# Vizsla vs German Shorthaired Pointers



## rickster

Greetings, I realize that this is a Vizsla Forum but I'm hoping you can help me decide. I am looking for a good all around hunting dog. I would like this dog to be a family member, hiking and hunting companion. I already have two dogs. A German Shepherd and a Cattle dog mix. Both are rescues and they are getting on in years. How does the Vizsla compare with a GSP as a house dog and hunting companion. I have heard really good things about both dogs. I am just a recreational beginner hunter. Although I do a lot of hiking in the local mountains. We are located in San Diego CA.. I would also consider and almost prefer a rescue dog. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Rick


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## threefsh

Ozkar can help you make this decision as he currently has a GSP & two Vizslas. 

If you are looking for a Vizsla rescue, the Southern CA Vizsla rescue is a good place to start. It's run by the breeder of our pup Riley - Julie from Rusty Dog Ranch.

http://www.socalvizslarescue.org/


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## redbirddog

Rick,
My friend Ken just took in a 2 year old female here in Northern California. Maybe contact 
Vizsla Rescue Haven also here in Northern California.

In "The Right Dog for You" the GSP and Vizsla are compared.

Under in door activity the GSP was ranked VERY HIGH

Under the indoor activity for the Vizlsa it was rated HIGH.

Under out door activity they both are rated VERY HIGH>

Many posts about Vizslas on my blog that takes place 95% of the time in California.

Do lots of research.

RBD
http://redbirddog.blogspot.com


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## hobbsy1010

Hi Rick and welcome to the forum 
Second what threefsh posted, Ozkar's your 'Man', two male vizsla's and a female GSP Zsa-Zsa  
I think you will get some real good feed back and opinion's from him when he's on line, that you could take on board 

We to looked into these two breeds when we were looking to get a new dog, we are soooo happy we chose a 'V'  

Good luck, keep posting 

Hobbsy


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## datacan

Let me put it this way... If you had a GSP you could get a Vizsla, but if you had a Vizsla, you wouldn't get a GSP.

Only my opinion,
Julius


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## Ozkar

Hi and welcome. As others have mentioned I own both. Two males V's and a female GSP. My GSP was a rescue also. But, from the history we can gather, she was bred specifically for hunting and was bred rather small for a GSP. SO potentially her workings might be slightly different. But, I will share what I see as the differences from what i have seen in mine and also from friends with other GSP's.

To me, there are more similarities than there are differences between the two. Taking out personalities, as all three are very different and also perhaps removing some of the instinct comments as the boys are much younger than the pointer is. 

My GSP will tend to want to range a lot further in front when out bush walking, or walking a field of birds. She is however, much easier to control once on point.

My V's will be a lot closer and tend to listen more to me when finding the birds, but then once on point, control is harder.

Once again, I think a little of this is the age of the boys, Astro is only just a year and Ozkar is 16 months. So they will develop further as they mature and I havn't really put a lot of time into getting them steady.

I might also point out that I am not a trained hunter as such and neither have the dogs been. It's just what they and I have worked out together almost naturally.

All three are totally bird focussed. The mere mention of the word has all three of them doing circles to try to find them. So prey drive is very strong in both from what I see.

Being a female, my GSP is both a little more stubborn at times, but also way more compliant at times too, if that makes sense. It just depends on if she has her game face on or not.

The V's and the GSP both are about as soft as each other in terms of command sensitivity. Either will get snakey with me if I am too harsh with the words.

The pointer is probably the stronger and more reliable retriever, but i attribute that more to her additional maturity than anything else. She wasn't as reliable when I first got her. 

She is also a more high energy dog than the V's are, but once again, this has really only become evident recently, as she reaches towards 2 years old. 6 months ago, she was a little less highly wired. The boys may get to and perhaps surpass her energy level going on the increases I have seen recently. But only time will tell for sure.

Intelligence wise, I think the Vizsla has a marginally more switched on mind. Zsa Zsa can miss the point some times when training. It can take a little longer to get it through to her, where as, the boys catch on very quickly. Not a large difference though and sometimes the boys are too smart for there own good.

Either way you go I think for a hunting dog, when choosing between the two breeds, it's more a case of which dog has it in between their ears and which doesn't, more than a GSP or V thing, if that makes sense?? 

The only other additional advantage............. Vizslas are chick magnets!


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## leihan

My partner would agree with Ozkar regarding babe magnet !!! As a pet i can say percy was so quick at basic training. His hunt is for balls but the focus is amazing .


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## kristen

I am not a hunter, but have had both as family dogs. My family got a GSP rescue when I was 10 years old (he was 2), and he passed this past year at 21 years old. I am currently raising a male V who is 7.5 months old, so I can only comment in the differences so far. The GSP was more self sufficient, he was happy sleeping on a sofa with no one around, whereas my V is velcro. I can't go to the bathroom with out him following. I also found my GSP liked to be out in the yard on his own more, where my v only wants to run if you are with them. My GSP wasn't very affectionate, but that may be attributed to him being a rescue. All in all from a family standpoint, they were both amazing companions, and I would be hard pressed to choose for our next dog.


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