# Things you Wish you Knew



## karoun (Mar 29, 2012)

I noticed this topic was started a few years ago but died and I was hoping to start it up again. 

Regarding vizsla ownership, What are some things you wish had known before bringing your dog home?


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## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

Just how much Vs love to mouth everything and with puppy teeth....ouch! Also the jumping the jumping the jumping. We knew but we didn't know, if you know what I mean.


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## Looney (Sep 28, 2011)

this may not go over well here but.....

after reading and studying for a while i was a bit worried with all the "special" things you need to do for this dog.

I wish i would have not gotten so worried. I've found (knock on wood) that if you watch them all the time, limit their freedom and train train train that they are not as troublesome as i thought.

After all the stories i was sooooo nervous but he's just like any other pup i've known growing up...except ALOT smarter!!!!

of course like all pups no one dog is perfect.


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## karoun (Mar 29, 2012)

thank you, looney! that helps to ease some of my anxiety about becoming a vizsla owner!


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## kjmitch (Mar 23, 2012)

I agree with karoun!!
I've gotten so worked up from reading post here that I started to second guess my decision to get a V, but the one week old puppy pics from my breeder swayed me 
My BF is so sick of hearing about V's and all the things I’ve learned, he rolls his eyes if I even mention the forum. He'll feel differently once our boy comes home…. 6 weeks and counting
;D


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## Looney (Sep 28, 2011)

I was getting worried also.

I really feel that if you are chill, your dog is going to be chill.
If you have all the built up anxiety and worries that they will become a hyper mess.

I am starting to think i got a "odd" V he's so mellow. What got me was the 4 HOURS of exercise a day.....whoa!!!

We go for our walk in the morning (1 mile so far) then we play in the house for about an 1/2 hour. He's being crate trained finally during the day. *(that wears him out!!!)* then i get home let him out, accept the molestation for about 15 minutes then we go watch tv and he naps. Then the rest of the night he's either playing with his toys or napping on us. Then bed. Sleeps all night at the foot of our bed then rinse and repeat.

Just a normal puppy, nothing out of the strange...YET!!!

i know i know it could be coming but not yet.


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## newvizslamamma2012 (Mar 20, 2012)

My dad got his v at 6 mnths. There was 3 other farm dogs so max just took his place with yogi the lab. They never left each others side. If u sat in a chair that max had claimed ya better get out or u was gettin a lap dog!!! Max was awesome. Ni chewing or jumping. A big babe.
Now we fast forward a couple years, ellie is here. What a pyschotic lil nightmare lol. Its all bout her. She is so diff compared to max and maxs daughter!!! She is an awesome snuggle bug. Fantastic ear peicer. Shoe thief quality is outstanding. One thing i would have done is picked her out years ago. I cant wait for her to be a bigger baby!!!!


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

People on the forums (myself included) over-exaggerate the amount of work these dogs take so that people are OVER-prepared! If you go into this thinking you're getting a calm, stupid dog you are in for quite a ride!

@Looney: Their exercise requirements are much lower when they are puppies... enjoy the naps while you can!

I wish I had known that you should work very hard on jumping when they are tiny. Riley was just so cute that everyone had a hard time saying "off" when she jumped on them.... now she's kicking guys in the crotch and they don't think it's so cute!


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## Oquirrh the V (Jun 24, 2011)

I'm going to have to say that the forums made me pretty nervous before getting my V also. I've had my boy for about 10 months now. It was a completely different life once I got him. He is my world and I love it! I had no idea how much work a puppy was, but you adjust and learn and everything is working out well. My biggest advice would just learn as much as you can about the breed. I believe that Oquirrh has been so easy because of the amount of exercise we give him. So many people say, "Oh, that's a hyper breed." Yea, he is, but that is what we wanted and we love every bit of it. Just be prepared, don't worry, your pup is going to change your life for the best, if you let 'em.


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## dmp (Jan 23, 2012)

I sorta wish I didn't know about this board before my Pup gets here. You guys make the wait seem longer. 



(sigh). Target is 28 April...counting the days.


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## Looney (Sep 28, 2011)

please, i found an APP on my Iphone 4s that has a countdown from whatever to whatever.

i was like 400,000,000 more seconds to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it would just run in the back ground on the phone i could check it whenever. 8)


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I wish I would have known vizslas are addicting.
If one is so much fun, then two has to be even better.
If you already have two, then three can't be that much more work.
Hm-mm I wonder what four would be like?


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## hobbsy1010 (Jun 4, 2011)

I wish I would have known that I would never be able to wear any 'Black Clothes' again....
And also owning one would eventually turn into owning two (2)!!!... :-\ :-\

Hobbsy


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

That I would be checking _Hungarian Vizsla Forum _ 4 or 5 times a day to see what other owners were doing with their Vizslas from all over the world and making comments about Vizslas, dogs in general, relationships, commitments, personal stories, on and on.

Who knew I would become addicted to everything Vizsla???

???RBD


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## pippa31 (Aug 2, 2011)

I wish I had known more about the nippiness of Vs. I was convinced for a full 16 weeks that Pips was possessed! :-[

This isn't something I wished I knew, but I was REALLY surprised by how utterly and completely I fell head over heels for my Vizsla. My life has completely changed in so many ways and a lot of it has to do with the new question I think about all the time, "How can I provide Pippa with the best life possible?"

And nothing has made me happier.


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## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

The other thing I wish I knew sooner was how the use of a slip lead with a twist over Mac's nose would finally give me something that stopped his pulling!!!


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## Looney (Sep 28, 2011)

Canny Collar!
Or you run a rope down their back loop it under belly and the part on the back and they can't pull!


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

I wish I had known about this forum when I first got Savannah. She was independent even then (selected for this trait). It would have been nice to know she wasn’t the only terror of a puppy and that I wasn’t ruining her.

I wish I had known about the puppy scavenger hunt that mswhipple posted. I caught most of the items, but some (like the elevator) just never occurred to me.

I wish I had known that the biggest hole in all my research before getting a puppy was how to deal with people we encountered. I wish I had known from the start how to talk to kind people who are afraid of dogs. I wish I had known from the start how to talk to jerks who think they can take liberties with my dog and who think they know better than I do what she needs.

I wish I had known that spending time researching everything dog (diet, treat recipes, activities, training, traveling, first aid, accidents, illness, etc.) would continue nonstop and still be just as interesting as when I first started reading about the breed.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

I really can't take credit for that "Socialization Scavenger Hunt", jld640. It was first posted by kristen back in November of 2011. I had asked if anyone remembered where it was, because my next-door-neighbor just got a new puppy. ;D


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Oops. Sorry Kristen.


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

Firstly, I have to say I love this forum - it has provided me with so much helpful advise that I have become somewhat addicted. 

However, I am so glad I didn't find it before I got my V. If I had joined the forum before hand I am pretty sure I would have choosen another breed because my first impression was that V need to sleep either in the owners bed or in the bedroom!! Oh no, definitely not in this house hold. They can't live in kennels as they glue themselves to your side like "velcro" - True enough. Finally i would be loosing those extra lbs as I would be exercisng this dog for 4hrs a day. Well this was a major concern as we have a 6 yr old dane and we want to exercise the dogs together. The dane gets about 45 minutes these days. I interviewed several breeders on this matter and they all said the V would take as much or as little as you give them. I will also utilise his natural ability to retrieve for extra exercise and we are lucky enough to have huge forests, Windsor Gt Park, etc for walking and the dogs never go on leash.

You were right about the jumping up - but these guys are so smart it didn't take long to train him not to jump up. I just love how smart these Vs are - it is so gratifying to train a smart dog.

So if you are reading the posts on this Forum with a view to getting a V - read between the lines. Training is the answer to a balanced dog - and these dogs are so trainable, but I totally agree they are not a dog to be living out doors in a kennel or as a yard dog, but they are fabulous, sensitive loving dogs.


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