Quick Links: Table of Contents
- Vizsla Breed Overview
- History of the Vizsla Breed. Where Vizslas came from
- What the Vizsla Looks Like
- How Much is the Vizsla Puppy?
- Best Vizsla Breeders
- Adopting or Rescuing the Vizsla
- Vizsla Growth
- The Temperament of the Vizsla
- How Long Vizslas Live
- Vizsla Litter Size
- How Fast Vizslas Can Run
- Good Names for Vizslas
- How Intelligent are Vizslas?
- How Popular are Vizslas with New Dog Owners?
- Health Problems in Vizslas and How to Prevent Them
- How to Take Care of Vizsla
- Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Vizslas
- Other Things to Know About Vizslas
Vizsla Breed Overview
The Vizsla is a medium-sized dog.
The adult Vizsla stands 21 to 24 inches tall at the shoulder.
The Vizsla belongs to the Sporting Dogs group.
Dogs in the Sporting Dogs group, like the Vizsla, were bred to help hunters catch and retrieve feathered game. Some sporting dog breeds such as Retrievers, which were built for swimming, were bred to hunt waterfowl in water.
Whereas sporting dog breeds like setters, spaniels, and pointing breeds were bred to hunt quail, pheasant, and other game birds nest on grasslands.
Many Sporting Group breeds have thick, water-repellent coats that protect them from harsh hunting conditions.
The fact that the Vizsla belongs to the Sporting Dogs group is one of the reasons why Vizslas have the personality and temperament that they have.
The temperament of the Vizsla is generally described as:
- Affectionate
- Energetic
- Gentle
- Loyal
- Quiet
History of the Vizsla Breed. Where Vizslas came from
It is said that the Viszla descends from the pairings of the now extinct Turkish Yellow Dog and the Transylvanian Hound, both of these ancient breeds.
The Viszla can be first seen in the early 1900s and was a dog that came out of Hungary.
The Viszla was trained as a pointer and a retriever and was highly prized as a hunting and sporting dog.
The Viszla is now in the United States, and while still considered sporting dogs, they can now be companions in family homes as well.
This breed of dog responds well to training and can live in homes with families with children as long as they are supervised.
A Viszla will do best on a larger piece of land or property where it can run and roam.
This breed also does great in activities that complement its agility, speed, and intelligence.
There are a few things to note with this breed and its behaviors, as forcing a Viszla to stay cooped up will create neurotic and unwanted behaviors like chewing or barking.
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What the Vizsla Looks Like
The Viszla is a larger dog breed that sports a coat with short, smooth hair.
A Viszla is typically a golden red or rust color, with the red most prominent around the nose.
This breed is a great sporting dog, and when it is not dirty with dust from the trail, its coat shines and looks sleek when well-conditioned.
A Viszla is trained to hunt, retrieve, swim, and run and does very well as a sporting/working dog.
This breed has high stamina and should not be kept in small quarters for long as it can cause neurotic behavior.
The coat needs brushed weekly and should be washed only when especially dirty.
The Viszla is a type of dog that needs its exercise, so it is wise to make sure to have the time to walk it extensively every week or have a property for it to run and roam on.
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How Much is the Vizsla Puppy?
The average price of a Vizsla puppy is $1530. The price of a Vizsla puppy ranges from $1200 to $1800.
A lot of factors determine the price of the Vizsla. These factors include what health records the Vizsla puppy has, the lineage of the Vizsla puppy, the US state the breeder is located in, etc.
To estimate how much you can expect to pay for a puppy Vizsla based on the many factors that determine the price of the Vizsla puppy, check out our calculator that lets you estimate how much you should expect to pay for the Vizsla puppy based on what you want in the puppy.
When looking to buy a puppy, look at buying a puppy only from well-established breeders that breed puppies primarily for the love of the Vizsla breed, and secondarily for profit. Do not buy a puppy from a puppy mill. Puppy mills mass-produce puppies in bad living conditions for maximum profit.
You may also consider adopting instead of buying a puppy. Adoption costs are very low compared to the price of a puppy.
Best Vizsla Breeders
We have researched reputable Vizsla breeders that you can buy a puppy.
Go to this page for our complete list of reputable Vizsla breeders in various states in the United States.
On this page, you will see how much these breeders sell their puppies for, and how many puppies they have available.
A few of these breeders are listed below.
David McIntire
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Fine Whines and Lickers
Puppy Price: $*
Nadine Moody
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Char`s Vizslas
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Vizsla Club of Central New England
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Adopting or Rescuing the Vizsla
You may consider adopting a dog instead of buying a puppy. Many dogs, Vizslas included, are currently available for adoption in your local dog shelters.
These helpless but adorable dogs are waiting in dog shelters hoping that someday someone will rescue them. Dog adoption costs are lesser than the cost of a new puppy. Dog adoption costs are usually around $300 or even less.
In addition to your local dog shelter, another good place to find dogs that are available for adoption is petfinder.com.
Below is an adorable Male Vizsla named Unknown that is currently available for adoption on Petfinder.com. You can find other lovely Vizslas like Unknown on pefinder.com.
You can find more Vizslas that are available for adoption on petfinder.
Vizsla Growth
New Vizsla owners need to know about the growth of their Vizslas. This will help them plan their living spaces accordingly.
Also, knowing the typical growth pattern of the Vizsla will help new owners catch the abnormal growth of their Vizsla early.
See our calculator for predicting how big your Vizsla puppy will get. You will also learn about the typical weight of the Vizsla at different ages and how to catch abnormal growth in your Vizsla
The Temperament of the Vizsla
The temperament of the Vizsla based can be summarized as in the table below.
The table shows the scores of the Vizsla for 13 important dog behavioral factors.
We obtained these scores by analyzing raw data from the C-BARQ dog personality survey tool. The higher the score of a dog for a factor, the worse the temperament of the dog regarding that factor.
The C-BARQ tool was developed by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, and it is a scientific tool that is used worldwide for reliably measuring the temperament of dog breeds.
See our complete analysis of the temperament of the Vizsla here.
| Factor | Score |
|---|---|
| Attachment Attention Seeking | 75.8 percent |
| Energy Level | 71.3 percent |
| Excitability | 62.7 percent |
| Prey Drive | 56.0 percent |
| Dog Directed Aggression | 38.3 percent |
| Dog Directed Fear | 32.7 percent |
| Dog Rivalry | 31.7 percent |
| Separation Related Behavior | 31.3 percent |
| Stranger Directed Aggression | 29.7 percent |
| Stranger Directed Fear | 20.7 percent |
| Touch Sensitivity | 19.9 percent |
| Nonsocial Fear | 19.4 percent |
| Stubbornness | 14.8 percent |
| Owner Directed Aggression | 11.5 percent |
How Long Vizslas Live
The lifespan of the Vizsla is typically from 10 to 14 years.
Moreover, a few years back, veterinarian researchers performed a scientific study to determine the lifespan of the Vizsla. In this study, the scientists collected data on how long 38 pet Vizslas lived.
From the study, it was found that Vizslas have an average lifespan of 12.9 years. Furthermore, the study found that it is not uncommon for Vizslas to live as long as 17 years.
Note that you need to put in some effort if you want your Vizsla to live long.
Vizslas live long if they eat well, drink well, exercise well, and visit the veterinarian regularly.
There are also dog supplements that you can give your Vizsla to improve your Vizsla`s quality of their life.
Click here to learn more about how to make your Vizsla live long.
Vizsla Litter Size
Researchers from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science did a study where they counted the numbers of puppies in 2 different Vizsla birth litters.
From this study, the researchers found that the average number of puppies that Vizslas can have is 5 puppies. Also, the Vizsla can have as few as 3 puppies per litter and as many as 7 puppies per litter.
The number of puppies that the Vizsla will have depends on factors such as the age of the Vizsla, the method of pregnancy, etc.
Click here to see our calculator for predicting how many puppies your Vizsla will have and how the litter size of the Vizsla compares to the litter size of other dog breeds.
How Fast Vizslas Can Run
How fast a dog breed can run is a good measure of how athletic the dog breed is.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) regularly conducts dog running competitions. The AKC records the running speed of competing dogs in these competitions. These competitions are open to all dog breeds.
Based on our analysis of the speeds of 329 different Vizslas, the average speed of the Vizsla is 25.1 mph (40.4 kmph).
The fastest speed on AKC record that the Vizsla ran in a race is 32.26 mph (51.9 kmph) and the minimum speed on record in a race for a Vizsla is 7.28 mph (11.7 kmph).
Click here to see how the speed of the Vizsla compares to the speed of other dogs and other mammals such as cats, horses, humans, etc.
Good Names for Vizslas
Here are some really good names that are typical for the Vizsla ranked by popularity:
- Eddie
- Munson
- Wally
- Oliver
- Salami
- Hershey
- Porter
- Buck
- Vinny
- Boone
How Intelligent are Vizslas?
| Vizsla | |
|---|---|
| Intelligence Rank | 25 out of 130 dog breeds |
| Trainability | Tend To Learn New Commands After 5 To 15 Repetitions |
According to Prof. Stanley Coren, a Canadian psychology professor/dog trainer, the total intelligence that a dog demonstrates is the addition of three types of intelligence. These intelligence types are:
- Instinctive Intelligence: This is the natural intelligence that comes from instinct. For example, dog breeds that have been historically bred to be guard dogs will have a high `guarding` intelligence compared to dogs that were not bred for guarding.
- Adaptive Intelligence (learning and problem-solving ability): This indicates what a dog can learn to do for himself or herself. Adaptive intelligence is specific to each dog, and not breed specific. You can improve your dog`s adaptive intelligence by investing time to train your dog.
- Working/Obedience Intelligence: This type of intelligence is breed-specific. Certain dog breeds tend to have higher working/obedience intelligence than some other breeds. This intelligence is the closest to what we might call school-learning ability and it is based upon what the dog can learn to do when instructed by humans. This type of intelligence can be measured for each dog breed and compared to that of other dog breeds.
Professor Stanley Coren measured and ranked the working intelligence of about 130 different dog breeds.
Prof. Coren found that the Vizsla has an obedience intelligence rank of 25 out of 130 dog breeds. Thus, Prof. Coren put Vizslas in the `Excellent Working Dogs` category.
This means that Vizslas tend to learn new commands after 5 to 15 repetitions.
However, we should mention that a dog should not be judged based on its intelligence alone. There are other important factors you need to consider when deciding on which dog breed to get. These other factors include sociability, adorability, and compatibility of the dog breed with your lifestyle.
See the intelligence ranking of some other dog breeds below:
| Breed | Intelligence Rank |
|---|---|
| Shetland Sheepdog | 6 |
| Papillon | 8 |
| Australian Cattle Dog | 10 |
| Miniature Schnauzer | 12 |
| English Springer Spaniel | 13 |
| English Cocker Spaniel | 18 |
| Vizsla | 25 |
| Dalmatian | 39 |
| Curly-Coated Retriever | 41 |
| American Water Spaniel | 44 |
| Alaskan Malamute | 50 |
| Ibizan Hound | 53 |
| Norfolk Terrier | 56 |
| Dandie Dinmont Terrier | 62 |
| Saint Bernard | 65 |
| Chihuahua | 67 |
| Lhasa Apso | 68 |
| Shih Tzu | 70 |
| Beagle | 72 |
| Afghan Hound | 79 |
How Popular are Vizslas with New Dog Owners?
Every year, the American Kennel Club (AKC) publishes information on how popular a dog breed is in that particular year. The AKC gets the popularity information of a breed from how many dogs of that breed the owners register with the AKC every year. The AKC collects this data for about 200 dog breeds.
The graph below shows the popularity trend of the Vizsla.
The popularity of the Vizsla averaged over the years is Number 32 out of about 200 dog breeds.
Do not get a dog breed just because it is a popular dog breed. And do not reject a dog breed just because it is an unpopular breed.
Health Problems in Vizslas and How to Prevent Them
Every dog breed has its own set of health problems that it tends to develop. There is nothing like a perfect dog breed.
The Vizsla is prone to certain genetic health conditions. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) is an organization that keeps track of genetic health problems in dog breeds.
From the extensive records that the OFA keeps, the OFA knows what health problems each dog breed is naturally prone to develop.
Hence, the OFA recommends which health screening breeders should perform on a dog breed to make sure that the breeders won`t breed `defective` dog parents that can pass down defective genes to their puppy offspring.
If you want a Vizsla puppy that will grow up to be healthy, make sure that your Vizsla breeder screens your puppy or your puppy`s parents for the health problems that the OFA recommends for your puppy`s breed. This will increase the chances that your puppy is free from genetic defects.
The following are the health tests that Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) recommends that breeders should screen Vizslas for:
- Autoimmune thyroiditis
- Cardiac Evaluation
- click here
- Elbow Dysplasia
- Eye Examination
- Hip Dysplasia
- Sebaceous Adenitis
You can find out more about OFA`s recommended tests for Vizslas here.
How to Take Care of Vizsla
To take good care of your Vizsla, you need to make sure that you groom your Vizsla regularly.
Secondly, you need to find a veterinarian in your area that will routinely check the health status of your Vizsla regularly, and give you appropriate recommendations on your Vizsla`s preventative care.
Thirdly, you need to commit some time to exercise your Vizsla daily. Regular exercise helps improve the health and quality of life of your Vizsla.
Also, you need to feed your Vizsla high-quality dog food, and the food should be of the right amount to prevent your Vizsla from getting overweight or underweight.
See our recommendations on what to feed the Vizsla and how much food to feed the Vizsla at different life stages.
Finally, you need to make sure that your Vizsla has access to clean water all the time. See our recommendations on how much water your Vizsla needs to drink at different ages.
Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Vizslas
If you have not made up your mind on which dog breed to get, you may also want to consider some other dogs similar to the Vizsla.
We crunched the numbers and found that the following dog breeds that have similar behavior and temperament as the Vizsla:
- German Shorthaired Pointer (75 percent match with Vizsla). Learn more about the German Shorthaired Pointer here.
- Flat-Coated Retriever (76 percent match with Vizsla). Learn more about the Flat-Coated Retriever here.
- Pointer (74 percent match with Vizsla). Learn more about the Pointer here.
Other Things to Know About Vizslas
Here are some of the very important characteristics of the Vizsla that you need to know about the Vizsla breed: