# Advice and Reassurance for first time V owner!!



## sarahlee (Sep 24, 2017)

Hi All :smile

My partner and I are first time puppy owners as well as first time Vizsla puppy owners (possibly crazy I know). After my beloved family Springer Spaniel passed years ago, I was desperate to get my own pup as soon as I settled down with my own house. After having a Springer, I knew I wanted a gun dog so researched many different breeds until I eventually found the Vizsla. After months/year of research we finally decided to take the plunge. 

We now own a 12 week old male V, called Loki. After reading some threads on here, perhaps I did not do enough research on breeders. But we got him from a lovely family, not breeders as such, the bitch was a lovely temperament and we essentially wanted a Vizsla as a pet (maybe we will show him/agility in the future but that isn't why we got him). 

Basically, knowing the energy levels of the breed...I was keen to get training and nipping any unwanted behaviour in the bud from the minute we brought Loki home. He was 10 weeks when we got him. Had been brought up in a house environment with his mother and siblings. 

We are crate training him, he has a schedule that we stick to daily as I am aware that CONSISTENCY is KEY with a puppy! As well as a lot of PATIENCE! 

Generally he is so lovely, very affectionate as you would expect. But his craziness does get a bit much sometimes. I do boundary training with him to teach him calmness. Seems to be working....he will go and sit on his bed off his own accord now and sit there quietly. But we can't leave him in the living room at all. He just grabs cushions, the sofa, blankets, coasters and will NOT let go....even though he knows, and has learnt the command "drop it" and "leave it" ....sometimes he is selective in when he chooses to listen. Same in the garden when destroying the plants, he is having way too much fun with that, so saying these commands goes in one ear and out the other, he can't even be lured away with treats or toys. 

Similar problems with biting and tugging our clothes!! He has put holes in so many things  ...This will happen when he is excited to see us, or if he wants our attention! I try to ignore it (but essentially I don't want holes in anymore clothes), tell him "leave it" and "drop it" but he doesn't listen, try to redirect him onto a chew toy (works occasionally..could be fluke)! 

He also has what we call "CRAZY HOUR" between 5pm - 8pm every evening! His pupils dilate, he doesn't listen to ANYTHING, he humps, bites things, as well as us (which hurts, and the usual yelping at him doesn't deter him when he is in this mood) Ive tried doing things to calm him down, or tried burning off his energy in the garden and on a walk....at the moment it just seems to be a case of enduring it. My questions are...

Is this normal V puppy behaviour? Do I allow it/accept it because he is just a pup after all? Is there anything I can do? 

He goes on three 15-20min walks a day at the moment (I've been advised not to take him any longer as his bones etc aren't developed enough yet), he plays in the garden, we always interact with him with toys and mental stimulation games when he is not napping. So he is using his energy as much as possible during the day.

I am aware he is only a pup at the moment and these things take time. But he is still very clingy. We get him used to being in his crate for about 2hours at a time during the day, he normally sleeps, sometimes he will settle quickly and other times he will bark and whine. But essentially I want him to be ok about being left. I'm at home during the day, my partner works...but there will be times where we obviously need to go out and leave him for a short period and I don't want him to be distressed about us going out. He gets distressed at the moment even if we leave the room. Will this improve as he gets older? What can I do to help? 

Does anyone have any advice on any of these things? 

Sorry for long post, but I have a lot of queries and questions!! I look forward to hearing all your experiences and gaining some advice and/reassurance! 

Sarah xx


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Is this normal V puppy behaviour? Do I allow it/accept it because he is just a pup after all? Is there anything I can do? 

It is normal behavior for a puppy his age.
You just keep working with him.
If you need to do something for a hour, or so. Just crate him, and go do it. It's not going to hurt him. It will help him learn that you will be back.


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## sarahlee (Sep 24, 2017)

Ok great, that is reassuring. Thank you for your reply texasred. Ill keep doing what I'm doing.


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## sandiegov (May 31, 2016)

It is totally normal. Our dog's nickname was gator when he was a puppy.😜 I honestly thought I had an aggressive dog. His craziness happened when he was over tired or over excited. The yelping did not work for me, he would get more excited. So instead I would slowly walk away from him. The good news is that the nipping seems to stop at about 5 months old. Hang in there, it will get better.


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## pez999 (Apr 22, 2017)

Like everyone said, definitely normal puppy behavior! I remember when Bandi was that age and would literally try to bite on everything he saw and pick anything and everything up. It took a lot of patience and keeping a close eye on him...especially outside lol. Just lot of 'no's and sticking toys in house mouth instead of things he shouldn't be chewing on. They definitely grow out of it and the more often you reinforce, the sooner I'd think. Ours stopped a month later or so....but not before he made holes in my pajamas and socks of course


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## sarahlee (Sep 24, 2017)

sandiegov said:


> It is totally normal. Our dog's nickname was gator when he was a puppy.😜 I honestly thought I had an aggressive dog. His craziness happened when he was over tired or over excited. The yelping did not work for me, he would get more excited. So instead I would slowly walk away from him. The good news is that the nipping seems to stop at about 5 months old. Hang in there, it will get better.


In the last week he has got so much worse :| but is reassuring to hear that its not something wrong with him or something I'm doing, and they clearly all go through this stage! His biting does seem a little aggressive at times, and biting is getting stronger. Yelping also isn't working for us. When we walk away he just barks at us! We are struggling to find chew toys he likes, the ones he does like is because they are too soft for his teeth and he ends up chewing them so much and eating the plastic!! So we have had to throw them away. 

I have lost my patience with him way too many times recently :sad which definitely isn't helping! 

What can I do to entertain him, and myself daily?? Id walk him more but not even enjoying that because he just pulls the whole time! Ive tried methods to stop pulling but having no luck as he is too distracted! 

We are taking him to a puppy class on the weekend with someone that has been highly recommended. So fingers crossed he may be able to point me in the right direction with training! Getting desperate!!


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## pez999 (Apr 22, 2017)

sarahlee said:


> In the last week he has got so much worse :| but is reassuring to hear that its not something wrong with him or something I'm doing, and they clearly all go through this stage! His biting does seem a little aggressive at times, and biting is getting stronger. Yelping also isn't working for us. When we walk away he just barks at us! We are struggling to find chew toys he likes, the ones he does like is because they are too soft for his teeth and he ends up chewing them so much and eating the plastic!! So we have had to throw them away.
> 
> I have lost my patience with him way too many times recently :sad which definitely isn't helping!
> 
> ...


For walking (until he learns to walk like a good boy) we use the gentle leader, it's really great and works like a charm. At first he tried to take it off but got used to it after the first few times. It really is amazing when you really gotta take him somewhere where he needs a leash and walk around a lot. It doesn't help in learning to walk without pulling at all, but it's good when you need it.

For the biting, I know some people use spray bottles filled with water and spray at the dog when he snips or bites and doesn't listen. I personally didn't have to use it but I've seen it work, it startles the dog enough to get distracted with a toy or something else. For me it was a lot of firm and stern "NO"s. If replacing my hand or foot with a toy wasn't working, I'd just get up and walk away and ignore. And if he kept following and biting at my ankles, I would put my hand over his mouth from the top (kind of like when you try to take something out of their mouth that shouldn't be there) and push in the skin of his lips so he'd bite on that...he'd stop pretty fast as he realized how sharp his little teeth were.

For occupying and entertaining, we got the kong wobbler and put some treats in it. Definitely entertains him to this day and was fun to watch him figure out how to get the treats out. Training and teaching tricks helps to mentally tire them out. Indoors I'd close the door at the end of hallways and sit at the opposite end and throw tennis ball down the hall and he'd run and bring it back and get a treat. At that age Bandi slept a LOT though so it wasn't very hard to entertain. If you know anyone with a puppy you could plan play dates even. Puppy classes should definitely help.


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## Betty (Apr 14, 2016)

"He is still very clingy": Stood out to me, Vizslas are clingy, they will sit on you, next to you, want to be with you ALL THE TIME. They are clingy their whole lives, we love that trait. As far as leaving them, they need to become confident that you will return and they will be okay...it take time, patience, and try not to yell at them! Your pup sound like a normal pup in my experience, things will get better - hang in there, your one year old Vizsla will be wonderful.


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## sarahlee (Sep 24, 2017)

Betty said:


> "He is still very clingy": Stood out to me, Vizslas are clingy, they will sit on you, next to you, want to be with you ALL THE TIME. They are clingy their whole lives, we love that trait. As far as leaving them, they need to become confident that you will return and they will be okay...it take time, patience, and try not to yell at them! Your pup sound like a normal pup in my experience, things will get better - hang in there, your one year old Vizsla will be wonderful.


Sorry, perhaps wrong choice of words! One of the reasons I went for the breed was because of that, I love how much he loves cuddles. I think I was referring to his confidence in us leaving him. He is getting better though. Its more when he is excited and wants to play, that even if i pop out the room to go to the bathroom he is non stop barking and whining! With a few clever games he is learning to stay put on his bed when we leave the room rather than run towards the door! 

I think the next few months are likely to be the hardest from what everyone is saying. I just need to remember to BREATH!


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## baldyman71 (Oct 9, 2017)

We also have a young Vizlsa pup Bodhi of a similar age 13 weeks and he is very similar in character. However, he does settle down in the evening sleeping in his bed in the living room with us. We have introduced clicker training with loads of positive reinforcement and he is responding really well to loose lead walking. However a simple leaf blowing on the pavement or a dog walking up the other side of the street become much more exciting. There is plenty of advice on YouTube. I recommend Zak George blogs. Biting is pretty normal in Bodhi too especially shoes and laces and trouser legs. We play lots of tug and fetch with him and he is already walking approx 30 -40 mins on walks plus little walks around the block when training. My view is he needs to burn off the energy or he will be climbing the walls. I recommend pigs ears too when you want your pup to sit and chew so you can get on with chores or have a cuppa and 5 mins peace. Don't loose faith. They are so loyal and loving.


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## MikoMN (Nov 29, 2016)

I just designed a t shirt for new Vizsla owners.











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