# Do Vizsla pups ever settle?



## GracieGirl (Jan 21, 2018)

We have a vibrant, independent, mischievous, confident, stubborn and loving 7 month old Vizsla! 
She is great 70% of the time with her training but we have no hope when she has the crazy eyes! 
She is placid and beautiful when she is slightly tired before and after a nap, or cruising around the home. We have always wanted an energetic dog and are so happy with her. 

She is very energetic, but rough, jumpy and mouthy all other times. We are noticing that she nips out of frustration, never in aggression. E.g 
- will jump and gently nip hand if she is impatient for food
- is not allowed to greet someone if she’s not settled
- if she is playing and she over reacts to someone’s hand/foot nearby (person not engaged in playing)
- if she is on the couch and refuses to get “off” 

We do not punish her, rather redirect her. But are worried this is a sign of future nips! 

Will this behaviours settle as she matures around 2-3 years of age? Or is this a personality trait we will have for ever! 

What was your v like as a puppy and how are they now as adults?


----------



## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Yup, energetic.

Exercise? Off lead, lots of it. She sounds like she's not getting enough, and she sounds bored too. You're lucky she hasn't burned the house down! 

The other thing is: crate time! When she gets really crazed, give her a toy and some crate time to chill. Lastly, I'm not sure where you got the idea of not "punishing" her...but you need to rethink this. There needs to be some correction when she misbehaves, otherwise she thinks her behaviors are OK. Even a stern "NO!" and ignoring her will suffice.


----------



## GracieGirl (Jan 21, 2018)

gingerling said:


> Yup, energetic.
> 
> Exercise? Off lead, lots of it. She sounds like she's not getting enough, and she sounds bored too. You're lucky she hasn't burned the house down!
> 
> The other thing is: crate time! When she gets really crazed, give her a toy and some crate time to chill. Lastly, I'm not sure where you got the idea of not "punishing" her...but you need to rethink this. There needs to be some correction when she misbehaves, otherwise she thinks her behaviors are OK. Even a stern "NO!" and ignoring her will suffice.




Yes of course we give A stern no and walk away however nothing else. She does stop, but doesn’t deter her in the first place! Doesn’t seem to be enough! 

She gets off leash play with 1-2 dogs at a large oval, bush walks off leash and daily on leash walk. We definitely notice that she settles quicker after a big play with another dog. As for her impulsivity, will this settle with age? 

She Is great in the house doesn’t destroy anything just enjoys playing with her toys which is great 🙂


----------



## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Impulsivity? What are you referring to?


----------



## GracieGirl (Jan 21, 2018)

gingerling said:


> Impulsivity? What are you referring to?


Her quick and seemingly unprovoked jumping/nipping.... lack of self control I suppose haha! She knows it’s wrong but excitement and poor control seems to be the issue?


----------



## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

In pups, I call it a short attention span. 

Older dogs impluse control. But that is only in the dogs, that someone has spent a considerable amount of time working with. Most of the time, the dogs are very smart, and they just have to give it a try.


----------



## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

GracieGirl said:


> Her quick and seemingly unprovoked jumping/nipping.... lack of self control I suppose haha! She knows it’s wrong but excitement and poor control seems to be the issue?


As quickly as they lose their animalness, I think it's also important to recall that they are still *gasp!* animals. So..and this is just me....using human traits to describe basic doggyness isn't helpful in understanding and resolving the issues. Dogs aren't "impulsive" in the human sense. Typically if your dog is behaving badly it's a training issue, they haven't learned what's expected. So, the jumping..that's a greeting btw..and the nipping..that's their way of communicating...results from instinct. That can be shaped and modified, but I think it's important to not over pathologize a basically normal canine behavior, even if you do not approve or like it. And, no, they usually don't "Outgrow" these behaviors..b/c they're basically normal for them. If anything, they tend to get worse. Hence, training!

There are a lot of techniques to address these behaviors, as well as training books, my favorite is "Mother Knows Best" by Carol Lea Benjamin, I highly recommend it.


----------



## Betty (Apr 14, 2016)

May I also add that this is an adolescent dog, puppy/maturing animal. Keep up with the training, be patient, use as few words as possible as a command and above all be consistent.


----------



## GracieGirl (Jan 21, 2018)

Thanks all very helpful. I suppose the only way I can effectely describe the bevahiour is through human talk! I understand completely that she is a dog 🙂 

We will continue with training and see how she responds 🙂 we just want to ensure it’s not a sign of aggression in future!


----------



## CSF (May 19, 2017)

I don't know if you read my post titled "Teenager or something more"- but it seems like we might have a similar dogs. Piper is now 15 months old and is much better- but it took having someone that owns vizslas to show us how to let her know that her behavior was inappropriate. She had to wear a training collar and a leash around the house and yard for quite awhile- until some behaviors started to change. She still is a pushy dog- but so sweet too! Especially sweet once she has been off leash on a trail for about an hour or more!


----------



## GracieGirl (Jan 21, 2018)

CSF said:


> I don't know if you read my post titled "Teenager or something more"- but it seems like we might have a similar dogs. Piper is now 15 months old and is much better- but it took having someone that owns vizslas to show us how to let her know that her behavior was inappropriate. She had to wear a training collar and a leash around the house and yard for quite awhile- until some behaviors started to change. She still is a pushy dog- but so sweet too! Especially sweet once she has been off leash on a trail for about an hour or more!




Thank you so helpful! She is so sweet also after a huge amount of exercise. I just wish we could provide this on days we both work (3 days a week). She has a dog walker but is beginning to show signs of separation anxiety


----------



## brnewman.bn (Oct 15, 2017)

mental stimulation will alleviate some hyper activity. You can tire the mind faster than the body. I was told never feed your dog out of a bowl. Make them work for it. Hide it in different areas in the house so they have to find it or use Puzzle so they have to figure out how to get their food. All kinds of idea on Google.


----------



## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

Mental stimulation can accelerate the speed of getting tired in my experience too. You could try on top of brnewmannideas (we use slow feeder and treat dispenser for feeding most of the time ourselves) practising tricks, stays, rollover etc, hide a toy and make her find it, making it gradually more difficult. Etc etc. Taking her to a totally new place for a walk and let sniff, then practice a skill which already worked at your comfort place. You get a tired dog plus help them generalizing skills, which they don’t do naturally. 
We learnt tricks like rollling himself into a blanket, many of the rally obedience signs, closing smaller doors with the nose and so on during hurricane Harvey and while we were missing the leg stretching exercise, our high energy boy was able to sleep.


----------



## NutterButter (Mar 5, 2016)

Sadie can be bad about not getting off a bed (beds are off-limits) or off the sofa when time to get off. The only safe way to avoid getting nipped (or more like nipped at) is to grab a water spray bottle. Now we don't need to even spray her as soon as she sees the bottle she gets down. She seems to not have any concept that the behavior is wrong. I say that because previous dogs we had would always be very apologetic and downcast if they ever accidentally nipped us.


----------



## pcooper (Feb 25, 2019)

I know I'm very late to this, but we've got a 4 month old that your description matches almost exactly. When he's at normal excitement levels he's sweet and fun, and very good at training/responding...but it seems like when he gets tired he gets cranky and goes into shark mode and gets his crazy eyes and totally forgets all of his training and refuses to listen to commands or get off the couch. We've found the only thing to do is just use a toy or treat to entice him off the couch, then take him straight to his crate, where he usually settles right down and take a nap.

Since it's been 8 or 9 months since your original post, have you seen any improvement? Wondering how long we're going to deal with this particular type of behavior, because it's been a constant challenge every single night.


----------



## freealfin (Jun 8, 2017)

GracieGirl said:


> We have a vibrant, independent, mischievous, confident, stubborn and loving 7 month old Vizsla!
> She is great 70% of the time with her training but we have no hope when she has the crazy eyes!
> She is placid and beautiful when she is slightly tired before and after a nap, or cruising around the home. We have always wanted an energetic dog and are so happy with her.
> 
> ...


Vislas pups are not different from other pups...in general...the big, big difference is their energy and intensity level...off the scale. If you don't train you Vizsla pup now you're heading for big troubles down the road. You'll end up giving her away or all of you having a miserable life for years to come.. My two current Vizslas are re-homed Vizslas. Out of control when I got them. In control two months later. Training is not mildly re-directing. You need to get thru and make an impression the first time. You should buy a book about training hunting dogs. Most are nonsense books as opposed to training your King Charles or Pomeranian. By the way I never hurt my dogs. You don't need to. At worst you make then "uncomfortable". Uncomfortable for Viszlas is mainly based on their sensitivity. They are very receptive to emotional inputs. Physical is second.


----------



## Micbradl (Jul 17, 2019)

I am in this situation right now! We finally got the shark attacks under control after scouring this site for previous posts. Our girl gets more assertive towards me and my 16yo than anyone else in the family. We have 5 kids ages 2-16. We have also found tiredness to be a key factor in her reactions. She also tends to be more nippy if she hasn’t had enough snuggle time. My daughter can not walk her at all her though because baby dog will jump up to bite her ribs and refuse to walk, even giving her high value treats to distract with. My daughter is not good at following through on advice from our trainer unfortunately so I’m sure that one is largely not being aware of the messages we are sending her. 

We read extensively about the breed before selecting her and it has still been a gigantic learning curve. We are not experienced dog owners so now I am wondering if you have found the situation to improve with time 😂. I am happy to read ours is not an isolated experience.


----------

