# New Member and new inherited vizsla owner



## craddock (Nov 10, 2010)

Hello,
My first post. I just inherited a 4 year old girl last night. This is my second dog with my first being a well bred Cocker that I hunted with. This Vizsla was sent off at 6 months for bird training and came back gun shy and timid. This may not be correctable and is not the purpose of taking her into my home(although it would be awesome if I could correct it). She appears under weight and has always been a picky eater. I will post in the appropriate section on that(she has not eaten since i have had her). She is overly mellow in the house which is much to my surprise and delight!

Don't have any real questions for this forum at this point but I wanted to say hello first before begging for information next. Thanks. Now off to learn how to train a 4 year old dog.

Josh


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## Keneomac (Oct 12, 2010)

Good luck Josh! I am sure everyone would be glad to give advice when needed! I know they have been great with my incessant questions!

K


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

She needs to settle in and get comfortable with her surroundings. This stage is pretty important. It will set the stage for your relationship going forward. Make her comfortable and set the appropriate boundaries. Reward good behavior and give her lots of love and attention. If done correctly she will be anything but "Mellow" ;D. Read up on the Vizsla mind. "They are smarter then most of their owners". I plagiarized that one. The way you handle this dog will definitely make a difference for both of you. The dog was probably trained/introduced to guns in a harsh or forcefull manner by someone who didn't understand the Vizsla. Please do not make the same mistake. Vizslas will most definitely do anything for your affection. A treat doesn't hurt either.  These dogs are amazing so don't sell her short. If you are truly her protector, master and buddy she will go out of her way to please you. The fear of the gun can be changed but you need to lay the foundation for the next 6 months and then work into it very slowly. Congrats. Looking back on this in a few years, you may realize that this adoption was best thing you ever did. Let us know how it goes.


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## craddock (Nov 10, 2010)

Thank you. I am not selling her short. Just don't want to have too high of expectations. She is very affectionate. I was working and I got out a pump shotgun and she seemed ok but cowered a bit when I racked the action. I just wanted to see if the mere sight scared her. No intention of shooting. If she is gonna hunt I have a year to work with her. Need to find some guides there. This is all happening kinda fast. I will scour the forums for info. I hope your right about looking back in a few years. I think that will be the case wether she hunts or not


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Craddock

Well done!
Give her time. Time to adjust and understand her new home and owners. Once she is calmed down and has become part of the household. Start taking her back out to the field. No shotgun, just nosing around.

Are you certain she is gun shy? I ask because I've had Vizslas that would slink into the next room if I brought out a shotgun in the house. In the field though they were completely solid. I guess they knew the shotgun was an "outdoor tool". 
Slowly start to use a "clap" to call her. Start out with a gentle clap, and work up to some real "Rock Concert" claps as time goes on. The loud report of the claps may help her over loud noises, and aid you to bridging the gap to get her less sensitive to shotguns.

As for the eating; She may be stressed out right now, or have an upset stomach. Try some cooked white rice, with some hamburger in it, and maybe a single Tagament.


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## craddock (Nov 10, 2010)

Well she is calmed down it seems, but I get your point. 

From what I understand she was doing real good at a hunting camp three years ago and then halfway through quit and became gun shy. Owners were not at camp. 

This dog has never eaten well. they kept a full bowl of food and it just nibbled here and there. I don't really want to do that if it is correctable. 

Thanks for the suggestions. I just got back form a walk and she ran right over to the neighbor who was using a finish nailer plus the compressor kicked on while she was there and all was good. Maybe I should build something to use all my air tools!


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## Big Rick (Apr 14, 2009)

When Dexter was a pup he would eat anything you put in front of him. Lately he had become very picky and you never knew if he would eat or not. One day we were in Petsmart and the Nutro rep was there. She recommended their venison flavor kibble. He's been a regular eater ever since. We feed them the Nutro Natural Choice Venison Meal and Whole Brown Rice food but I suspect any food with venison would be good. It's worth a shot! 

P.S. buy a small bag to start with.


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