see them safe and thriving in caring hands. To think they were on the brink of extinction only a few years ago! 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=plpp&v=IoRjpAS1idg

I was told the dog is sold to hunters exclusively, used for driven hunts! It's a barker when working. 
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uDz1tRbghuU&feature=related

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=related&v=BWN8ShsE5DQ


http://www.omvk-somogy.hu/node/321.


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

Guest writer Maria's take on Monday late afternoon's adventures in the hills southeast of Walnut Creek. We explored the Walnut Creek Open Spaces of the Diablo Foothills. 
Maria and husband Scott are breeders of a very rare and threatened with extinction breed.
The Transylvanian Hound
They created the website recently(website link below):
http://californiakopos.com/​"Monday we took our “pack” out for our third run with the RedBirdDogs! That would be Rod and his Hungarian Vizslas. Our pack of Transylvanian Hounds, consists of parents Hannah (5) and Avar (2), plus their two 8-month old sons Adam and Attila. In her earlier years Hannah enjoyed off leash adventures in the hills around us, but since becoming pregnant last November she has only been out for on leash walks. Running in the open space is an entirely new experience for Avar who spent the first year of his life in Budapest, Hungary and of course for Adam and Attila as well. 



For our inexperienced pack they are fortunate to have Bailey and Chloe, their Vizsla friends to show them “hunting etiquette” in suburban open space. Until we took Adam and Attila out for a short jaunt last week, “the boys” only had experience chasing squirrels in our back yard and could only dream of chasing the deer we’ve encountered walking the neighborhood on-leash.


Transylvanian Hounds (Erdelyi Kopó) are scent hounds and were bred to hunt bear, boar, deer and lynx. They are also known as a driving hound as they are a game chaser, whose job it is to drive the quarry towards the hunter. They generally work in small packs of 2-4 dogs, with the older dogs teaching the younger dogs hunting skills. 


Like a kid in a candy store our pack’s exuberance was palpable! Unlike a kid in a candy store, they were relatively well behaved. Our purpose was to take them out to experience the “great outdoors” and to learn off leash behavior. We did expect them to catch scents and give chase, they did not disappoint! To hear their hunting cry echo through the hills as we watched them streak across the open spaces giving chase was an absolute thrill. Then seeing them happily return, panting and grinning, was a very proud moment indeed. 


They tested their limits and gave chase again, feeling more confident in their abilities and more comfortable ranging away from us. We put them back on their leashes a couple of times to remind them not to range so far and so independently. Overall for a young inexperienced pack they showed remarkable skill and obedience. These Kopó have earned another jaunt into the hills with the RedBirdDogs as their leaders!"

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2013/10/runnin-with-redbirddogs.html

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2013/10/a-run-in-dog-heaven.html


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

Thank you RBD for these posts about the Transylvanian hound! You may have helped my friend's dog find his true lineage! 

2 years ago, my friends adopted "Max.' He was shipped from Utah to a shelter in Rancho Santa Fe. My friends fell in love with him and took him home immediately. They were told he was a black and tan coonhound/ Lab mix. 

We didn't have a dog at the time, and we spent a great deal of time with Max. The more time we spent with him, the more we brainstormed on what kind of dog he could be. Coonhounds and Labs are 70+ lb dogs, and Max is 47. He doesn't fit the personality or build of any other common black and tan dogs (Rot, Dobie etc). For awhile we were hypothesizing possible a Huntaway. He gets along great with Miles and Chase. 

When I saw this post, I told my friend about the Transylvanian Hound. He contacted the NorCal club, and sent pictures and videos. Turns out, a few years ago two male Transylvanian hounds were sold to a man in Utah but they had lost contact with him. Max could be one of them. They do believe he is a Transylvanian Hound. 

My friends are taking him to a meet up soon for further interaction with the breed and to see if Max could be one of these dogs. 

Thanks again!!


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

MilesMom, This is very cool that they are finding out they have a Transylvanian Hound.

Also, you may remember the story of the folks in Jackson Hole, Wyoming to see if a Vizsla could handle the cold. Well that weekend they came down and met with Scott in Reno and got their Transylyanian Hound pup and took it home.

http://www.vizslaforums.com/index.php/topic,10354.msg77540.html#msg77540

I have asked them for a follow up story. 

Here is the the e-mail from Maria (Californian Transylvanians) about Max:



> Hi Rod,
> 
> Yep, that's me...the dogs that went to Utah are older. It could be Max is a son. The curious thing is Andrew has a friend that has two Transylvanian Hounds some place around here and he is trying to put us in touch with each other! A small world!
> 
> Maria


Happy trails with great dogs.
RBD


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

It's so neat!! 

Thanks again for posting. My sister lives in the Bay Area and I plan to put her in touch with the Transylvanian hound contact as well. She is looking for a dog and is torn between a few breeds (Vizslas obviously one of them), but she loves Max so may be a good fit for her! 

He's a great dog. Keeps up with our dogs and has the best temperament.


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