# I am 9 weeks old today... and loving life. I love being outside, playing in the snow!



## derwos (Nov 10, 2019)

Love, Aly.


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## TrumpetBlast (Jun 27, 2020)

derwos said:


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Oh what a sweetie pie. Is that white on her toes or snow?


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## derwos (Nov 10, 2019)

TrumpetBlast said:


> Oh what a sweetie pie. Is that white on her toes or snow?


Thanks, @TrumpetBlast. She's been a joy in every way!

That is white toes. Both front feet. On her left front foot, the white extends up past the base of her toes just a little. From a "show" standard, I believe this disqualifies her for breed standards (although, I'm not exactly sure). Regardless, she, her parents and the breeder were exclusively chosen for health and disposition... to be a companion. While Aly has show champions on both sides of her lineage, there was never an aspiration to put her into a ring.


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

Love when their ears are flying! Seems like she enjoys the snow too.


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## derwos (Nov 10, 2019)

Gabica said:


> Love when their ears are flying! Seems like she enjoys the snow too.


She's from KS. I'm from NY. I don't think she ever saw snow until she came home. When I left to pick her up on 12/19, we had had 30in of snow... and in anticipation of her coming home and the possibility the snow would be here until spring, I snowblower a 4ft path all the way around the house for her. Shortly after arriving home with her on 12/24, after actually picking her up on 12/21, it got warm and rained. 30 inches of snow soon turned to 2 inches. Now, she can run everywhere. The picture I posted was after a couple of fresh inches fell. All that said, she REALLY LOVES snow! Even when she first got home and the snow was higher than she was, she just loved bounding in it.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

They are a riot in the snow. I love her winter coat.
I used to snow blow trails around the yard for the dogs in winter so they could go to the bathroom. It was a scream watching them race around the paths.
Snow blow a few paths for her if you still have snow.
White toes will never stop her from being the dog you want her to be. I've never seen a pheasant look at the dog's toes first.
My Tika had white toes, and feet. She was awesome. 
Your little girl will be awesome too.


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## derwos (Nov 10, 2019)

gunnr said:


> They are a riot in the snow. I love her winter coat.
> I used to snow blow trails around the yard for the dogs in winter so they could go to the bathroom. It was a scream watching them race around the paths.
> Snow blow a few paths for her if you still have snow.
> White toes will never stop her from being the dog you want her to be. I've never seen a pheasant look at the dog's toes first.
> ...


@gunnr, her winter coat is the sleeve from a sweatshirt I've had for 20 years. That sweatshirt has become so worn and tattered... and was the most comfy bum around the house sweatshirt on the planet. I've sacrificed it for the mutt.🥰

I've always snowblowed paths for my dogs. At one time I lived in a little town... and people thought I was nutz for snowblowed paths in crazy circuits.😂🤣 It certainly doesn't hurt, I enjoy winter and snowblowing. 

There's a bit of a back-story to how long it took me to get Aly, from the breeder I was intent on getting her from. One day, in the appropriate discussion thread, I'll expound. Most relevant to the current conversation, I did not care a single little smidgen, she has whit front feet! Even more importantly, after having her for only a week, I am astounded by her. She could not be more loved... and she knows it, by witnessing her development. I knew I had her hooked when I could get her little tail wagging at 2.4Mhz, at will.😂🤣

Just in the past couple days, she's transitioned from being a semi-cautious lil puppy, to having complete trust in me. Mission #1, accomplished! Much sooner than I anticipated.

When I was a young man, I was an avid outdoorsman. I never had a bird dog, but would walk the treelines with a shotgun, hunting for quail/grouse. By the time I was about 22, I gave up gun hunting and became a bowhunting purist. I was also an avid fly fisher. In my late 20's, I was in a job related accident, where I severely dislocated my shoulder, requiring complete reconstruction. After that, I was unable to pull a bow or perform the casting for fly fishing.

All this leads to "today". I find myself a bit conflicted (not in a true conflict way). This little pup has begun to "point" (forgive my improper terminology of bird dogs, if it occurs) when playing. She'll hold the pose for what I'd consider 6000x her normal attention span. That innate behavior, from her 1100 year old breeding! She does it so effortlessly and it's quite a beautiful sight.

My original intent of training for her was obedience and fun agility stuff. Though, because of her so natural "pointing" behavior, I'm finding myself seriously considering training her to legitimately hunt.

She's young. Just 9 weeks today. Though, I'm going to make the decision shortly.

This little girl has a vigor to learn. I don't want to squander it. Pffft! Simple obedience stuff... I can't walk into the kitchen (where we do most obedience training), without her slamming her butt on the ground, in a sit. Unequivocally, this mutt is the most eager, fastest learner I've experienced in my life.

I'm a week in and the fun has only just begun! Thank you, sir... for having provided a wealth of information! Your responses to questions are thoughtful and always relevant. You and a few other prolific responders, are a priceless resource!


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

I can only say YES for hunting training. That is where the real fun starts with them. I do several other sports with my boys too, but nothing beats hunting. Get a wing or frozen bird for her as soon as possible, just to see the reaction. I have a picture of my 11 weeks old boy Miksa holding a frozen bird at a dock diving competition i attended with his brother in the middle of hot Texas summer. Priceless memory.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

It sounds as if you can have your cake and eat it too with her. Vizslas can perform multiple roles,and do it well.
The obedience component of training is critical to having a successful bird dog. Some, like your girl, pick it up quick. Capitalize on the natural ability ,and train through that.
The point is natural. She's definitely old enough to point. If you can have a puppy learn to hold it's point at an early age, the "Whoa" and "Stay" command are much easier to incorporate. Training through natural , instinctive,behaviors is time proven.
It is late in the year, but Cabelas, or one of the gun dog supply houses, may still have Quail and Pheasant wings for training. It's a lot of fun to play hide and seek with them in the house and yard. They catch that scent, that little brain kicks in, their face scrunches up, and they get to work. An unstoppable 12 lbs. of genetic imprinting kicks in. Give it a try this winter should you feel so inclined. If you can't find wings, let me know. I have a few friends that train and hunt, and all of us keep some wings in the freezer, for starting new puppies. I can't promise anything, but I can always check.
You have my complete sympathy about the shoulders. I've had both shoulders repaired and both knees repaired in the past 6 years. When I got back to shotgunning, after some promises to the Doc', signed in blood, I was using very light loads, a recoil pad on the shotgun ,and an PST recoil system for my shoulder. I also limited myself to my gas operated shotgun to reduce recoil even more.
If you do decide to get back into it, hunting, there is a shotshell manufacturer in Pennsylvania, RST Shells, that specialize in low pressure, reduced recoil shells, for use in older shotguns, that cannot use modern shells for fear of damage.
Good luck and have fun with her this winter.

Mike


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## derwos (Nov 10, 2019)

Gabica said:


> I can only say YES for hunting training. That is where the real fun starts with them. I do several other sports with my boys too, but nothing beats hunting. Get a wing or frozen bird for her as soon as possible, just to see the reaction. I have a picture of my 11 weeks old boy Miksa holding a frozen bird at a dock diving competition i attended with his brother in the middle of hot Texas summer. Priceless memory.


Will do, immediately!

I am in contact with a guy who has a male sibling to Aly. He has sent me pictures and video of his lil guy, beginning wing training with a fishing rod. Ya'll are seriously sparking my interest! Thanks so much!!


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## organicthoughts (Oct 9, 2012)

derwos said:


> Thanks, @TrumpetBlast. She's been a joy in every way!
> 
> That is white toes. Both front feet. On her left front foot, the white extends up past the base of her toes just a little. From a "show" standard, I believe this disqualifies her for breed standards (although, I'm not exactly sure). Regardless, she, her parents and the breeder were exclusively chosen for health and disposition... to be a companion. While Aly has show champions on both sides of her lineage, there was never an aspiration to put her into a ring.


They all get various sprinklings of white as they age anyways!

Gorgeous and happy pup! Thanks for sharing the cute pics


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## derwos (Nov 10, 2019)

gunnr said:


> It sounds as if you can have your cake and eat it too with her. Vizslas can perform multiple roles,and do it well.
> The obedience component of training is critical to having a successful bird dog. Some, like your girl, pick it up quick. Capitalize on the natural ability ,and train through that.
> The point is natural. She's definitely old enough to point. If you can have a puppy learn to hold it's point at an early age, the "Whoa" and "Stay" command are much easier to incorporate. Training through natural , instinctive,behaviors is time proven.
> It is late in the year, but Cabelas, or one of the gun dog supply houses, may still have Quail and Pheasant wings for training. It's a lot of fun to play hide and seek with them in the house and yard. They catch that scent, that little brain kicks in, their face scrunches up, and they get to work. An unstoppable 12 lbs. of genetic imprinting kicks in. Give it a try this winter should you feel so inclined. If you can't find wings, let me know. I have a few friends that train and hunt, and all of us keep some wings in the freezer, for starting new puppies. I can't promise anything, but I can always check.
> ...


@gunnr, Thanks for the encouragement!

I have ordered pheasant wings from Cabelas! 😋 They won't arrive until Jan 11-18. Until then, I'll focus on playing with the toys and in the manner that has previously provoked her to point.

In other recent posts, I've expressed a HUGE change in her, literally over night, on the anniversary of her 9 week b-day. Like a switch flipped in her brain, over night. She lost all inhibitions to things she was Leary about, she now climbs like a monkey and has this thought she's a parrot... always wanting to perch on my shoulders. At the same time, it was like a switch turned on in her nose. She's now smelling everything, with a passion. It's awesome to go outside... and watch her turn into the wind... that little nose twitching a million miles an hour and can see her lil brain is smoking. I've also got about 1000 cottontails around my yard and barns. When she crosses one of those tracks in the snow, she tracks just like a rabbit dog! I may have to turn her into a rabbit dog, just to reduce the bunny-pest population! (JOKING!)

While I haven't hunted in a long time, I'm certainly not going to rule it out. Over the past couple years, I've considered returning to bowhunting whitetails. The technology today, in draw-weight reduction, would make it feasible! Additionally, this lil girl may "train" ME into bird hunting. My initial intent for her was to be a companion, with a major portion of her intellectual stimulation being obedience and agility training. Though, my interest in bird hunting has been piqued.

I'm gonna start down the track of some bird dog training (after I educate myself on how to do basics.🤪). As you've mentioned and I understand, it'll be a complimentary augmentation of my initial intent, anyway. If she shows a little early promise and likes it, we'll continue!

Blah... Blah... Blah... I could yap forever.

Be cautious! I just might go Full Magyar and start marauding!😳🤔😬🤣

Again, thanks for the encouragement!


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

Have you tried Gun Dog Supply for the wings? usually they are very quick. Amazon would be my other option.

Their nose improves every day, fun to watch. and their brain too, even though some of the teenage vizsla owners would probably argue with me right now


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## derwos (Nov 10, 2019)

Gabica said:


> Have you tried Gun Dog Supply for the wings? usually they are very quick. Amazon would be my other option.
> 
> Their nose improves every day, fun to watch. and their brain too, even though some of the teenage vizsla owners would probably argue with me right now


@Gabica,

I have not looked into "Gun Dog Supply" for wings. Had no idea they existed. In the morning, I'll look into them. If they can ship me wings quicker than I can get them from Cabelas, I'll order them!

From my personal and limited "V" puppy experience, I totally agree their noses and brains develop/improve rapidly!! I'm seeing differences thru each day! Not sure about lil Aly... but, it's sure exciting for me to admire! It's like every time she awakens from a nap, she's mentally grown (some good, some devilish). I'm loving it!

Thanks to you and others on this site, I am well aware of the teenage "forgetfulness" I'll probably face. NO WORRIES! Just one of the development cycles of a "Red Angelface Devilchild"😂🤣👹.


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