# Soon to be new Vizsla owner!



## Entities (Jun 26, 2015)

Hello everyone first post here. I always liked the look and the behavior of Vizslas and it looks like well be getting one soon! The pups will be born around July 4th. 
And will be able to come home in 8 weeks. However me and the Wife will be in the middle of a 12 day road trip. So it might be more like 9-10 weeks. Would that be an issue at all in the development of the dog?

Another thing is training Ive watched this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe0-oqqoXvw
has anyone trained their dogs similar to this any tips or videos you prefer?

But... the main reason I wanted to make this post is to ask about cats. We have a 2.5 year old cat already. He is skittish and runs from everything. He is also not the friendliest cat. Swipes at people he doesnt know and will hide if theres alot of people over. He has all of his claws. Im worried there will be issues. Whats the best way to introduce a puppy and cat? And after that im guessing they should be supervised and if not home or bedtime the dog will be crated. 
Any tips?

Thanks


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## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

Congrats and welcome to our crazy and loving Vizsla world!

The longer your pup can stay with it's Momma the better. I'd vote for 12 weeks, but that's just me. Our girl was 12 or 13 weeks when we brought her home. She's four now and has no development issues and is firmly bonded with us. Our rescue was 3 when we got him (6 years now) and he's beyond fully bonded with us.

Can't help with the cat but it sounds like you might be in for some issues because a pup wants to play. Your pup will probably take some scratches before it learns to stay clear. Hopefully not too bad, deep or around the eyes. You have obviously left the cats claws intact for a reason but you might want to think about it some. They might just end up being best buddies!


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## toadnmeme (Jun 7, 2014)

Vizsla said:


> Congrats and welcome to our crazy and loving Vizsla world!
> 
> The longer your pup can stay with it's Momma the better. I'd vote for 12 weeks, but that's just me.


I would second picking up the puppy later as well. Our breeder doesn't let them go until 10 weeks for the same reasons mentioned. 

Congratulations on your puppy! Make sure to post lots of pictures!


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

I like Michael Ellis' training methods, particularly his distinction between the release word and the intermediate feedback word. I opted to use a clicker instead of a marker word, but they function basically the same way. 

I got my girl at 10 weeks. No issues there.

Cats. It could go differently for you, but our cats set boundaries really well at first just by hissing at my puppy. That scared her enough for at least a week that she didn't bother them. After that she got braver and our cats were too laid back to put up a fight, but we'd also been working on basic obedience so overall it was pretty manageable. Work on rewarding the puppy for remaining calm and ignoring the cat and make sure that the cat has a place to escape to.


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## chilithevizsla (Apr 2, 2014)

einspänner said:


> I like Michael Ellis' training methods, particularly his distinction between the release word and the intermediate feedback word. I opted to use a clicker instead of a marker word, but they function basically the same way.
> 
> I got my girl at 10 weeks. No issues there.
> 
> Cats. It could go differently for you, but our cats set boundaries really well at first just by hissing at my puppy. That scared her enough for at least a week that she didn't bother them. After that she got braver and our cats were too laid back to put up a fight, but we'd also been working on basic obedience so overall it was pretty manageable. Work on rewarding the puppy for remaining calm and ignoring the cat and make sure that the cat has a place to escape to.


Agree with this, offer your cats a room free from the dog and also lots of vertical spaces to sit on and watch the puppy without having to be annoyed or scared of it.
Intro slow and calm, probably through a gate and on the leash at first for a while so the pup can't practice a chase because that can be very rewarding to a dog.
I wouldn't let a cat bat a dog though, those claws can do some serious damage, I would leave the cat to use other signals and you do the rest.


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## MCD (May 4, 2013)

I have 2 cats and they both react very differently to Dharma. You might want to research previous posts for ideas on how to manage this.


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