# Vizslas difficult to Train?



## DaxOlexar

So I'm an aspiring vizsla owner and I'm on many sites to gather information. whilst browsing one of the many vizsla facebook groups I'm had a good chuckle about people experience with Vizslas at dog training sessions. I knew id be a good match for the dog because people would say how they got sent out until their vizsla would calm down, or how they even got expelled, kinda like me! so many people just said they trained them themselves. But why exactly where they sent out, are Vizslas difficult to train? and if so what do you need to do to train them well. Because I read the only people who could train their vizslas well were trainers that could 'cater to a vizslas needs'


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## texasred

Vizsla puppies are like a formula 1 race car, with a short attention span. They are also very smart. They can quickly learn good, as well as bad. Vizslas are a thinking breed, and not just a do as I say breed. They like to try out the other options, only then doing what gets them the reward. Patience, consistency, and a high percentage of reward based training is what works well for the breed.
It does not take a trainer, to train them. 
But when you do send one to a trainer, that trainer needs to understand they can be soft on corrections.


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## lilyloo

I agree with TR.

We were able to teach our girl all the basic commands at a young age with little difficulty. I remember being so surprised that it only took me about 5 minutes to teach her the 'sit' command at the young age of 8 weeks. They're very smart. They also need a LOT of consistency, and even now that our girl is nearly 6 years old we still have to remind her of what she's allowed to do and not do. 

Just an example, my mom watched her while we were away on vacation for a week. I would get texts from my mom saying "I can't keep her off the counters and stealing food!" 
She does do this at our house because we don't let her. If I even see her thinking about it I tell her not to, and make her get out of the kitchen.


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## Anida

I would say Kaylee was harder to train than my beagles BUT she is 100% more consistent once she understood what was expected. She also isn't very food motivated where my beagles would do anything for a sniff or lick of a treat or string cheese.

I can tell her to leave it when the kids drop something on the floor and she'll leave it. Not a chance with the beagle. Her recall is also better than my beagle's is. It was harder and took a little longer up front but then end result was better. My beagle is very dependent on if I have food/treats or if she wants to. It's frustrating... but at 9 I've given up trying to figure out how to get her less interested in food.


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## 2Gingers

I just started taking Jax, who will be 3 months old tomorrow, to puppy training classes and was surprised that he was the most attention-seeking dog in the group! He was also the most vocal, and he rarely barks at home. He just wanted to socialize and steal the spotlight, which meant he kept trying to play with the other dogs and would not sit still. I had already taught him to sit, stay, come, "hi-five," and down (sort of) on my own. He would do none of these in class. I had a really hard time getting his attention at all. He is very food motivated but not in class! I was so prepared to be the proud "A" student parent, but he is clearly more of a class clown. That's okay with me. The added distractions are just another challenge for us to overcome in his training.

If you do go to a group training course, I suggest taking a variety of treats. Jax's usual treats were not attractive enough compared to Lucy, the chocolate Lab pup who sits next to him in class. No treat will take his attention away from her! 

I've attached a picture of us on the first day of class and a few that I took yesterday. He's growing so fast! I have no idea why they uploaded sideways.


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## Gabica

I grew up in Hungary and our vizslas were seen there as easily trainable. But then again as TR said, we did not measure them based on whether they were obeying every command like a machine (lol), but rather by their problem solving skills, as for working dogs on the field, who have to find the bird without the hunter`s help, that is a highly desired skill. We have also always emphasized over the centuries of written vizsla materials existence that they do not tolerate harsh treatment, as they are too intelligent for that. They need firm, consistence but loving leadership which you may translate in everyday language as patience. (well, a good leader is meant to have those qualities and it does not have to be an alpha at all).

Having said that it may require a bit more vizsla focused training and often trainer too than just the usual training classes. if you are lucky, you will find vizsla experienced trainer in your area, if not, like in my case, i have learnt to understand what type of dogs a given trainer is familiar with and decide based on that how to tailor make the training methods.

One generic concept still helped me, it is to find the different type of motivators my dog has in different environments. I.e. my boy Bende likes toys, even above treats. so while i would use treats when breaking down a new skill and teach it, once i start practicing it as a complex exercise with him, i just use his toys - we learnt heeling this way, walking around me, following me and even rolling over while covering himself with a cover, just to name a few. 
We used to have treats for practicing recalls, but now giving a butt-rub praise while we are practicing outdoors off leash and he comes back to me, is much higher valued than any treats. All of these are generally very vizsla-like however they may not all show immediately. 

Once he learnt to not jump on me, he would still want to do it when i came home from work and only then. I walked away from him and ignored him until he calmed down and then he was allowed to come to my lap and get attention. Nowadays, he is not jumping up anymore, just waits excitedly until i take off my shoes and sit down, so that he can be in my lap. He just turned 2 years old on Monday.


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## TexasBirdDog

I have 5 mo old boy, Cash. He's all over the place, lol. Though he's learned sit, lay down, come/here, and beginnings of "whoa". He is still young and very distractable. So, these commands seem to go out the window once we leave the house. I take him to the dog park occasionally, when a friend asks me to go and he's off to the races for a while before he'll respond to his recall. So, we're working on those types of things with distractions around...especially recall as I would like to take him on trails and will eventually hunt with him. Dog parks aren't my favorite because there are too many unknown variables with other dogs and their owners. Too many times I've had to confront owners about their aggressive dog...and that goes over as well as a dropping a brick on your toe. I know the difference between a playing dog and an aggressive one. I do a lot to bite my tongue in these situations. However, when it gets out of hand, I respond accordingly. None the less, if a friend asks me to go with them, I'll go. One buddy has a GSP and they get along very well. Another friend is female(wife's cousin) and she just doesn't like going their alone. I just watch all the other dogs very closely while I'm there. Anyways, I've gotten off topic.

These dogs are generally very smart and pick up on commands very quickly. However, they are very distractable and need an owner with a lot of patience, a willingness to be persistent, and attentive enough to learn their specific dog. This is important to do because you'll be able to tell when your pup is done with training sessions. Knowing when your dog has had enough is very important. Otherwise, you'll both become frustrated and nothing will progress. Short 5-15 min sessions a few times a day and you'll have a great pup by your side!


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## 1stVizsla

I'll take a stab at answering with the caveat that I've only trained one Vizsla, hence one V data point, compared to several German Shepard's and Labrador Retrievers and one Dalmatian.
1. my Vizsla took the longest to potty train, up to a month to get her to go to door and ask to go outside, but considerably longer tfor her to be able to go long stretches without potty break (ie bladder maturity, ability to hold it etc). It may be they mature more slowly physically in some ways... many folks recommended not spaying until 2yrs.
2. Training to "Come", "Sit" etc. was rapid, fresh chicken in hand and it took 2-3 tries before she had it, even at 12 wks old! "Come" was our first training and most important command. Reinforce over a few days then try outside on trails (as they're older), with whistle and all's good. Fresh meat treats help!
3. Whereas a GSD Loves to learn and train (both my GSD puppies were potty trained in 3-5d, they're amazing!), while the Vizsla loves affection and play. It was critical to make all training fun, playful and non-threatening.
4. As Gabica said, a harsh tone MUST be avoided. Whereas my GSD doesn't mind a harsh tone, the V is under the bed immediately. Therefore, training the V required much more patience and time.

I guess it's all what you're used to. I had to increase my patience, be conscious of my tone and keep it fun and persistent. In some ways she's trained me . The V reminds me a bit of the Dalmatian puppy my parents got when I was a child. While I successfully took her to obedience school, my parents never got her housebreaking/furniture chewing down and they gave her away. It is possible to fail..... 

If you're apprehensive about the training perhaps you can locate an adult dog rather than a puppy? I have found that a 1+ yr old dog can often bypass the most difficult training challenges associated with a puppy. Adopting an older dog can be a great option.


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## hecallsmebama

My Amos (now 2) is much like 2Gingers' Jax. He was a fast learner. He learned to sit on the first day we got him. After a week, he could stay (resisting a treat nearby) and lay down. He was house broken in three days. Incredibly self-disciplined. His recall could be better as sometimes I have to yell in a "man" voice to get him to respond. That said, throw one more dog into the equation and he doesn't hear a word I'm saying. No recall. No response to anything. Treats are no good. I have better luck luring the other dog with treats and then Amos would follow. Social settings are his weak spot. And I haven't figured out how to fix that. So, I can see how a smart, self-disciplined V could get kicked out of a training class. I know Amos would have if we had tried. 

He is just sooo hyper and over the top with other dogs. Last night he was playing with a 6 months old yellow lab who was desperately trying to entice Amos into a game of tug with a rope he kept slinging towards Amos' mouth. Amos was completely oblivious because he was too busy climbing all over he pup and trying to mouth him. My husband says he is Clark the Shark and if you know those kids books, that is spot on.


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## Gabica

interestingly some of the newest researches claim that one of the main drivers for mounting is playfulness and not dominance. I can easily relate to that


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