# 9-week vizsla in a big city... can we handle it?



## Rmt123 (Aug 13, 2020)

Hey! We recently welcomed an 9-week old vizsla to our family, and live in New York. We did a lot of research prior, and thought about the decision for almost 2 years. Still, in the first week and a half we are realizing how much work it is.

We are very active people, take her out many times a day. She is slowly potty training and has general puppy crazies, but generally is very well behaved. Still, we are questioning whether we can handle her and provide her the life she needs based on these first days. 24/7 attention is required and it’s truly a full time job.

We do love her, and are trying to be the best owners we can be. In that spirit though, want to also be sure we are being fair to her.

Anyone who has raised a vizsla in New York or a big city, does it get easier? Is there a balance of personal and dog that can be found?

Would love any thoughts!


----------



## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Rmt123| 
Congrat's on your new girl!!
I personally have never done it, but I used to take my dogs to Brookline when I visited family in Boston, Coolidge Corner, and there were quite a few city dwellers with Vizslas at the park.
Is it going to take more work? sure it will, but lots and lots of people have done it successfully. 
Vizslas are a lot of work in the beginning, regardless of being in the city, or the country, but I promise you, they're worth the wait. 
As to the balance of "personal, and dog", expect your Vizlsa to become your "personal dog". 

If she is in a loving home, where she is a valued member of the family, and she is not neglected or abused, then you are being fair to her. She will adapt to you.


----------



## Rmt123 (Aug 13, 2020)

gunnr said:


> Rmt123|
> Congrat's on your new girl!!
> I personally have never done it, but I used to take my dogs to Brookline when I visited family in Boston, Coolidge Corner, and there were quite a few city dwellers with Vizslas at the park.
> Is it going to take more work? sure it will, but lots and lots of people have done it successfully.
> ...


Thanks so much, this is helpful. “Personal dog” is completely okay and why we were so drawn to the vizsla breed.. but it is just a lot of work round now. Good to hear that’s not unique to us.


----------



## Frida010 (Apr 24, 2020)

Rmt123 said:


> Hey! We recently welcomed an 9-week old vizsla to our family, and live in New York. We did a lot of research prior, and thought about the decision for almost 2 years. Still, in the first week and a half we are realizing how much work it is.
> 
> We are very active people, take her out many times a day. She is slowly potty training and has general puppy crazies, but generally is very well behaved. Still, we are questioning whether we can handle her and provide her the life she needs based on these first days. 24/7 attention is required and it’s truly a full time job.
> 
> ...


City apartment (tiny tiny urban garden) Vizsla Fred here, not New York but downtown Rotterdam. She just turned 16 weeks and I can say that I have felt the same when she was 9 weeks old. Walks around the block however are very exciting (and a bit scary) at that age. But allowing her to sniff and explore works their mind. I started working on the “leave it” command early (you’re gonna need it, walking around in urban areas).

We started taking Fred out of the city in the weekends for off leash moments. And sometimes in the evening too, maybe once a week. And with class another evening she was pretty much tired for the rest of the week.

Honestly, we might be lucky and got “a lazy one” but we crate her for several hours during the day, which gives me time for myself. We can leave her alone in the crate for about 2-3 hours now. 
During the day, I bring her to work and she is crated most of the day. I take her for small potty walks only. After that 30 mins of play time, or explore the office and then back to her create to sleep. She gets off leash time in the evening (when we go to the park nearby). I do train at least 15 minutes a day with her. And we play a lot of hide and seek indoors, as well as other indoor games.

I felt things slowly began to click after 12 weeks. I know her potty scedule now, and know what she needs if she whines. I also found that her brains started understanding everything a bit better, which made our communication better. She’s still having accidents at the office every now and then.

I hate that I have to drive everywhere to get some nature, but that’s what it takes. We’re planning to move in a few years anyway.


----------



## Rmt123 (Aug 13, 2020)

Frida010 said:


> City apartment (tiny tiny urban garden) Vizsla Fred here, not New York but downtown Rotterdam. She just turned 16 weeks and I can say that I have felt the same when she was 9 weeks old. Walks around the block however are very exciting (and a bit scary) at that age. But allowing her to sniff and explore works their mind. I started working on the “leave it” command early (you’re gonna need it, walking around in urban areas).
> 
> We started taking Fred out of the city in the weekends for off leash moments. And sometimes in the evening too, maybe once a week. And with class another evening she was pretty much tired for the rest of the week.
> 
> ...


Thanks so much for this Fred, really helpful and good to hear you were feeling similar things when Fred was younger. Even today is a noticeable improvement from last few days (granted there will be ups and downs), but feeling better about being able to do this based on your post!


----------



## Frida010 (Apr 24, 2020)

Rmt123 said:


> Thanks so much for this Fred, really helpful and good to hear you were feeling similar things when Fred was younger. Even today is a noticeable improvement from last few days (granted there will be ups and downs), but feeling better about being able to do this based on your post!


Just let me know if you have anything about city life with a V you would like to discuss! I’m +7 weeks ahead without all the right answers but definitely with the experience of +7 weeks 😉


----------



## Rmt123 (Aug 13, 2020)

Frida010 said:


> Just let me know if you have anything about city life with a V you would like to discuss! I’m +7 weeks ahead without all the right answers but definitely with the experience of +7 weeks 😉


Amazing, will absolutely do that. Thanks!


----------



## jovellanosj (Feb 1, 2020)

My Vizsla now is 8 months and we live in an apartment on second floor in Los Angeles. We’ve had him since 8 weeks.

Up to 6 months, we bought artificial pee grass from Amazon to keep in our complex to help train him. Around 5-6 months we eased him between the lawn and the fake grass since he can hold it for longer periods. We no longer have the fake grass as he lets us know when he needs to pee.

Exercise wise we jog him everyday atleast 1hr. Every night we walk him for 15-30 mins . Once every 2 weeks he goes to doggy daycare to socialize and also take him to dog parks once in awhile. we camp and hike and we take him as much as we can. 

We stopped using the crate at 6 months and let him roam. His favorite spot is his dog bed next to the couch. He sleeps with us as night.

As long as he gets his exercise he doesn’t destroy the house. He has plenty of chew toys.

once we are confident his obedience training is 100% , we plan on getting a second to keep him company.

long story short, it could work.. but takes effort


----------



## Rmt123 (Aug 13, 2020)

jovellanosj said:


> My Vizsla now is 8 months and we live in an apartment on second floor in Los Angeles. We’ve had him since 8 weeks.
> 
> Up to 6 months, we bought artificial pee grass from Amazon to keep in our complex to help train him. Around 5-6 months we eased him between the lawn and the fake grass since he can hold it for longer periods. We no longer have the fake grass as he lets us know when he needs to pee.
> 
> ...


Okay that's good to know. Jogging c. 1hr and then a night time walk is totally doable and fits nicely in with my schedule anyways. Thanks for the detail on crate training v bed too, super helpful. Do you leave him in the crate when you leave the apartment without him?


----------



## ilovebjk6 (Jun 6, 2018)

I live in Westchester county, but all 3 of my sons have lived in NYC at some point and have seen a surprising number of vizslas there, so i guess it can be done successfully!

If you have a car, you can take a drive up on weekends to some of the lovely parks we have in Westchester. Some even allow dogs to be off leash.


----------



## jovellanosj (Feb 1, 2020)

Rmt123 said:


> Okay that's good to know. Jogging c. 1hr and then a night time walk is totally doable and fits nicely in with my schedule anyways. Thanks for the detail on crate training v bed too, super helpful. Do you leave him in the crate when you leave the apartment without him?


When he was under 4 months we would leave him in the crate. Around 4 months we would let him roam with the option of his crate open so that he can go in there as he pleased. His crate was somewhere near the front door because we knew who would stay by there and wait for us. 

We tested it out in small doses.. first we left for 30 minute errand.. then 1 hour.. and built up to a couple of hours based on his age (we have to be mindful of how long he can hold his pee at specific ages). Days he didn't get exercised before we left, he was destructive. If we exercised him first, he would nap in his crate or somewhere in the room until we got home. 

We also bought a camera to watch him when we left (it had a mic). Though the mic didn't really help, it would occasionally work to randomly say NO on the mic and he would stop lol


----------



## rubicon (Dec 9, 2019)

I’ll share my experiences without judging whether this is generalizable to other people:

My boy was born on a horse farm, and moved to the burbs (apartment) with us when he was 10 weeks old. He had access to a forest and a park within 5 minutes walk which is extremely luxurious. We used to take him on many many long hikes. He quickly became a very well trained dog.

We’ve taken him on some field trips to big cities, once to Prague and now we’re in the middle of London. he’s done alright so far but I do notice his training slipping, possible due to the lack of a big green space for him to really go on long hikes and not gonna lie, walking him has become a little annoying. Pulling on the leash. All of his hunting training is becoming slack, etc.

We’ll be moving to London soon (just on a flat hunt now) and got a flat near a huge 400 acre public park (lots and lots of off leash dogs there. It’s quite amazing! Go deeper into the park and there’s no one there ), so that should be solved in good time.

So my experience is: He can do fine in an apartment. Didn’t need a yard AS LONG AS he had enough exercise. IMO, though, that might be hard to get in a big city. He’s a bit hyperactive and annoying in a big city. London is actually amazing for green space but still not ideal. Not sure about other cities.


----------

