bsmom
New Member
Q: What's wrinkled and wiggly and red all over?
A: A vizsla puppy!
Having only started researching the breed about a year ago, I'm certainly not a vizsla expert, but after spending the last several months with our new vizsla puppy, I'm head over heels for these Hungarian bird dogs!!!
I wish I could tell you some fantastic story about how I saw a vizsla across a crowded room, our eyes met, and it was love at first sight, but honestly, the first time I had even HEARD of this type of dog was while taking one of those online quizzes for potential dog owners to see what kind of breed would best fit their lifestyle! I told this automated doggie matchmaking service that I was hoping to find a running buddy (spring-fall I like to pound out 3-6 miles a day), who doesn't shed (I have mild allergies that seem to flare up around labs and other "water dogs"), and who might be interested in hunting and fishing (2 big passtimes here in Wisconsin!), and it spit back out "Vizsla" (???)
Having never heard of the breed before, I asked an acquaintance who works in a vet's office about it- her response was the clincher for me:
"OMG, girl- that's PERFECT! That's YOU in a DOG!"
(how so?, I asked- a little tentatively...)
"You know- smart, and loyal, and pleasantly neurotic!"
After that the hunt was on- I searched online, bought everything Barnes & Noble had on Vizslas, asked around, and in the process stumbled upon a FANTASTIC breeder (who I would LOVE to recommend to anyone interested in one of these pups!!!!)- she put me in contact with people at several local and national vizsla organizations, owners of dogs from her previous litters, etc., and in November of this year (on our way home from our honeymoon, actually!) we picked up Baccio- and he is truly everything people said he would be AND THEN SOME!
He's super smart- @ almost 17 weeks he knows come, sit , stay, off, leave it, hide n seek, down, crawl, shake, high 5, give mommy kisses, roll over, go under, go over, go around, and in your crate. we're currently working on moonwalk, and learning the names of a few of his favorite toys (a la "go get your_____")
He's VERY energetic- I can't WAIT until his little bones have solidified enough to go out running with me- i know he's going to love it! He already does very well out on our walks, runs himself to near exhaustion playing with the other dogs at doggie daycare, and is ALWAYS up for a new adventure
He's extremely loveable- Everywhere we go, my little man is a total crowd pleaser
he's friendly, takes commands from nearly anyone, wants to constantly be near people, next to people, and top of people- we've actually had to work with him a bunch on EATING because he'd MUCH rather be playing or even just sitting at my feet! Until we started feeding him inside his crate, he would only get one bite in before he ran off to find someone to play with! When he's exercised out, he wants nothing more than to sit next to me with his head on my lap, or on my shoulder , and when we're playing, he brings everything he finds and plops it right into my lap/@ my feet (sticks, leaves, and the neighbor childrens' mittens outside; socks, pieces of mail, and his toys inside). My favorite is the occasional nap together- which doesn't bother my allergies at all! (he snores so cute!)
He's a total goofball- I think this is what my friend meant by "pleasantly neurotic"! We brought him to the neighbor's house for a football party last weekend, and at one point, the another partygoer started doing his best Baccio immitations- the way he prances instead of simply walking, what the folks at doggie daycare call his "raisin face"- head cocked, forehead wrinkled", and the way he rolls onto his back, stretches himself out to freakish lengths and then SLEEPS like that! He's also started to "point" his favorite toys when I throw them- he'll gallop after the toss, stop on a dime, pick up one front paw, and lean towards it with his nose- hilarious to watch (I can't wait to get him out after pheasants!). His attention span is pretty short- which makes for funny comparisons to my own ADD- but also never leaves a dull moment when he's around!
I haven't seen enough of the breed to differentiate between what is a specific personality trait of my B-man's vs. a breed generality, but I hope this intro to Baccio helps to compel anyone interested in owning a vizsla to do some of their own information-gathering!
Best of Luck,
"Baccio's mom"
A: A vizsla puppy!
Having only started researching the breed about a year ago, I'm certainly not a vizsla expert, but after spending the last several months with our new vizsla puppy, I'm head over heels for these Hungarian bird dogs!!!
I wish I could tell you some fantastic story about how I saw a vizsla across a crowded room, our eyes met, and it was love at first sight, but honestly, the first time I had even HEARD of this type of dog was while taking one of those online quizzes for potential dog owners to see what kind of breed would best fit their lifestyle! I told this automated doggie matchmaking service that I was hoping to find a running buddy (spring-fall I like to pound out 3-6 miles a day), who doesn't shed (I have mild allergies that seem to flare up around labs and other "water dogs"), and who might be interested in hunting and fishing (2 big passtimes here in Wisconsin!), and it spit back out "Vizsla" (???)
Having never heard of the breed before, I asked an acquaintance who works in a vet's office about it- her response was the clincher for me:
"OMG, girl- that's PERFECT! That's YOU in a DOG!"
(how so?, I asked- a little tentatively...)
"You know- smart, and loyal, and pleasantly neurotic!"
After that the hunt was on- I searched online, bought everything Barnes & Noble had on Vizslas, asked around, and in the process stumbled upon a FANTASTIC breeder (who I would LOVE to recommend to anyone interested in one of these pups!!!!)- she put me in contact with people at several local and national vizsla organizations, owners of dogs from her previous litters, etc., and in November of this year (on our way home from our honeymoon, actually!) we picked up Baccio- and he is truly everything people said he would be AND THEN SOME!
He's super smart- @ almost 17 weeks he knows come, sit , stay, off, leave it, hide n seek, down, crawl, shake, high 5, give mommy kisses, roll over, go under, go over, go around, and in your crate. we're currently working on moonwalk, and learning the names of a few of his favorite toys (a la "go get your_____")
He's VERY energetic- I can't WAIT until his little bones have solidified enough to go out running with me- i know he's going to love it! He already does very well out on our walks, runs himself to near exhaustion playing with the other dogs at doggie daycare, and is ALWAYS up for a new adventure
He's extremely loveable- Everywhere we go, my little man is a total crowd pleaser
he's friendly, takes commands from nearly anyone, wants to constantly be near people, next to people, and top of people- we've actually had to work with him a bunch on EATING because he'd MUCH rather be playing or even just sitting at my feet! Until we started feeding him inside his crate, he would only get one bite in before he ran off to find someone to play with! When he's exercised out, he wants nothing more than to sit next to me with his head on my lap, or on my shoulder , and when we're playing, he brings everything he finds and plops it right into my lap/@ my feet (sticks, leaves, and the neighbor childrens' mittens outside; socks, pieces of mail, and his toys inside). My favorite is the occasional nap together- which doesn't bother my allergies at all! (he snores so cute!)He's a total goofball- I think this is what my friend meant by "pleasantly neurotic"! We brought him to the neighbor's house for a football party last weekend, and at one point, the another partygoer started doing his best Baccio immitations- the way he prances instead of simply walking, what the folks at doggie daycare call his "raisin face"- head cocked, forehead wrinkled", and the way he rolls onto his back, stretches himself out to freakish lengths and then SLEEPS like that! He's also started to "point" his favorite toys when I throw them- he'll gallop after the toss, stop on a dime, pick up one front paw, and lean towards it with his nose- hilarious to watch (I can't wait to get him out after pheasants!). His attention span is pretty short- which makes for funny comparisons to my own ADD- but also never leaves a dull moment when he's around!
I haven't seen enough of the breed to differentiate between what is a specific personality trait of my B-man's vs. a breed generality, but I hope this intro to Baccio helps to compel anyone interested in owning a vizsla to do some of their own information-gathering!
Best of Luck,
"Baccio's mom"
