# Advice for a vizsla rookie



## Reannabow (Dec 23, 2013)

Hello there

I have been looking on this message board for a while - it is great so wanted to join and introduce myself!

We have recently got a beautiful wire haired vizsla - 14 weeks old- called olive. She is so beautiful, we love her soooo much but I wondered if I could ask a few questions as you all seem to be so very knowledgable and wise - we are real rookies!

Firstly- olive is the fussiest eater ever, we have he on a mixture of dry dog food and raw beef mince but she will leave upto half of it at a time - is there any trick getting them to eat?

Secondly - on the 2nd of jan I go back to work and am lucky enough to be able to take her to my office every day. The office is dog friendly butch coworkers aren't used to vizslas- is there anything I can do to ensure she is as chilled out in the office as possible? For example I don't want to be holding her on my lap all day - I might get fired lol!

Hope everyone and their pooches are happy and healthy and looking forward to Christmas! Xxx


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

First things first. Pictures, please! 

Welcome to the forum! I'm so glad to have another wirey pup on the forum. My girl is 8 months old and an absolute joy. You're going to have so much fun with Olive! 

Vs are known for being picky eaters and I remember having lots of trouble getting her to eat at that age too. She liked her food, but she would get distracted and run off. Started feeding in her crate and no more problems. Some also put low sodium chicken broth, yogurt, pumpkin, or other toppings to get them eating. The only other thing is that I wouldn't feed raw and kibble at the same meal. Raw is great if it can digest quickly like it's designed to, but feeding with kibble slows down digestion and can cause upset. Maybe do raw in the morning and kibble at night. A completely raw diet has been great for my girl.

WHVs are considerably calmer indoors than smooth Vs, so you may find Olive does just fine around the office. Will you be crating her there? If so I'd really make it a priority to get her to love her crate. I'd also make sure not to give her constant attention throughout the day now, so she gets used to spending time on her own.
Prepare a lot of little pieces of treats, stick her on a lead, and sit down to read a book. If she tries to get your attention ignore her. As soon as she lies down, drop a treat, and calmly (so as not to excite her) say "good girl" or something. Do this for 15 minutes at a time or so a few times a day. Eventually you can give the action a cue, like "relax" or something. Just say that in the same tone as you would "good girl." Afterwards do something fun with her. You're teaching her that remaining calm is a good thing and leads to yummy treats, praise, and eventually playtime. 

I'm sure others will chime in, but do let us know if you have any other questions. There are tons of threads out there, so try the search function too. Don't forget the puppy pictures! That's the real reason we all stick around.


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## Reannabow (Dec 23, 2013)

thank you for your advice both of you its really helpful,- will definitely try the reading a book thingy it sounds like a plan. The only thing is at the minute there isn't really a treat she likes- she is so fussy! Thanks for the raw/ kibble tip - we have just been feeding her raw today and she seems to favour this but she still doesn't finish anything yet.

I guess the key is ignoring them a bit but it's so hard I just want to play with her and shower her with affection! Wil post some pics after this post as my iPad is being a bit weird

Thanks

Xx


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## Reannabow (Dec 23, 2013)

Here is some pics of our Olive xx


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## solefald (May 16, 2013)

Please make sure you are feeding a balanced raw diet that includes bones and organs.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I would plan on taking her for a run/walk before work, and at lunch time.


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## Reannabow (Dec 23, 2013)

solefald said:


> Please make sure you are feeding a balanced raw diet that includes bones and organs.


thanks - my husband is on this. We were feeding her the dry food and have just started on the raw- we're off to the butchers tomorrow to get a mixture of offal and bones- yum!


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## Reannabow (Dec 23, 2013)

TexasRed said:


> I would plan on taking her for a run/walk before work, and at lunch time.


Hello- yes planning on thus but most likely after work for the run. There is a cocker spaniel in the office do you think they will get on ok.


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Plan on lots of exercise to chill her out - after work might work, but Savannah and I take lots of little walks throughout the day. We used a crate initially, but eventually transitioned to any piece of fabric that I point to and say 'Rug!'. Savannah does sit in my lap when I am reading email or doing other reasonably passive computer work. She goes to her rug anytime I am replying or talking to someone. Your productivity will suffer until you reach some kind of equilibrium with her. Plan for it - don't get frustrated - and you'll minimize the adjustment time.


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## Reannabow (Dec 23, 2013)

jld640 said:


> Plan on lots of exercise to chill her out - after work might work, but Savannah and I take lots of little walks throughout the day. We used a crate initially, but eventually transitioned to any piece of fabric that I point to and say 'Rug!'. Savannah does sit in my lap when I am reading email or doing other reasonably passive computer work. She goes to her rug anytime I am replying or talking to someone. Your productivity will suffer until you reach some kind of equilibrium with her. Plan for it - don't get frustrated - and you'll minimize the adjustment time.


Thanks- your advice is really appreciated.

She doesn't have a crate at home do u think a crate at work will freak her out? how long do u crate her for? I'm not sure I can crate at work was thinking more of a bed.

There is a cocker spaniel in our office do u think they will get on?


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## wbavos (Oct 18, 2013)

Reannabow said:


> Here is some pics of our Olive xx


Olive is so cute! Good luck with her training for the office!


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Savannah uses a bed now, so I know a bed can work. I don't know how long it takes a puppy to learn to stay in a bed, so you may have a longer transition time than we did. I think a crate at work but not at home can work if you make the crate a good place, but that may be more trouble than it is worth if you already have the 'bed' concept under control. 

Savannah doesn't know any cocker spaniels, but she gets along with nice dogs of every breed she has met. She doesn't get along with dogs that are not nice or that have owners that are uninvolved. Beware of any owner who says 'let the dogs work it out'. They may be fine if they know a lot about dogs, but novices won't know when to intervene. YOU have to be ready to intervene if the other owner doesn't.

One last comment about using a bed instead of a crate at the office. Savannah started coming to work as a puppy, so ALL paper and paper products (cardboard, boxes, TP, etc.) were off limits from the beginning. She learned the concept of 'LEAVE IT' from paper. Remember, your puppy doesn't know the difference between junk mail and a check. I recommend you either train her that paper is off limits or never leave her alone with anything important.


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

oh she is gorgeous! Who's her breeder, if you don't mind me asking? 

I'm in the US, but I've heard from UK folks that Morrisons is the place to go for good deals on meat/organs. 

I feel like I'm the official spokeswoman for saying this all the time now, but if you're on facebook, check out the Vizslas, Raw and Natural group for great info on holistic care and raw diets and the Wirehaired Vizsla group. 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/277508778962425/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/4306187343/


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## GarysApollo (Nov 27, 2012)

Olive is beautiful!


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## Reannabow (Dec 23, 2013)

thank you all for your advice and nice words about olive 

We got her from a working dog family in Bristol (UK) that use the dogs for bird hunting.

I am going to get the crate for work and keep it at work only- should be good for her by my desk- hopefully this should be a good start. due to the Xmas holidays it won't arrive until after Xmas but should give me 4/5 days with the crate at home before trying her in it at work.

Another question- the 'bark prevention' collars- are these as awful as they sound or does anyone recommend using them for a Barky dog? they look really mean but wanted to check with the experts.....

Rx


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

> Another question- the 'bark prevention' collars- are these as awful as they sound or does anyone recommend using them for a Barky dog? they look really mean but wanted to check with the experts.....


here is a you tube clip about the best use of a bark collar IMO.

http://youtu.be/2x4YY4iCh_I

I am a firm believer in the intelligent use of a high-quality training collar for dogs over a year old.

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2010/01/enjoying-open-space-after-storm.html

I have an issue with a bark collar.

I'd rather have my dog bark than bite.

Great commercial from the Super Bowl in 2010.

Wait a bit but look into a good training collar and LEARN how to use it properly.

Merry Christmas


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I wouldn't use bark collar on a young pup.
My Vs are vocal when happy, the correction would be at the wrong time.
Plus I wouldn't want one of them to receive a correction, when all they were doing was alerting me they needed to go outside.
I'm not saying I'm totally against bark collars, but I surely would limit the use of them.


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

I'm against a bark collar. But we do have ecollars and many are against those. IMO you should be able to train around the barking. i.e. When the dog hears someone at your door, they are just doing their job by alerting you. You then need to train the dog the time at which no more barking is needed. We tell Dozer "thank you" and sometimes to "come" and he's usually done barking then. This was trained with treats. If he continues now to bark, correction, bec he's knows what's expected. Our trainer has a GSD which we all know is a guard dog by nature soo his dog is trained to stop barking, or continue barking, or run down an intruder based on command. 

If the dog is barking during play bec they are excited, you can try just ignoring/stopping play, when the barking starts.

Good luck.


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## Reannabow (Dec 23, 2013)

Thanks everyone for the advice

Got the crate on order for the office. since I wrote we have taken her to my parents and my aunts house and she is much mellower so hoping shell be ok in the office- but still looking into the training collars.

She is so amazing - loving her even more each day!

Merry Christmas to everyone and every dog xxxxx


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

The E -collar is great - only good if the pup has 2 know the commands - takes at least a year - just a long way correction - eye contact & my V is under my control !!!!!!!!


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