# Getting different answers about vizslas and I am torn



## Mandi4hm (Jun 25, 2010)

Hi, my name is Mandi and I am new to the Vizsla forum and going to potentially be a new Vizsla owner. I do not have any experience with the breed. I have just seen the dogs and they are beautiful. My husband and I are ready to add a second dog to our household and I have been trying to do as much research as possible on Vizslas. I have even contacted a few breeders, but I am getting conflicting messages from breeders and owners, and I am now torn on whether or not I should make a Vizsla part of our family.

We currently have a 1 1/2 year old boxer that is energetic, loves to play, and will sit in your lap at any given opportunity. We are interested in the Vizsla because a female would be about the same size as our boxer, would be playful, good with children, and like water (we have a swimming pool). Our yard is about 6000 sq ft and has a 6' fence surrounding it. My husband and I do work full-time and we are gone M-F from 8am until 5:30 or 6pm. We are home on the weekends. Two breeders I have spoken with have said that a Vizsla would be a great addition to our home. I was concerned with the whole separation anxiety thing.... we never had that problem with our boxer and we got her when she was only 8 weeks old. She crate trained just fine within about 2 weeks, and she never barked, howled, or cried while we were gone. Our neighbors have said that they didn't even know we had a dog until they saw us walking her one day. Two breeders have said that they don't see separation anxiety during the day being a problem since we already have a dog that is used to our routine. I have been told that the Vizsla will bond with my husband and I, but also with our boxer. I do expect they typical puppy chewing and potentially some digging, but I don’t want to dog that is super anxious when I’m at work. It would not be fair to the dog, plus it would probably make my boxer anxious as well.

So basically the gist is, that two breeders have said that mine and my husbands schedules are not a problem and that with appropriate training and exercise we should be fine. However, another breeder and a Vizsla owner that my boss knows both flat out said that if I can’t take the dog to work with me, or work out of my house then to just forget about owning this breed of dog. How is it possible that I am getting such different answers? All of the breeders are reputable and offer a 3 year health guarantee, as well as a clause in the contract about contacting them first if I cannot keep my Vizsla at any time. Does anyone else with this breed have any thoughts? I realize that some of the answers may just be opinion, but I want to make the right decision.


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## Mercutio (Jan 18, 2010)

Hi Mandi,

I think there have been other posts to the forum on the same topic so have a look around. My recollection is that most people felt that working all week does not preclude you from having a V but you need to do some planning on how to keep everyone happy. Having another dog sounds like a bonus to me, specially if she is happy with her life.

My husband and I work, away from home, 9-5 Mon-Fri and yes we had to come up with some solutions to keep our V busy (activity balls, bones, toys etc) but he has been fine. 

The first six months is tricky though and you will have to work out how to get through it. I came home at lunchtime every day, other people have used dog walker or doggy day care. 

This is also my first V, and apart from the odd set-back now and then (which you'd get with all dogs) I am loving it. He is the most beautiful dog in the world!

I'm sure other, more experince V owners here will have lots of good advice for you.


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## sarahaf (Aug 17, 2009)

Our vizsla is not alone that long, so I can't speak from personal experience. She panicked at first with crate training (major hissy fit), but now when we leave her for as long as 3-4 hours, she only quietly whines when crated, and we come home to find her asleep and happy. I might expect it to be tough at first, would be ideal to have some time off when you first get the dog, or a pet sitter who can be with the dog initially, if needed, while you work on crate training and adjustment to gradually lengthening periods of separation. But as long as you're prepared that a young vizsla might give you a really hard time about separation, and remind yourself when you're going through it that it's a stage and an adjustment issue, I expect the dog would adapt. The people who give you advice otherwise may have dogs that never were expected to adjust to separation, so they never made that adjustment. IMHO, having another dog makes a world of difference.

P.S. another thing we have done--which may not be necessary if you have another dog for company--is to enroll Rosie in a playgroup for half the day. That helps keep her exercised and it gives us a break. I'm not saying that you would have to do that, but it would be an option to keep in mind if you were having trouble at first. Again, long run, my bet is your dog would do fine.


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## Pineapple Princess (Nov 20, 2009)

My husband and I have an 8-month old and we work normal business hours M-F. 

We have managed this through Doggie Day Camp (Tues and Thurs at least, sometimes 3 days per week) which she loves. On the opposite days we let Hobie go for a long romp off leash at the dog park or a nice walk after work.

First month I worked from home a lot and we had pet sitters come also.

It can work but know that you probably won't come home from a hard day at work and have a peaceful lounge on the couch, beer in hand, while your V lays down and snoozes after having been crated all day.

We are very active and take Hobie almost everywhere with us.


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## Bernie.B (Dec 1, 2009)

These dogs do need a lot of attention. We also work M-F, gone at 7am, back at 430pm. There was no way we could possibly leave the dog in the kennel all day, so we hired a dog sitter/walker to come over from 11-12 every day during the week. This provides our dog with a much needed break from his kennel, plus gets him the exercise he desperately needs. It is a huge cost added to owning the dog, but if you want a happy dog, you need to consider this. When we are home, it's pretty much all about the dog at this stage. Your life will definitely change owning a dog like this, and you need to be prepared to devote a huge amount of time to it. Other than that, our dog seems perfectly content with this schedule.


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## Mischa (Feb 17, 2010)

I was also concerned about the hours our Mischa would have to be alone. For the first 3 months, I've been crating her from 8:45am until about 12/1pm to which I'd be home on my lunch break to feed and walk her for an hour, then crate her for another 2 hours until Dennis gets home from work. We'd leave toys, kongs with a little bit of peanut butter and fruit stuffed inside, nyla bone, sometimes bully stick, etc. 

She's 6 months old now and we have been working on letting her out of the crate while we are out as per our trainer's suggestion. Last week we let her out for 15 minutes and it was a success. The following day another 15, then 30, then an hour and on Sunday an hour long on two separate occasions that day. Anyway, we tried letting her out on her own for 2 hours yesterday after I walked her on my lunch break and it was great. 

Anyway, to make a long story short, she was fine with being crated for most of the day. Of course, we'd make up for it in the evening by taking her for another walk, then letting her run off leash. Also, according to our neighbours and the cleaners in our condo, she barked for a few days the first couple of weeks week but it slowly got better.

The fact that you have another dog I think is really, really great for your V. It will be fine Mandi.


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## Crazy Kian (Aug 10, 2009)

Our guy is 16 months old now and when we brought him home he settled in pretty easily.
He crate trained and house broken in not time. 
Now upto when he was 6 months old we would come home at lunch to let him out, play and eat. We would try and spend about an hour with him.
A month later we decided to add a dog walker twice a week, tuesday and thursday. Most days this helps, some days he seems like he has still has tonnes of energy.
Do they require alot of attention, yes. They always want to be around you.
Will he/she have separation anxiety - hard to say, every dog is different.

As long as you put in the time and effort and give it the attention it deserves you will be fine.

Good luck.


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