# rex spiess



## big red

Just wondering if anyone on here has a vizsla from rex spiess?


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## dbbrown2

We have two! We have a 6 six year old female Daisy and a 1 1/2 year old male Gunner. I was actually trying to find your contact information because I wanted to inquire if there is any history of epilepsy with your dogs? Our Gunner started having cluster seizures in January and has been treated with meds that he has to take twice a day. This past weekend he had his worst episode yet and had over 20 cluster seizures in one day. We have always been able to control his seizures by avoiding stressors and by administering Valium when the seizures begin, but we could not get them to stop this weekend and it was a terrible heartbreaking episode to witness. Just curious to see if you have had any issues with your dogs because I would really hate for another family to watch their pup go through what Gunner and our children have struggled with. We love our Vizslas and they have the most adorable personalities. Daisy is a small girl with a very "Velcro" personality. Gunner gives Marley a run for his money as far a mischief is concerned!- but it a highly, highly intelligent puppy with a very sweet personality.


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## harrigab

dbbrown2 said:


> We have two! We have a 6 six year old female Daisy and a 1 1/2 year old male Gunner. I was actually trying to find your contact information because I wanted to inquire if there is any history of epilepsy with your dogs? Our Gunner started having cluster seizures in January and has been treated with meds that he has to take twice a day. This past weekend he had his worst episode yet and had over 20 cluster seizures in one day. We have always been able to control his seizures by avoiding stressors and by administering Valium when the seizures begin, but we could not get them to stop this weekend and it was a terrible heartbreaking episode to witness. Just curious to see if you have had any issues with your dogs because I would really hate for another family to watch their pup go through what Gunner and our children have struggled with. We love our Vizslas and they have the most adorable personalities. Daisy is a small girl with a very "Velcro" personality. Gunner gives Marley a run for his money as far a mischief is concerned!- but it a highly, highly intelligent puppy with a very sweet personality.


have you contacted the breeder?


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## mlwindc

I am interested in this thread because we considered a vizsla from Rex spies and hold him as a possible future breeder


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## KB87

I know 3 people who have a V from Rex. Most of the owners I know/have met had similar stories from their encounters with him- told they would have a pick of females and then didn't have a choice when they arrived.
2 of the dogs are healthy (ages 2 and 3). The other (also 2 but not a littermate of the other 2 year old I know) has seizures and must be on heavy doses of medication to treat her seizures. They absolutely love her but fear that one day she will have a terrible seizure as their vet is very concerned about her. When they contacted the breeder they did not receive any support and have since lost contact.

Granted, all of this is second hand and I do not own a dog from Rex, but I've heard many stories from his owners and will be personally avoiding him as a breeder going forward from everything I have been told. The dogs of his that I've met have nice personalities but he seems to have a number of litters per year which concerns me.


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## KB87

I want to reiterate that I am not saying Rex produces bad Vs. I just would not get a V from him after hearing stores from multiple owners who recently received dogs from him. We live very close to where he is and run into his dogs more often than any other and have talked to a good number of owners. All love their dogs and they seem to have nice personalities and be nice dogs, but their dealings with him personally are enough to turn me off. Remember that you aren't only getting a puppy from your breeder, you're also supposed to get a lasting relationship and resource in your breeder.


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## mlwindc

This breaks me heart because Wilson is 18 months and we looked at a litter Rex had but he only had females available by then (we wanted male). I hope you find some answers for your sweet guy.


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## tknafox2

Well @ BigRed... I guess you got an answer to your question about Rex spiess... maybe more info than you wanted, but then... That is what the Forum is about... Ask, and you will receive!!

Let us know what the basis for your question was???


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## amykathryn28

KB87 said:


> I know 3 people who have a V from Rex. Most of the owners I know/have met had similar stories from their encounters with him- told they would have a pick of females and then didn't have a choice when they arrived.
> 2 of the dogs are healthy (ages 2 and 3). The other (also 2 but not a littermate of the other 2 year old I know) has seizures and must be on heavy doses of medication to treat her seizures. They absolutely love her but fear that one day she will have a terrible seizure as their vet is very concerned about her. When they contacted the breeder they did not receive any support and have since lost contact.
> 
> Granted, all of this is second hand and I do not own a dog from Rex, but I've heard many stories from his owners and will be personally avoiding him as a breeder going forward from everything I have been told. The dogs of his that I've met have nice personalities but he seems to have a number of litters per year which concerns me.



We got our Gus from Rex in December 2012, and he's 20 months old now. This was our first time getting a vizsla or a pure breed, so we knew little about what to look for in a breeder. I wish I knew then what I know now; I would have done more research. 

Rex was friendly and seemed to care for the dogs, but I should have known something was up when it was cheaper top purchase the dog without papers.

Gus is a beautiful and wonderful vizsla and we love him more than anything. So far he's been healthy, but now I'm a little worried about the future. I can't bear the thought of anything happening to him.

KB87, do you know at what age the seizures started with these other dogs from Rex???


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## amykathryn28

dbbrown2 said:


> We have two! We have a 6 six year old female Daisy and a 1 1/2 year old male Gunner. I was actually trying to find your contact information because I wanted to inquire if there is any history of epilepsy with your dogs? Our Gunner started having cluster seizures in January and has been treated with meds that he has to take twice a day. This past weekend he had his worst episode yet and had over 20 cluster seizures in one day. We have always been able to control his seizures by avoiding stressors and by administering Valium when the seizures begin, but we could not get them to stop this weekend and it was a terrible heartbreaking episode to witness. Just curious to see if you have had any issues with your dogs because I would really hate for another family to watch their pup go through what Gunner and our children have struggled with. We love our Vizslas and they have the most adorable personalities. Daisy is a small girl with a very "Velcro" personality. Gunner gives Marley a run for his money as far a mischief is concerned!- but it a highly, highly intelligent puppy with a very sweet personality.


I meant to reply to this too and say how sorry I am to read this. I'm sure it's awful to witness him in any pain or suffering. Sending positive healing thoughts for your Gunner. Keep us posted and I hope you only have good news from here on out.
Do you know who the parents were?


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## amykathryn28

Sorry all, one last post! If you are on Facebook, another owner of a Rex pup started a Facebook group for owners of Rex's vizslas so we can all share information and keep up with how our pups are doing. Feel free to request to join. It's called "Rex Spiess Vizsla Owners -Liberty Center Ohio."


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## big red

Sorry im so late to respond to this im new to the forum and didnt even know people had responded. I actually was a little concerned about seizures because my ginger is always chasing lights and shadows which I hear is a sign of epilepsy in dogs...She is a great dog about to turn two she is my first vizsla and I love her like crazy! But I do wish I would have researched breeders more but of course when I saw her I had to have her. I guess the reason for my previous post was to find out if there was a canine epilepsy history in rex spiess dogs...unfortunately I got the answer I was hoping I wouldn't get.


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## big red

Im hoping the light chasing is just a quirk she hasn't had any other concerning issues just that. I am wondering at what age the seizures started just so I can watch for anything out of the ordinary. Also im unable to find the rex spiess vizsla owner facebook page and amykathryn28 I got my ginger in december 2012 too. She was born October 16th maybe Gus is her brother?


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## dbbrown2

Gunner's seizures started when he was 16 months old. He was born on September 30 2012 so looks like they are not siblings! I don't recall Gunner ever chasing lights or shadows prior to his first seizure episode. In fact there were really no warning signs. His first seizures occurred after my daughters birthday party which I guess was a trigger for the onset. I too wish we would have done more research into the breeder, but we have a perfectly healthy 6 year old Vizsla that we also got from Rex. Also epilepsy is more prevalent in male dogs, so I'm sure Ginger is a healthy, playful Vizsla!


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## maurerLA

I have a vizsla from Rex - she was born March 4, 2011 ... have no issues with her. She is happy and healthy!


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## amykathryn28

Hi again everyone, I was reminded of this post as I now fear Gus may be having seizures. Here's a post I just made in the health forums: 

I had an incident in January and one again yesterday that makes me wonder if my boy is having seizures.
He became wobbly and a little twitchy, which he also does when he is nauseous. His mouth was watering a bit, and I noticed just a few drops of urine on his belly.
Then he laid down and wouldn't get up. When it happened in January, his mouth seemed tightly shut. This time, he opened his mouth and it wouldn't shut, I closed it and it kept falling open. This went on for about 10 minutes, then he looked at me as if seeing me for the first time. He went back to being out of it and lethargic for about an hour afterwards.
I am calling the vet tomorrow but just wondering what you all think and if you had any experience with anything similar.
It didn't seem like a typical seizure, but it was definitely something.
Thanks in advance for any help or advice you may have!


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## toadnmeme

I hope a call or visit to the vet will clear things up! Sounds like that's the right move. You are on the FB group, right? Have you asked some of the other owners with the same parents if they have had any health issues with their pups? Also, have you contacted Mr. Spiess and asked him about the health history of the parents and other litters? 

We rescued a puppy off Craigslist (Peet) that came originally from Rex. It breaks my heart to see there are others that ended up on CL too :-( So far he is healthy and we haven't had any issues (he's only 6 months), but I made sure to tell our vet about a history of seizures with Rex's dogs. I tried to contact him when we got Peet to get more info on his breeding, but no reply :-(

Praying those incidents with Gus were isolated and not anything too serious! Let us know what your vet says.


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## big red

Can anyone tell me the name of the facebook page for owners of his dogs? I haven't been able to find it.


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## big red

Was Gus born in Dec 2012? Or is that just when you got him? That's when I got Ginger but she was actually born Oct 16. Just wondering if he is her brother


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## toadnmeme

big said:


> Can anyone tell me the name of the facebook page for owners of his dogs? I haven't been able to find it.


It's called Rex Spiess Vizsla Owners-Liberty Center Ohio 

It's a great group and the moderator has a spreadsheet of the owners and the dogs birthdates and parents so you can connect with sibling owners


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## big red

Thank you! I finally found it and sent a request!


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## 1fireman

was gus born december of 12? My girl Ethyl was born then? I have a male Fred that was born July 4, 2008


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## ew1600

big red said:


> Just wondering if anyone on here has a vizsla from rex spiess?


I know this is a very old thread, but I just came across this. I have a 14yr old male, Barron, that I got from Rex in 2007. He's been a pretty healthy dog other than the fact that he has pretty severe arthritis (manageable) & he is COVERED with non-cancerous tumors, cysts & skin tags that have gotten much worse with age. In Feb of last year he had a large, fast growing, non-cancerous growth the size of a grapefruit removed from the top of his scruff (neck). It was so scary to see him go under the knife at his age, but we have a great team of vets whom I trust implicitly. What has your experience been? Im thinking of going back for another once my Barron eventually passes away. This was by far the best dog I've ever owned. 1st Vizsla ever. My ex got a female from a breeder in OH about 6mos after I got mine & I swear mine was smarter & healthier.


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## ew1600

amykathryn28 said:


> Sorry all, one last post! If you are on Facebook, another owner of a Rex pup started a Facebook group for owners of Rex's vizslas so we can all share information and keep up with how our pups are doing. Feel free to request to join. It's called "Rex Spiess Vizsla Owners -Liberty Center Ohio."


Thank you for sharing the FB info. I just joined. Im so glad (& apprehensive) to know there is a group from my breeder joining together to support one another. I was beginning to do my research (thus how I ended up finding this thread) about other people's experiences with Rex because my guy is 14 at the end of the month. I'll be ready for a pup when he passes. I know it will help ease the pain. I cant bear the thought of him not being around, but I don't want to make a rash decision & go back to a breeder that is known for producing problematic lines


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