Happier in the field than the ring

The hunting fields are heaven on earth for Vizslas.

  They beam with happiness.

Belle is one of Bailey's 7-month-old pups.  She is going to be a great hunter!

Experiencing the show ring up close

A show handling friend of mine looked over Bailey as we were getting ready for "the ring."

  Lynn asked me if I had been hunting with Bailey.  "Yeah, a few times." I told her.  "It appears he has pulled a muscle in his right back leg.  He's not putting much weight on it." she responded.

Bailey also was having trouble being around some of the intact males in the ring and in the waiting to show area.  Some growling action when the other dogs got close.   This was from the other dogs and also from Bailey.
 My friend Lynn suggested that I handle Bailey today as he seemed to be under better control with me around other male dogs and that Bailey would be happier and more comfortable.

So, I said "Sure, what the heck.  We're not competitive anyway with a bum leg and we are here."

So we had another Vizsla adventure.

We came in fourth of four in our group.  The "thanks for coming" placement. 

Then we went to Hastings Island for some bird fun with five Vizslas: Bailey, Teke, Barley, Rose and Little Belle (Bailey's daughter). 

link to "Into the field after the show"

Showing Bailey in Northern California

"Show that Boy!" 

 This was a comment of a very knowlegable Vizsla breeder.  This was what she told me this spring. 

So first we did a Reno show a few months ago.  Tiffany was Bailey's handler in Reno and also on Saturday in Dixon, California. 

30 Vizslas were at this Dixon, California show.  Dixon is easy drive from all Northern California locations for the our Vizsla hobby breeders. 
 I've gotten to know many of these fine people over the last few years. 

Great looking stud dogs were in the mix. 

 Bailey came in third in his group on Saturday. 

The Versatile Vizsla

Jenny Hawthorn from New Zealand did a great write up of the "too soft" Vizsla as a hunting dog.

"Time and time again I hear it said, “The Hungarian Vizsla is too soft to be a good hunting dog”. And to those who say it, I agree totally. However for those who look beyond the soft front and accept it I am more likely to point out what an awesome hunting dog the Vizsla can be when treated and trained correctly. Paradoxically, the soft dog is also as hard as nails!"











Another excerpt:

"So, a soft dog? Yes, if you consider one who likes to stay close to its beloved owner soft. Yes, if you consider one that sits on laps and does not understand why it should be out in the yard if you are in the house soft. Yes, if you consider one that will cringe at some historical harsher training methods soft. But not in its ability to go all day; not in its enthusiasm to work; not in its willingness to go through thickest cover or coldest water to find and retrieve game. Once the Vizsla owner comes to understand that they have a companion hunter, a friend with them in the bush, out on the tussock, or by the riverbanks, life just keeps getting better. Those who want a tool they can train and work and put away in kennels when not in use will never want nor appreciate the Vizsla. "

The rest of the article is below. A great read! 

http://www.trader.co.nz/versatiledogs/breeds/vizsla.htm

Don't make your gun dog "gun shy"

A fellow Vizsla owner, who frequently posts to vizsla forums , was responding to a young Vizsla pup (16- week-old) owner who felt he had already made his dog "gun shy."    The young Vizsla owner was quickly heading that way.

Folks think (like I did when I ruined Chloe as a gun dog) that if they own a "gun dog" that they can just take them out and hunt with a bit of training. 


Just doesn't work that way.  It is a long process that takes many hours and many birds.


Thought I would pass along George Hickox's words of wisdom on the subject.

More from George at his website:  georgehickox.com

Bailey and I have spent hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars working on these upland bird hunting skills.  This is our hobby.  It is a whole lot less expensive than sail boats or other motor sports.  More enjoyable also.

A New Vizsla Movie

We are owners of a special breed. The video does the Vizsla justice.

The song "I am the Vizsla" is a great tune playing in the background.

"Huge round of applause to the creators Jan Wallace and Allyson Lyons!
Great production and wonderful music." - Kay

To support Vizsla Rescue Haven please go to:

 http://www.facebook.com/ShelterChallenge
Help your favorite petfinder.com rescue group win grants! Vote every day and increase their chances.
We will be keeping score.
Click:
  MY PICK!

This will take you to the next page's central panel and then type in Vizsla Rescue Haven .....and CA

for the $300,000 Shelter Challenge!
You can do it every day and I HOPE YOU WILL!

I Think Bailey Forgot How to Hunt

Just got back from a morning at Hasting's Island Hunting Preserve.  Bailey has forgotten how to hunt as a team.  I'd love to find some excuse but I have none.

He loved running the fields and can find birds.  But a "Master Hunter"?  Not even close.  Some fellow Vizsla hunter friends were at the club house before we went out each in our own directions..  They were out training their dogs.  Their dogs are Master Hunters or future field trial stars.

We brought home a pheasant for dinner, but the dozen birds that either Bailey flushed early and chased or the three birds I missed didn't make for a good hunt.  With lots of false "points" thrown in to keep me guessing - bird or pile of feathers?

But it was a great morning out in the fields.  Very nice weather with a refreshing breeze.

Maybe we are not good hunters, but we sure had a good time for four hours. 

The Future of Dogs

"The one sentence picture of the future of dogs in America is this: On the present lawmaking road, home breeding of dogs is about to be wiped out in our country and as this occurs, purebred dogs will all but disappear."

Go to booklet by clicking the below link:

Future of Dogs booklet from Pet-law.com 

America today is rushing toward dramatic changes in the way we breed and keep animals. These changes are already beginning and the laws that will make them continue go far beyond the changes we can see.
All species and all animal uses, from deer in our woods and fields, to rats in our scientific labs, to animals farmed for meat and milk, to the pet dog or cat in our living rooms are being affected. These effects will increase in the future.
The picture is vast and complicated; we will focus on the effects on pet dogs. We will emphasize what is happening and how it is being done.
Why is more difficult to understand. but the basic reason is that a very few Americans – no more than a thousand – want these changes. They break them down into small chunks that sound good and sell them one chunk at a time to good-hearted, often busy, people. But the chunks are put together to make something that none of us would ever have approved.

The ‘animal rights' movement is essentially a fruitcake religion.

"People need homes. Please donate to buy a brick." Then they use the bricks to build a prison.
The ‘animal rights' movement is essentially a fruitcake religion. It will not be stopped short of an expensive and nearly irreversible disaster unless most Americans come to understand that the bricks they buy today with contributions to Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PeTA), and many smaller organizations will be used to build a prison, and stop sending those checks.

In the short term, all of us (but lawmakers especially) must become extremely skeptical of new laws that claim to 'protect animals.'

In the short term, all of us (but lawmakers especially) must become extremely skeptical of new laws that claim to 'protect animals.' America has had basic animal protection laws for more than fifty years; some go back over a century. These laws need better enforcement in some parts of the country but there are very few new laws that will make animal or human lives better, rather than simply making ownership and breeding more difficult and less likely to succeed.
The three long essays in this booklet – What Is Animal Rights?, Introducing HSUS, and The Future Of Dogs In America – were written over the last two years; they were extensively revised at the beginning of December, 2006. The Importance of Home Breeding of Dogs and How Animal Rights Laws Work were written specifically for this publication.
It's frightening how much ground we've lost just in the last two years. We can still win – that is, keep our rights to own and responsibly use pets and other animals – but we must not delay or falter.

I hope this booklet helps.

Walt Hutchens This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Timbreblue Whippets
December, 2006

SF Bay Vizsla Play Date

Just a video and a few pictures of a Vizsla Walk on a Sunday morning in early Autumn. Bailey and Chloe love these walks.

In the video the pelican the dogs swam after was 100 yards away floating on the water.  The two dogs never got closer than that.  Dogs can't swim and catch a bird.  Never will happen.

Why not to spay/neutered your Vizsla early?

PDF file of scientic research quoted

"Behavioral characteristics of intact male and female dogs were compared with those of four groups of neutered dogs: those neutered at or before 6 months, between 7 and 12 months, between 13 and 18 months, and after 18 months. Our data showed that the behavior of neutered dogs was significantly different from that of intact dogs in ways that contradict the prevailing view. Among

the findings, neutered dogs were more aggressive, fearful, excitable, and less trainable than intact dogs.

In addition, we measured eight individual bone lengths plus the height of 202 agility competition dogs to determine whether gonadectomy affected bone lengths. Preliminary analysis revealed

significant differences in bone growth between the intact and neutered groups.

These findings strongly support the need for an immediate re-evaluation of the current recommendation to spay or neuter dogs to prevent or treat behavior problems, and an equally pressing need to more fully examine the wide range of physical effects of spaying and neutering pet dogs."

Summary

The above data is just a small sample of the significant data that were determined in this study. By using large a sample of dogs than any used previously to examine behavior in dogs, we found significant correlations between neutering dogs and increases in aggression, fear and anxiety, and excitability, regardless of the age at which the dog was neutered.

 There were also significant correlations between neutering and decreases in trainability and responsiveness to cues.
The other three behavioral categories examined (miscellaneous behavior problems, attachment and attention-seeking behavior, and separation-related behavior) showed some association with neutering, but these differed more substantially depending on the age at which the dog was neutered.
The overall trend seen in all these behavioral data was that the earlier the dog was neutered, the more negative

the effect on the behavior. A difference in bone length was found between neutered and intact dogs, suggesting that neutering has an effect on bone growth, which may be related to other orthopedic effects documented in the literature.

Examination of changes in bone length of gonadectomized dogs is continuing.

Counter surfing and bed sharing Vizsla stories

Things Vizsla Owners Most Wish They Had Known

in Advance of Getting Their First Vizsla

(from a poll of VizslaTalk list members)

VizslaTalk@YahooGroups.com

We're on our second V, and we've learned to keep the bathroom and office trash cans on the counter (guests wonder what is going on, but oh, well). Also, during puppy stage, the toilet paper is never on the holder, as that is an invitation to decorate the house with streamers. We have to leave the roll on the counter out of reach (because just gnawing on the roll is fun, too, apparently). Our first V got to an entire Costco sized bag of chocolate Halloween candy that was pushed WAYYYY back on the counter... thankfully for her health, but not for our carpet, she threw it all up in about 10 or 12 piles all over the carpet. There were candy bars still in their wrappers covered in chocolate goo. Can't believe she(and we)lived through that one.

We got our first V in 1968 when I was 5 years old. At that time no one had ever heard of the breed let alone seen one. She was given to us because she was the runt of the litter. She immediately took over the house and ruled her humans with the love and affection that only a V can administer. One of my favorite memories of her involves Hershey Kisses. My mother would always keep a bowl of them on the bookshelf in the living room. Many times mom would find wrappers in my sister's room on the floor and in her bed, all nicely opened but not in the garbage can where they belonged. Of course, my sister was blamed for this bad habit... until my mother happened to see our V steal a kiss by using a chair that was 2 1/2 feet away from the bookshelf to reach the shelf where the kisses were. She then watched as our V, Gypsie, then went into my sister's room, jumped up on the bed, and proceeded to use her paws to gently unwrap the kiss (never getting chocolate on her bedspread!). My wife and I now have our own "Gypsie" and she is everything my old V was and more!

I think I lucked out--between a trio of nutbar dobes (including the first one), meeting my first V in puppy class (somehow she managed to break into the cabinet under the sink and was VERY lucky I think, but came to class with a VERY hoarse bark), etc, I was as ready as I could be--then again, my V puppy was NOT the monster (grin) I had braced for.

Of course, that might all just be the selective memory that allows us to get a 2nd puppy.

I never knew that they would lick you clean after you just get out of the shower. We have to close the bathroom door or put her in her kennel while we shower otherwise she tries to hop in with us and will lick us clean while were in the shower. She doesn't seem to care if she gets soap or not (I do however...) I know she doesn't have a lack of water. The water bowl and food bowl is always filled.

Another thing she has a fascination with smelling armpits and licking mine? I had no idea dogs did such a thing. When I had my springer growing up she never did that. I hope since she's a puppy she will outgrow that.

I do love owning a Vizsla... she's such a goofy girl. I love watching her grow and change. She hasn't slept in our bed yet except every now and then at nap time. She goes to her kennel every night before bed so we haven’t had the chance to get our bed taken over... I do await the day. At least we already own king size bed. She gets lots of attention wherever we go.
People love to pet her and adore her and her color, even the vet. And of course she loves the attention right back with the tail going wild at the site of people. She always greets you when you come inside and jumps on your lap the minute you sit down.

I am looking forward to lots of years of joy. She has been such a joy already and we have a long time ahead. I do not think we will own another dog for a couple more years so for now it’s just her and the cats but she is a pretty spoiled pup getting all the attention she can manage to get.

That it doesn't matter how big the bed is, two Vizslas take up all the room!!

That they prefer to sleep IN the bed with you, UNDER the covers, preferably splayed out at right angles to you so you effectively have no bed at all. We had to buy a king size bed when we got our second one!

I laughed out loud with this one. We bought a king size bed after contracting multiple viszla disorder and no, we do not have enough room. They sure do though. Especially Teddy Brewski, under the covers.

We got our first Vizsla when he was 9 mos. old. After about a week we thought we lost him. We looked everywhere for him, thought maybe he escaped somehow. After looking around the house for a while we found him, in our bed, under the covers.

We looked in the bedroom several times but never thought of looking under the covers in the bed. Needless to say he moved right in and took over. He is now 13 and still claims ownership of the bed, even though he needs to be helped in most of the time now.

We have a beach house with many frequent visitors and family members, and I can't tell you how many times I have had teenage girls horrified at the sight of their used sanitary pads dragged out into the living room and shredded... and every single time I come home, there is a shredded kleenex on the floor beside every single wastebasket... cold and flu season is a veritable shred-fest!

As for counter surfing, I have had entire sticks of butter vanish... entire loaves of bread, hamburger and hot dog buns disappear, with just the plastic bag found in the yard days later, and just recently an entire chunk of veryexpensive Emmenthaler cheese just vanished. To take the cake, Sophie has learned to open our pantry door, snatch the peanut butter jar, open it somehow with her front paws and teeth and lick as far down as her tongue will reach. We had to get special locks for the pantry door to keep her out and put a baby gate in front of the kitchen every single time we leave the house. She also learned how to open the freezer drawer and ate an entire key lime pie.... and when she learned to open the refrigerator door and started to forage every time we left the house, we had to devise a lock for that also. She is the single most resourceful dog I have ever had!

Gosh...mine have a full point on WITH the drool! They are WAY too funny, cute and lovable! Molly also does the low whine thru her nose like she is being abused!

Now does anyone have any clues on how to train an old man NOT to walk away

leaving the steaks on the counter, the butter out, or the loaf of bread sitting?

How can you train the dog if you can't train the human?

I knew very little about the breed when my first V came to live with me...actually “nothing” is a better description! Javaro loved to counter surf and I only discovered this after considering mental health help. My memory was at issue until I found the plastic bag from a loaf of bread fluttering in the breeze in the backyard! That was my "Ah-haaa" moment with this breed. My current V takes counter surfing to new heights! Takoda is the reason for the TWO locks on the garbage cupboard. We had to fashion a bar lock on the pantry after his degustation of an entire can of Ovaltine in his favorite spot... the living roomsofa! His consumption of contraband is legendary but his most expensive no-no ishis love of footwear. I believe he favors Old Navy flip flops but Crocs, Nikes, Reeboks and Reefs will do in a pinch! I've lost track of the shoes I've had to replace! But I think the biggest thing I wish I had known before owning a Vizsla is how incredibly and utterly infectious they are. MVD is one condition I hope to "suffer' from in the future.

The rest of the eight pages of the story at:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/VizslaTalk/message/72965