# Just got our Vizsla...please help!



## Superunknown (Feb 19, 2012)

Hi We're based in the North East of England. Just got our 8 week old vizsla called Ted yesterday. He is very hyper and we are trying to house train him. One major issue is that if we leave him alone in his play area (in a corner of our living room), he starts to cry loudly and will bark for hours on end with no signs of stopping. It's driving us mad. Should we ignore it or place him in the crate with the door locked? He ignores the other toy(s) and just jumps around screaming and barking. Please help! thanks.


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## cooperman (Oct 26, 2010)

Hi there, Firstly congratulations on your new V Ted. We are in South Yorkshire UK. Why are you leaving him in the play area for hours on end?. Do you let him follow you around the house, they are known as the velcro dog cause they just crave your company. Sometimes the food you are feeding also makes a difference where the hyper behaviour is concerned, what is he currently on?


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

as cooperman for me


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## Lindsey1420 (Jan 28, 2012)

I agree with Cooperman, why are you leaving the puppy alone? You cant house train the pup if you leave him. Viszlas are hyper dogs. Ted will be like that for a long time. My V, Jack, is 6 mos and is still on the go all the time.


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## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

Any puppy you get is going to be active & hyper. Is your dog getting LOTS of daily off leash running time? That will help. If my V gets her play time in, she's calm & quiet the rest of the day.

Also, you definitely need to let your baby be around you and not confine him to an area by himself. From my experience, that doesn't work with Vizslas. In fact, as I was typing this, my 9 month old V came up to me, put her head on my lap and then climbed into my lap - at 42 lbs that was quite a feat. I had to take a short laptop break......

They just love people and love to be held & touched.

Lastly, our Vizsla was VERY active for the first 2-3 days we had her home - she was nervous & getting used to her new surroundings without her litter mates and mother. It's a big adjustment for them.

Good luck!


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## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

*Superunknown*, I really don't like the word "hyper" when describing a Vizsla. The puppy is most likely like any other Vizsla puppy - highly driven and full of energy. As a new owner, your job is to find a proper energy outlet for him -physical and mental. Short structured walks, off-leash play, hide/find games, basic obedience are all part of every day Vizsla ownership. 

Leaving such a young puppy for hours alone does not do him any good and could actually harm the little guy. I can honestly say that through my Sophie's puppy-hood up until 7 months, my husband and I took turns to sit with her and to entertain her every single day unless she was at the day care. When we went to work, we had dog walker and family members come by to walk her and feed her. She wasn't really alone for more than three hours. 

If you want some time for yourself, make sure the puppy is well exercised and give him a chew toy or treat to chew on. It will not be hours, but it will give you some free time to take a shower or do dishes  That's all you get! Welcome to Vizsla world


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## Superunknown (Feb 19, 2012)

Hi thanks for your replies! I really appreciate them and will take them all on board.

He's 8 weeks old. We are apprehensive to take him for walks outside of home yet as he hasn't had the rest of his vaccinations.

He's on science plan for puppies. Lamb with rice flavour. Puppie portion 3 times a day.

His crate and and play area is in the dining room and he is able to view us at the living room from his crate (open plan room). We spend many hours playing with him indoors, games and fetch (and in garden on leash) and we encourage him to come along with us to secure safe rooms of the house and follow us about. This way we can help eliminate toilet accidents.
We're nervous about allowing him to run off leash as our garden isn't 100% secured as of yet. 

As soon as he falls asleep, we put him back in crate but he just runs out and play some more then falls asleep on the spot.

The other reason why we try to confine him to the play area for a short while is to help him get used to being left alone for a short period of time (1-2 hours at very very most at most due to work commitments and cleaning the house). We are trying to minimise separation anxiety.

He's our first dog and we are trying out best to train him appropriately. 

Thank


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

Superunknown: Welcome to the forum & congrats on your puppy, Ted  

1)I defintely do not believe your pup needs all of his shots before having adventures outside. At his age, properly supervised, there should be places for him to run/play w/out a leash. If it's not your garden, then find a place where you can take him. It is wise to not allow your pup to play with unknown dogs (until he's had his shots); however, dirt, smells, noise etc. are very good for him.
2)Crate training is great, & it sounds like a crate is a part of Ted's new home. Make it a very positive place to be. 
3)If you are spending as much time with your pup as you indicated in your 2nd post, then there should not be barking for hours. If your pup is barking even when he is with you, then you need to start correcting. V's do not tolerate harsh treatment, so be consistent and calm in your reactions.
4)V's are high-octane dogs. If you think your pup is "hyper" now, get ready to pull up your pants and get moving. The 1st 4m of Pumpkin's life were by far the easiest. Rain, snow, sleet, or shine, your pup will need an outlet, off-leash, to burn a lot of energy. Ideally, your pup will have a purpose even if y'all are not hunters. Start planning now, because many of the pup demands grow along with Ted's size.
5)Socialize your pup well. Enroll him an obedience class when his shots are complete. As a 1st time dog owner, you will benefit, IMO, from outside influence. Reach out to other Vizsla owners or clubs in your area.
6)Read. Make a plan for yourselves & pup. Be methodical, positive, and consistent with your training. Clicker training is a good way to start, IMO.
7)Ted can never go outside for a potty break too much. If you take your pup out every 30-45 minutes (initially), you set the stage for success. Do not give Ted the opportunity to have accidents. If he does, look to yourselves 1st.
8)Never be afraid to ask questions here. Lots of great advice & posts to go through. Vizsla's are not easy 1st time dogs.

Enjoy your new pup !
Best wishes.


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

http://www.dogstardaily.com/files/BEFORE You Get Your Puppy.pdf

Open the above and below and maybe print.

http://www.dogstardaily.com/files/AFTER You Get Your Puppy.pdf

You'll have a lot to learn to keep up with your new red bird dog. Once you learn the basics that would work with 99% of pet dogs, you'll still need to learn more to give your Vizsla a happy home.

Never ending education.

Good luck.

RBD


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

I am sure others have mentioned it, but you need to slowly increase the amount of time you leave pup in the crate. Each time, you leave him longer and only let him out when he is quiet. Then you progress to putting him in the crate and leaving the house for short periods, increasing over time. Eventually he will be used to it and it will be no big deal for him. Reward him each time he is good. Start with as little as 30 seconds and work up.


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## Superunknown (Feb 19, 2012)

Thanks, we will try those the above methods.

Is it safe to allow him off the leash in parks? We've only had him a few days and haven't mastered leash training and are worried he may run off in the park and not come back.


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

I would only let your pup off-leash in a safe environment. Areas where he is unable to get into a dangerous situation ie: roads, questionable dogs etc. Do you know anyone with a large fenced yard? Your pup should naturally want to follow you. If your park is safe, Ted is unlikely to move way out of sight. None the less, pick a place where everyone is comfortable. Being tense is not fun or a good way to start training. Let your pup drag a line (leash). Ted can run, sniff, and go where he wants dragging the leash, but you can grab it/him if needed. We get our pups very comfortable with this, because we can achieve freedom and control at the same time; in addition, it allows a way to enforce commands,gently, as your pup grows.


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## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

kellygh said:


> If you think your pup is "hyper" now, get ready to pull up your pants and get moving. The 1st 4m of Pumpkin's life were by far the easiest.


I had the opposite experience with Sophie! ;D Up until 5 or 6 months, we were in a Vizsla-trance floating somewhere between reality and "what-the-****-just-happened"! Loads of time and energy were invested to keep the little devil occupied and exercised. Then she finally slowed down a bit and was actually able to concentrate on training for 5 minutes!


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## kristen (Oct 18, 2011)

Suliko said:


> I had the opposite experience with Sophie! ;D Up until 5 or 6 months, we were in a Vizsla-trance floating somewhere between reality and "what-the-****-just-happened"!


I agree, the first few months were crazy. (husband came home one day to find me on the floor in tears with the dog doing laps.)
Now that Odin's hit 6 months, he is sooo much easier to handle. ****, I can even sit down and relax for a few minutes! Last night we were just commenting how we went the whole evening without putting up the puppy gate. Odin stayed with us, and didn't try to go steal a tea towel from the kitchen, or a shoe from the front door. Yes...that's progress in my house.
I have to say, there were times when I asked myself "what was I thinking?!" Then Odin would curl up onto my lap, put his head on my shoulder, nuzzle into my neck and sigh. Then its all worth it. ;D


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## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

I recommend the books by Dunbar highly!!!

They provide soooo much information. The only thing I don't like is that he acts like your dog will be permanently messed up if you don't follow his advice to a tee. Also, we did everything he said and Oso still had accidents in the house. I remember feeling very angry at Dunbar shortly after we had Oso for making me believe if I followed his formula it would all work out. 

His schedule there is still extremely valuable! I remember being completely overwhelmed when we first got Oso. I couldn't even make dinner without him with me. We did the crate training plan Dunbar recommended and Oso did cry. We ignored him when he cried and gave him attention and even kibble when he stopped crying. And when I say crying, I mean yelping at hte top of his lungs. It got better and now he is beautifully crate trained!! I love Dunbar's idea of making your dog a chewy toy addict. Oso really liked bully sticks when he was little too, as well as kongs (and they are MUCH safer than rawhide). 

As for vaccinations.... My opinion is let him down only in areas you know are safe. Socialization is SUCH an important process, I would not want to risk your puppy getting sick during those first 3 months and missing out on that. Oso became a purse dog when he was little. Our local grocery store let me bring him in, we went to the bank together, on all my errands. I even brought him shoe shopping. I took him to the park with a blanket which he had to stay on, on walks (being held). He got tons of socialization without running around outside. We also started him at puppy playtime at 10 weeks, for dogs who had already had 2 shots and were under 6 months. We WANTED to take him outside, but held off until he had at least 3 shots. 

After Oso started getting out and about (after he had all 4 shots), he got sick A LOT! I was so grateful it was after the major socialization period was over. He got kennel cough twice, giardia AND coccidia. His little immune system couldn't handle much and this was after getting all his vaccinations. I wouldn't want him to get even sicker. We ARE in a metro area though, may be different where there aren't SO many dogs in such a small area. 

As for indoor exercise, there are a lot of helpful posts on this forum. Check this one out...

http://www.vizslaforums.com/index.php/topic,2979.msg19954.html#msg19954 

**Oh, also it is SOO much easier now. He is almost almost 6 months and still has energy, but he is potty trained, doesn't try to eat everything, is good around the cats and we know how to let that energy out. Training is also tiring for puppies (though should only be done in short sessions and only be positive)

Best of luck this little Vizsla will grow to become so dear to you! Good job to you for trying to do your best! This forum is VERY helpful!


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## Superunknown (Feb 19, 2012)

Hi thanks! It's a bit better now. We play witth him more and he sleeps on and off during the day. His toilet training iis getting better during the day. If he needs to elminate, we will take him outside. However it's problematic during the night. I take him out for 5 mins a few times during the evening...and nothing. I take him out before I go to bed, nothing. Then I wake up at 3-4am due to his barking and find that he has eliminated all over the play pen. Should we lock the crate or leave it open at night? His last meal is at 4.45pm. Thanks!


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## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

Superunknown said:


> However it's problematic during the night. I take him out for 5 mins a few times during the evening...and nothing. I take him out before I go to bed, nothing. Then I wake up at 3-4am due to his barking and find that he has eliminated all over the play pen.


To really get the point of potty training you need to wait your pup out. I remember standing outside, sometimes in the rain for 20mins before going to bed until Mac would finally go wee. This won't ensure that he won't need a wee in the middle of the night. Puppies sometimes take as long as 4 months before they don't need to go in the middle of the night. My Mac was good and only needed out for 3 nights then was sorted. Also waiting him out helps him to understand why you took him out in the first place.

Also yes close that crate at night! The smaller the area the less likely they are to go in the middle of the night. Your pup is used to going when he needs to but no pup wants to wee in their crate. My puppy is now 9 months old and he is left out of crate during the day when we go out but we still close the crate at night.


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## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

I'm going to ditto born in that Yes, Yes, Yes, close that crate.

It is instinctual for them NOT to want to go in their bed, that's why its important that you get a crate which is not WAY too big for the little guy. The play pen is way too big for him. 

That being said, he is still just a baby and can only hold it for so long. It sounds like he is doing really well with his potty training. I actually don't really agree with born about waiting outside for 20 minutes. If it's raining that sounds great because he realizes he doesn't get to come in until he goes. But, if he wants play outside, he realizes that he gets to stay outside UNTIL he goes, so it actually promotes his interests to hold it in as long as he can. 

We used to restrict water intake an hour or two before bed. You could maybe prevent the problem by voluntarily waking up at 2:30am (I know - doesn't sound appealing at all!), but try to catch him before he goes and then take him out. That way you aren't getting a mess or crying at night. 

BEST OF LUCK!!


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## Lincolns Parents (Aug 6, 2011)

We have Lincoln trained to pee on the "PEE" command word now....took awhile but you can choose a word you want to associate going to the bathroom with and when he is doing either business you repeat the word over and over until hes done... then large amounts of praise afterwords.... " good pee." 

Now he goes on command and we dont wait outside forever.

Works for us... good luck ;D


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## Popster (Feb 24, 2012)

Hi, we live in the north east and have two one 20m and the other 7 months we often have a whizz locally where owners meet up, it's great fun!


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## jacksta (Mar 31, 2012)

Hi there,

I know this post is a few months old, but you mention a north east Vizz Whiz and i wondered if you had any more details, as i have been unable to find one locally despite many months of trying!

We have a one year old Vizsla called Luther and live in the Newcastle area..

Many thanks

Jaq


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