Where the Vizsla stands in AKC numbers

The Vizsla AKC ranking is #41

 AKC Breed 2006 Count

(OVER 1,000)

Retrievers (Labrador) 123,760

Yorkshire Terriers 48,346

German Shepherd Dogs 43,575

Retrievers (Golden) 42,962

Beagles 39,484

Dachshunds 36,033

Boxers 35,388

Poodles 29,939

Shih Tzu 27,282

Miniature Schnauzers 22,920

Chihuahuas 22,562

Bulldogs 21,037

Pugs 20,008

Pomeranians 18,218

Boston Terriers 14,955

Spaniels (Cocker) 14,790

Rottweilers 14,709

Maltese 13,312

Pointers (German Shorthaired) 12,822

Shetland Sheepdogs 12,822

Doberman Pinschers 11,546

Pembroke Welsh Corgis 10,250

Miniature Pinschers 9,615

Great Danes 9,438

Siberian Huskies 9,342

Spaniels (English Springer) 8,205

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels 8,124

Basset Hounds 7,844

Bichons Frises 7,839

Weimaraners 7,720

Brittanys 7,560

Mastiffs 6,913

West Highland White Terriers 6,572

Australian Shepherds 6,533

Papillons 5,673

French Bulldogs 5,509

Collies 4,711

Havanese 4,038

St. Bernards 3,828

Bullmastiffs 3,760

Bernese Mountain Dogs 3,714

Scottish Terriers 3,545

Vizslas 3,509

Newfoundlands 3,415

Bloodhounds 3,343

Lhasa Apsos 3,326

Chinese Shar-Pei 3,261

Cairn Terriers 3,224

Pekingese 3,155

Retrievers (Chesapeake Bay) 3,120

Tibetan Mastiffs 2,925

Chinese Crested 2,555

Akitas 2,457

Rhodesian Ridgebacks 2,248

Airedale Terriers 2,243

Border Collies 2,181

Alaskan Malamutes 2,124

Great Pyrenees 1,983

Italian Greyhounds 1,963

Whippets 1,836

Bull Terriers 1,765

Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers 1,762

Brussels Griffons 1,694

Chow Chows 1,592

Shiba Inu 1,590

American Staffordshire Terriers 1,539

Australian Cattle Dogs 1,499

Setters (Irish) 1,475

Portuguese Water Dogs 1,454

Silky Terriers 1,407

Old English Sheepdogs 1,403

Japanese Chin 1,388

Pointers (German Wirehaired) 1,352

Spaniels (English Cocker) 1,281

Parson Russell Terriers 1,232

Samoyeds 1,130

Irish Wolfhounds 1,016

  AKC BREED RANKINGS FOR YEARS 2010, 2009, 2005, 2000

(Top 50 positions in 2010)

Labrador Retrievers 1 1 1 1

German Shepherd Dogs 2 2 4 3

Yorkshire Terriers 3 3 3 7

Beagles 4 5 5 5

Golden Retrievers 5 4 2 2

Bulldogs 6 7 13 21

Boxers 7 6 7 9

Dachshunds 8 8 6 4

Poodles 9 9 8 6

Shih Tzu 10 10 9 10

Rottweilers 11 13 16 11

Miniature Schnauzers 12 11 10 13

Chihuahuas 13 12 11 8

Doberman Pinschers 14 15 21 23

Pomeranians 15 14 14 12

German Shorthaired Pointers 16 16 20 24

Great Danes 17 21 24 28

Siberian Huskies 18 22 25 19

Shetland Sheepdogs 19 18 18 16

Boston Terriers 20 19 17 18

French Bulldogs 21 24 38 71

Maltese 22 20 19 20

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels 23 25 31 54

Pugs 24 17 12 15

Cocker Spaniels 25 23 15 14

Australian Shepherds 26 28 34 35

Pembroke Welsh Corgis 27 26 23 27

Mastiffs 28 27 33 39

English Springer Spaniels 29 29 28 26

Brittanys 30 30 30 31

Havanese 31 32 43 86

Weimaraners 32 31 29 32

Leonbergers** 33 N/A N/A N/A

West Highland White Terriers 34 36 32 30

Papillons 35 37 35 43

Basset Hounds 36 34 27 22

Bichons Frises 37 35 26 25

Collies 38 38 36 34

Bernese Mountain Dogs 39 39 47 58

Miniature Pinschers 40 33 22 17

Vizslas 41 42 44 47

Bullmastiffs 42 40 42 52

Bloodhounds 43 43 50 50

Newfoundlands 44 46 46 53

St. Bernards 45 45 37 36

Rhodesian Ridgebacks 46 48 54 57

Border Collies 47 52 55 64

Chesapeake Bay Retrievers 48 49 49 41

Akitas 49 50 51 38

Chinese Shar-Pei 50 47 45 37

From the Vizsla Owners Yahoo Group:

"We have come a long way....I can remember going to shows in the late 1970s when I had the only vizsla entered...now look at us - (unless I read this wrong, or simply missed something) we have the largest sporting entry at EUKANUBA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" - Jill Brennan 11/29/11


SPORTING BREEDS

42 BRITTANY
29 POINTER
33 GERM SHT PNT
12 GERM WIRE PNT
26 CHES BAY RET
11 CURLY COAT RET
32 FLAT COAT RET
56 LABRADOR
31 NOVA SCOTIA
14 ENG SETT
17 GORD SETT
27 IRISH SETT
11 IRISH RED WHITE
3 AMER WATER SPN
14 BOYKIN
20 CLUMBER SPN
16 CKR SPN BLACK
9 CKR SPN PARTI
11 ENGLISH COCKER
18 ENG SPRINGER
9 FIELD SPN
9 IRISH WATER SPN
6 SUSSEX SPN
10 WEL SPR SPN
17 SPINONE ITAL
61 VIZSLA
21 WEIM
12 WIREHPNT GRIF

2011 AKC/Eukanuba National Championship
December 2011



Qualifying For and Entering the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship

Automatic Qualifiers

Dogs automatically qualify for the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship by meeting any one of the following criteria:

•Dogs ranked in the top 25 of their breed (by breed points only) at the end of the qualifying period (1 Year) View List

•Dogs receiving an all - breed Best in Show at an AKC show held during the qualifying period (1 Year) View List

•Dogs winning Best of Breed at a parent club national specialty* (1 Year)

Fenton!!!

Over 2 million people have seen this you tube clip!

Make sure you have your speakers on.

 A good training collar would have done the trick.

Lily - Honorary Vizsla on a Vizsla Walk

While others were shopping at the malls on Black Friday, a small band of Vizsla owners gathered at Point Pinole.  Point Pinole, along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay hosts many Vizsla Walks.  Today our 14-month-old granddaughter, Lily, joined us.

As the 9 Vizslas ran off-leash in this dog Disneyland, Lily felt right at home.  Her small black Heinz 57 dog, Rowdy, came along.

 Walking along the trails, the dogs would avoid running into her.  They seemed to know she was small but fearless. 

She was just another pup along for a Vizsla Walk with a loving band of owners.  She really had a wonderful time.

She placed a stick in her mouth, imitating her dog friends.  I handed my camera to a friend and they snapped the picture below.  One day her parents are going to have to break it to her that she isn't a dog.  She might be crushed.

A Vizsla's Crime

Do I Go Back Home Today?

"When my family first bought me to live within their home. They cuddled and they pampered me and groomed with brush and comb.

They played with me and laughed with me and showered me with toys. I sure do love my family, and all the tiny girls and boys.

The children loved to feed me; and give me special treats. They even let me sleep with them - all cosy in their sheets

I used to go for lovely walks, often several times a day. They even fought to hold my lead, I'm so very proud to say!

These are the things I'll not forget - a cherished memory. for now I'm in a shelter, bereft of family.

They used to laugh and praise me when I played with that old shoe. But I didn't know the difference between the old one and the new

The kids and I would grab a rag, and for hours we played tug. So I thought I did the right thing when I chewed that bedroom rug.

They said that I had lost control and would have to live outside. I didn't really understand this, though I really really tried!

The walks they stopped one by one; they said they had no time. I wish that I could change things; I wish I knew my crime.

My life became so lonely shackled to a metal chain. I barked and barked continually I thought I'd go insane.

So they took me to the shelter but were embarrassed to say why. So they said I'd caused an allergy, then said their last goodbye.

If only I'd had training, as a tiny little pup. I wouldn't have been so hard to live with, when I was all grown up.

"You only have one day left", I heard the kennel man say. Does that mean I have a second chance? "Do I go back home today"?"

-Author Unknown

 

Pheasant hunting for Thanksgiving dinner

The weekend before Thanksgiving, Bailey and I were joined by Fawkes (Bailey's son out of last litter)and his owner Aaron for a pheasant hunt. 

We ran Fawkes (8 months old) for about 45 minutes with Bailey. Bailey and I worked a couple pheasant with Fawkes watching from a distance.  Fawkes has not been worked on gun shot before and showed nothing but excitement with running the fields with his dad.

After we put Fawkes away in his crate, Aaron joined Bailey and me for some walking miles in the fields for the next hour.  I  was in search of pheasant for the Thanksgiving dinner.

Bailey has become a great hunter.  His training is showing in his discipline around birds now.  He is holding through the flush and shot.  His retrieve to hand was perfect.  Very happy hunting.

We will add three pheasant to the turkey dinner on Thanksgiving. 

 Several of the guests will get to taste pheasant for the first time. 

Aaron took these pictures and he is going to do a write-up of what it was like to go on his very first hunting trip.  I'll post that write-up to redbirddog in the coming days.

Seeing Eye Dog for Dog

Lily is a Great Dane that has been blind since a bizarre medical condition required that she have both eyes removed.

For the last 5 years, Madison, another Great Dane, has been her sight.

The two are, of course, inseparable.

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 $2,000 State Shelter Challenge!

You can do it every day and I HOPE YOU WILL!

Vizsla Rescue Haven is currently in second place.

Challenge ends December 18th.

  Help Kay help Vizslas.

- Rod a.k.a. redbirddog

Response from Vizsla Forum:"It is because of a seeing eye dog that I have my boy Dax now. A couple of years ago I was having dinner with a friend when I noticed that at the next table there was a blind man and his family. At his feet was his assist dog, a beautiful Vizsla.


It was all I could do to keep myself from going over to pet her, but I knew she was working and shouldn't be disturbed.

My beloved Chocolate Lab had passed away earlier that year and I was thinking about getting another companion. I didn't know much about V's then, but that evening I did a lot of research. The more I learned about the breed, the more I liked.

Had it not been for that seeing eye dog being there at just the right time, getting a Vizsla would not have occurred to me."
 - Cavedog

Reasoning for Vizsla Tail Docking

"Chilli has a full tail but unfortunately she hurt her tail while hunting... here is the result 6 weeks after..."

Interesting article about tail docking. 

 The rest of the article is located at the end of the excerpt. 

 This have been discussed on Vizsla Forum lately.  Below the except are some of the posts.

---

By Steve Peacocke
"...The SPCA have launched a media campaign with such emotive headlines as: "Every day helpless puppies lose their tails in the name of fashion."-"Some puppies tails are hacked off with a kitchen knife."-"Others are painfully docked with a tightly wound rubber band". The SPCA have certainly gained public support to outlaw this practice and even the veterinary profession has been vocal on banning tail docking except where a vet may decide that it is in the dog's interest to dock. So why don't we ban tail docking if it's such a barbaric practice? The answer is plain and simple, it is detrimental to the health and welfare of some breeds of dogs not to dock their tails - i.e. it is cruel not to dock. Let's examine the reasons behind why docking is done today. Let's examine each argument that I have heard to date…

Reason #1 Docking puppies is cruel and painful.
The tail bone of a pup at less than 3 days old is still soft and the nervous system undeveloped. Consider that a young lamb or calf is so developed at birth that they can stand and walk besides their mothers within minutes of being born; a human, although not able to stand for many months, is still fully formed at birth; a pup though is essentially still developing after birth, the eyes, for example, do not open for many days. The pup is still developing hearing, sight, and the nervous system for many days after birth. As a hunter and scavenger, the dog has developed the ability to carry pups for only 63 days before giving birth to allow to mother to venture from the den to obtain food. The pups are still forming after birth, docking at this age causes only a momentary discomfort that is almost instantly forgotten.

Reason #2: There is no reason to dock dogs’ tails.

The Hungarian Vizsla is a hunter, pointer and retriever with 1 third docked from the tail. Although the remainder of the tail is strong, the third docked is thin and whip-like and is open to damage in the field. The Vizsla holds it's tail horizontal to the ground and wags it forcefully while charging through rough scrub and undergrowth. The unprotected tip is docked to keep it from splitting and bleeding. Once damaged, the tail is extremely difficult to heal, sometimes requiring amputation later in life when the dog must be placed under general anaesthetic causing undue stress and pain.

Rest of article and arguments for tail docking at:

 http://www.vizsladogs.com/ARTICLES/taildock.htm

Posts from Vizsla Forum:
http://www.vizslaforums.com/index.php/topic,2999.msg20156.html#msg20156
"I was told by the breeder and then confirmed by my vet, the reason that they are docked is because their tails are brittle at the end. The breeder said once it takes a good hit on the tail it will crack and split. This being said while hunting if the tail hits a tree or any hard object the tail splits. Docking the tail of a Vizsla will prevent the dog going through any excruciating pain. Hope this is helpful. " -willbill59

"I read up a lot on this, and what I found is that the docking for Viszlas and Weimarinars are due to the tails being injured while hunting or just playing around. My WH-Viszla's tail is broken right at the spot where it should have been docked. The tail is so thin that a good whack against a corner of a door jam can cause dislocation and breakage. It doesn't bother him, but he has a very distinctive Check-mark shaped tail. Also, one day I left for a few minutes to run to the store and when I returned there was blood from one end of the house to the other where he clipped the end of his tail and started bleeding profusely. Anyway, there where dark brown spots on every wall at about the 26-30 inch mark which required every room to be repainted. This wound would regularly open up and bleed a lot, for about 3 weeks. I recommend docking if possible." - East0532

"My Vizsla also has a full tail. I got her in Canada, but the breeder used to live in the UK and still abides by their standard of not docking the tails.
The end of her tail unfortunately got jammed in a door 4 weeks ago and we are still trying to get it to heal. The accident caused a u-shaped cut that had to be stitched. The vet had to tape a hard plastic tube over the end of her tail to prevent her from whacking it on stuff and re-opening the wound. Tail wounds are particularly hard to heal as it is impossible to get a dog to stop wagging their tail. East0352...I can sympathize....an injured wagging dog tail does indeed send blood flying everywhere. What a mess!
The vet suggested they may have to remove the last 1.5 inches of her tail if this wound will not heal. I'm hoping that it will not come to that as the healing process for that would also be lengthy. I guess I am still on the fence about tail docking...but at this point if she had just come with a docked tail it would have saved me about $600 in vet bills due to this injury." - ms1234

"Interesting. Keep your sources as the fight here in the USA is well underway. I have spoken to a breeder, Westminster entry last year, who said in 10yrs it will be widely accepted (if not law) for dogs to show with no tail docking. One of the reasons the practice started with Vs is for benefits in the field, certainly injury. We can all debate the benefits of tail docking in non working/sporting dogs, but the good intentions of animal rights (just like "free" insurance for all) can have serious unintended consequences."- kellygr 

Another interesting article on docking of sporting breeds.

http://www.cdb.org/News/news38.html

Tribute to the Vizsla Puppy

Some people can make great videos with music that goes along with the story.

This one shows the playfulness and joy a Vizsla puppy can bring.

(Double mouse click on video after it starts to make it "full screen".)

Next Generation Red Bird Dogs

The pups are growing up.  The litter Bailey and Sophie had last spring are now 7 months old.  We wrote to the owners and asked how things were going.  Here was one of the responses.  I have been around Belle (Julie's little hunter) Fawkes (the only male of the litter).  Both are great dogs with wonderful personalities.  Belle, when we went into the field shows great hunting potential.

We contacted the other three owners.  They are all doing very well in their new homes.  This was one of the letters and a few pictures.

" Roxie, aka "Sprout", is an absolute delight! Not only is she beautiful, but has been great with every child, baby and dog. We take her out to exercise twice a day. She has lots of friends in the neighborhood. Every evening we go over to the school and there are 10-20 dogs that she runs and wrestles with. We completed Puppy 1 and Puppy 2 class so she knows all the obedient tricks. She has been a really great dog, super smart, affectionate and obedient. Knock on wood...she hasn't chewed anything up. Oh, I take that back..

.Our son was reading one of his teacher's books the 2nd day of school. He got up to get a snack and Roxie chewed the the spine. We had to buy the teacher a new book. Other than that we follow your words, "a tired Vizsla is a good Vizsla". She goes to football and baseball games with us. It will be interesting to see how she does in the snow this winter. We bought her a nice fun coat at TJ Maxx. "

The Nature of Birds

Nature at its most spectaular! 

After starting video, for the complete effect expand to full screen by pressing expand screen icon next to the word vimeo

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.
 

Murmuration

"No one knows why they do it. Yet each fall, thousands of starlings dance in the twilight above Gretna, Scotland. The birds gather in magical shape-shifting flocks called murmurations, having migrated in the millions from Russia and Scandinavia to escape winter’s bite. Scientists aren’t sure how they do it, either. Even complex algorithmic models haven’t yet explained the starlings’ acrobatics, which rely on the tiny bird’s quicksilver reaction time of under 100 milliseconds to avoid aerial collisions—and predators—in the giant flock."

A plantation house fit for a Vizsla

In the hill country 40 miles north of Baton Rouge lies the small old town of St. Francisville.  Located just outside of town is the 200-year-old plantation of Rosedown.  Rosedown is a state-owned plantation home and grounds.  The tour was wonderful.

http://www.crt.state.la.us/parks/irosedown.aspx

A house and grounds are fit for a Vizsla or ten.

Nothing, except the old Spanish missions, is as old as this grand old house here in California.

Louisiana in the fall w/o Vizslas

For one of only two times in the last four years we took a vacation without our Vizslas - a quick four-day trip to the southern part of Louisiana where not only did we not see any Vizslas, but we saw very few dogs period. 

These are just a few pictures to try to convey the feeling of the Bayou in the fall.