# Observations of a new Vizsla owner



## tech_dog (Feb 20, 2013)

We've had our female Vizsla pup for 3 weeks now and I thought I'd mention some of my observations for anyone who may be considering a Vizsla. This forum was very helpful while I was choosing a V, and while I was making sure it was the right thing for me. I'm hoping some of these observations will be helpful to someone else making their decisions.

I'm an experienced dog owner and have always gotten good results with training and overall dog relationships. I've had dogs ranging from Great Danes to Border Terriers, but this is my first V. I don't pretend to be a V expert, but what's below reflect my observations on how our new girl has been different from other dogs I've owned. Feel free to add, correct, or whatever. Even in three weeks it's become obvious that this is indeed a very different dog.

1) A Vizsla is not a beginner dog. During the first 24 hours I saw our girl start down the path of almost ever bad behavior a dog can have. I think it surely takes an experienced hand to manage the high intensity Vizsla in a positive way, and recognize and stop the bad habits before they start. Learning the word "no" was very important, and she does a pretty good job of listening and remembering. 

2) Plan on spending just shy of 24/7 working with your new Vizsla puppy. From the moment Terra set foot in our house, she investigated every square inch of our home and every object in it. We spent hours setting the rules for what was chewable and what was not chewable, when it's OK to jump, when it's not, barking rules, digging rules, etc. Again, every moment was an opportunity to start a bad habit, and my home would have been destroyed by now if it wasn't for constant supervision. 

3) Crate training has gone very well, and has been very helpful. It took our 8 week old puppy one day before she learned to climb over 36" playpen walls, so don't bother trying that. We feed her in the crate, we've removed anything else around the house that's soft that she might want to sleep on, and we've only put her in the crate when she was ready for a nap or a meal. She likes her crate as a favorite place, goes into it willingly, and it allows us to control her elimination cycles.

4) This dog is intelligent and eager to please, more so than any other I've ever owned. It took us a week to train sit, down, come, stay, hush, and "go potty." Right now she does them "when she wants" but luckily that's most of the time. Discipline will come a bit later. She can be anywhere in our yard, but one yell of "come" and she's immediately sprinting, with huge enthusiasm, to see what you want. When I say "go potty" she'll actually fake pee if she doesn't have to go.

5) This dog probably isn't for a home with small kids. Each one of my older kids has had to manage their relationship with the V, and the V has challenged them, puppy style, to determine the pecking order. Even if you have older kids, you probably want to coach them to get them positioned properly. 

6) I've never had a more attentive or affectionate dog. She is always keying off the humans, and always wants to snuggle or play. Puppies at this stage can be frustrating, but I have to say I've never liked an 11 week old puppy more. 

7) Her favorite chew toys are a knotted rope chew toy, an unstuffed raccoon squeaky toy, bully sticks, the puppy kong, and a hard nylabone. She cycles around through each of them, depending on which teeth are itchy.

8) Vs are incredibly fast, athletic, and strong. Combine this with their curiosity, and they'll find their way into every corner of your home. Make sure you do a great job puppy proofing, as they'll climb, wiggle, jump, etc, into every cabinet, crevice, etc, to see what they can see.

9) Housebreaking is going slowly. All other training was so easy, with a new behavior learned in a single session, but the housebreaking is just now starting to click. I've had our other dogs trained in less than a week, but it's now the end of week 3 and she's just now starting to go outside on her own accord. She's almost as likely just to squat down on the kitchen floor if I'm not right there ready.

10) Terra is a bit of a bully towards our other dog. In her mind it's puppy play, but she's got so much energy and strength that she's overwhelmed our old Border Terrier. I was really hoping the dogs would work things out themselves, but I finally had to intervene and I now protect the poor old terrier. This is probably our biggest discipline issue, as I've had a lot of trouble eliminating the sneak attacks on the old dog. 

11) We've pretty much eliminated the "shark bites" towards humans but she'll still sneak in an "intentional accident" now and then, i.e. hold a chew toy up against someone and then nip through it. Our V has been a bit worse with the puppy nips that other dogs I've had, but not by a huge margin. The problem is that they're so strong and full of energy that the little nips get bigger very fast. I'm sure some on the forum will disagree, but I used the method where a nip results in me holding on to the lower jaw, and then nocking her off balance a bit. It doesn't hurt the dog, but she learns that a bite on a human hand isn't all that much fun.

12) V's are beautiful! 

I realize I'm still a very new V owner and that there's still a lot that "I don't know that I don't know," but I thought some of this might be useful for some other experienced dog owner who's trying to figure out if a V is for him. 3 weeks in things are going well, and I'm really enjoying the things that make a V different.

Regards,

T.


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## mlwindc (Feb 8, 2013)

Our vizsla was my first dog ever and my husband's first dog as a grown up -- we also have a 3 year old. Luckily, the three year old gave us great training for setting limits & boundaries quickly and also getting used to 24 hour supervision. Wilson's 8 months and I love him to pieces, even when he's being a naughty teenager and choosing "not" to listen.


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## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

What a helpful post! Oso is our first dog as adults and we weren't able to compare the puppy period to that of other breeds. 

Some of the things you described may just be your little girl's personality and some are probably distinctly vizsla. Oso was potty trained within days and I think a lot of that has to do with how the breeder started them out and then again also the individual pup.

It sounds like you have a smart, feisty and loving little V on your hand. The vizsla forums helped me so much through Oso's development and also just gave me a place to post about our V without oversaturating my friends. The people here are pretty much always interested in your cute V stories. Keep posting! I thoroughly enjoyed your observations.


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## purple_falafel (Oct 15, 2012)

I feel like i've tried every approach to the biting issue. You make me quite jealous! Barkley just turned 4 months last week and I feel behind in the game... and so do my arms.


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## FLgatorgirl (Mar 11, 2013)

Purple Falafel--

Have you tried a pocket sized spritzer bottle with water sprayed to the face? It was the ONLY thing that worked for us to stop the biting.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

#1... I agree the V is not a beginner dog, although, the learning curve is rather steep... I'm sure it would be a very rewarding experience in the end. Trick is to keep the dog close and dedicate time to let the relationship develop. It is definitely not a dog that can be left in a corner to entertain itself.

#12.... I find the Irish Setters beautiful... to me the V is more like a professional looking kind of beautiful dog


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

luv2laugh said:


> What a helpful post! Oso is our first dog as adults and we weren't able to compare the puppy period to that of other breeds.
> 
> Some of the things you described may just be your little girl's personality and some are probably distinctly vizsla. Oso was potty trained within days and I think a lot of that has to do with how the breeder started them out and then again also the individual pup.
> 
> It sounds like you have a smart, feisty and loving little V on your hand. The vizsla forums helped me so much through Oso's development and also just gave me a place to post about our V _*without oversaturating my friends*_. The people here are pretty much always interested in your cute V stories. Keep posting! I thoroughly enjoyed your observations.


ha ha! aint that the truth, glad it's not just me ;D, My wife was saying "You love that dog more than your wife and kids!"...I don't thing she got the irony in my reply "no, honey, not more than the kids".. :


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

LOL!! ;D


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## abatt (Jul 10, 2012)

Great info. Threads like that are very helpful for the first vizlsa owners. I just disagree on one point of vizslas not being good for first time dog owners. Isaac is the first dog for both me and my husband. I admit it was exhausting in the beginning, we had plenty of ups and downs. But when you have nothing to compare it to, all the work and time we devote to him seems like regular responsibilities that go with getting a dog. I feel that as long as people do sufficient research, have commitment and determination it is certainly doable. I am happy we decided to go with a vizsla. Before getting Isaac we had no idea that it is even remotely possible to have so much love for a dog.


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

Number 4 cracks me up bec Penny also quickly learned to fake pee. 

Although I agree with number 1, Dozer was our first dog and it was a lot of work that I would not easily recommend to another first time dog owner.


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## lonestar (Jun 2, 2013)

Well written! +1.

A Vizsla isn't like any other dog, you are quite right. It is a dog for the dog purist, for the individual who understands and truly appreciates the fine art of what the best companion animals are. They are wiser than they have the right to be, and those who allow them fully into their hearts and their souls shall never know a truer friend. Of any species.


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